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Delaware's Chesapeake Bay Headwater State Grant

Delaware's Chesapeake Bay Headwater State Grant. Jennifer Volk Delaware DNREC EPA Chesapeake Bay Program State Grants Meeting June 4 & 5, 2008. The Chesapeake Bay Watershed in Delaware. Within all 3 counties Very rural character: Developed 9% Agriculture 50% Rangeland 3%

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Delaware's Chesapeake Bay Headwater State Grant

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  1. Delaware's Chesapeake Bay Headwater State Grant Jennifer Volk Delaware DNREC EPA Chesapeake Bay Program State Grants Meeting June 4 & 5, 2008

  2. The Chesapeake Bay Watershed in Delaware • Within all 3 counties • Very rural character: • Developed 9% • Agriculture 50% • Rangeland 3% • Forest 16% • Water 1% • Wetland 21% • Other 0% • Small, but growing, towns

  3. DE's Chesapeake Bay "Program" • Delaware does not have a "program" solely devoted to Chesapeake Bay initiatives • DNREC, Division of Water Resources, Watershed Assessment Section takes lead • TMDL modeling and development • Pollution Control Strategies • Implementation projects • Work cooperatively with other Sections within DNREC (ex: 319 Program), as well as with other agencies (ex: Department of Agriculture)

  4. State Funds • 2007 ~$3.7 million spent in the Chesapeake • Program Administration (NPS and Nutrient Management) • Conservation District Planners • Surface Water Quality Monitoring • Wastewater treatment plant upgrades • Stream and Wetland Restoration • Cover Crops • Nutrient (Manure) Relocation • Nutrient Management Plans • Other Ag BMPs (CREP, manure structures, etc.) • Nutrient Management Program education and outreach

  5. 106 Funds (Watershed Assessment Section) • In general, these funds are currently used state-wide on water pollution control activities • Staff • Water Quality Standards (tidal criteria) and 305(b) development • NPDES permits • Legal and accounting support • Occasionally used on projects in the Chesapeake • TMDL modeling • Tributary Action Team & Pollution Control Strategy development/support

  6. 319 Funds (Non-point Source Program) • 2007 ~$1.4 million budget state-wide • ~37% spent in the Chesapeake (~$500,000) • Administration • Conservation District Planners • Tree Planting • Shoreline Stabilization • Stream & Wetland Restoration • Nutrient (Manure) Relocation • Cover Crop Cost Share in Sussex County • Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program • Pollution Control Strategy Development

  7. Implementation Grant Funds (07-08) • Travel • Monitoring/Education/Outreach • Agriculture • Wastewater • Stormwater

  8. Implementation Grant Funds (07-08) • Creekwatcher Citizen Monitoring Program • Coordinated by Nanticoke Watershed Alliance • 2nd sampling season • Doubled in size since last year • 40 sites (40+ volunteers) in Maryland and Delaware • Field parameters and bacteria and nutrient samples taken for laboratory analysis • Lab services and data analysis donated by other partner organizations

  9. Manure Relocation TONS RELOCATED BY WATERSHED (Represents all poultry manure relocated by the Nutrient Management Program and Perdue AgriRecycle) ~50,000 tons relocated from the Chesapeake in 2007 Adapted from DE Nutrient Management Commission 2007 Annual Report, April 2008

  10. Manure Relocation Adapted from DE Nutrient Management Commission 2007 Annual Report, April 2008

  11. Implementation Grant Funds (07-08) • Cover Crop Cost Share Programs • Partner with Conservation Districts • New Castle County • Kent County • Sussex County • 2007 had record sign ups • Cost share rates vary by county and depend on early or late planting

  12. Implementation Grant Funds (07-08) • Onsite Wastewater Treatment and Disposal System Projects • Partner with DNREC's Groundwater Discharges Section and Financial Assistance Branch • Help families replace failing systems • System owner signs an agreement to maintain the new system • Department covers all evaluation, review, design, permit, and contractual fees

  13. Implementation Grant Funds (07-08) • Onsite Wastewater Treatment and Disposal System Database • Partner with DNREC's Groundwater Discharges Section and Office of Information Technology • Electronic tracking system for site evaluations and permitting of small and large OWTDSs • Merging older databases • Automatically enters overlaying geographic information into database attribute fields • Watershed • State Wetlands Mapping Project category • Investment level • Sewer district • Agriculture preservation district

  14. Site Evaluations

  15. Permits

  16. Implementation Grant Funds (07-08) • Urban Stormwater Projects • Immaculate Conception Church in Marydel • Retrofit of existing failing stormwater pond and installation of a raingarden • Education and outreach with the parishioners

  17. Implementation Grant Funds (07-08) • Urban Stormwater Projects • The Nanticoke River: Delaware's Hidden Jewel • Partnered with the Delaware Nature Society, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension, Nanticoke Watershed Alliance, Nanticoke Watershed Preservation Group, and Friends of the Nanticoke to sponsor a lecture • First 75 attendees get a free rainbarrel!

  18. Future Plans • Measuring Progress - Improved Tracking • 2007 URS BMP Inventory Report • Interviewed 18 different BMP implementing organizations to determine: • The types of BMP information currently collected • How BMP information is stored and maintained • If restrictions, limitations, or concerns are present regarding the sharing of data • What hardware and software is currently used • Varying levels of data management • Some still have paper files; others have geo-databases • Some track by watershed; others still don't include that field

  19. Future Plans • Measuring Progress - Improved Tracking • Try to get everyone on the same page • Partner with DNREC's Office of Information Technology • Reviewing the schema used by MD, PA, & VA • Make any necessary modifications to fit DE's needs • Work with BMP implementing organizations to refine their data collection and reporting procedures to easily fit into the established schema

  20. Future Plans • Symposium on Carbon Sequestration on Farm and Forest Lands: How to Make Trading/Offset Programs Work in the Chesapeake Bay Region • DE's 2007 Executive Council Champion Action • October 21, 2008, Clayton Hall, University of Delaware • The objectives of the symposium are to: • Educate the agency staff on carbon sequestration opportunities; • Identify necessary elements of offset and trading programs; • Identify the water quality benefits of agriculturally based carbon offset projects; • Discuss ways to make carbon offset and trading programs that include farm- and forest-based activities work in the Chesapeake Bay states.

  21. Future Plans • Diversify spending in agriculture sector • Existing cost share programs easy to work with • More attention to developed sector • Need focused and easy to implement projects • Open to new ideas!

  22. Questions?

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