Transcript Document

THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Failing to Plan: The Clean Water
Act Can’t Fix it All
Douglas “Dusty” Hall
The Miami Conservancy District
for
Hey 19: Make Tomorrow
a Wonderful Thing
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
The Miami Conservancy District
• Great Flood of 1913
• Authorized under state
statute – 1914 Ohio
Conservancy Act
• Governed by
Conservancy Court
• Broad authorities
within watershed
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Presentation Overview
• Chapter 1: Water, Water
Everywhere But…
• Chapter 2: The Great
Miami River Watershed
• Chapter 3: “Patchwork”
Management
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
What is a watershed?
A watershed is all the land area that drains to a given body of water.
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
The Water Cycle
Graphic Courtesy of Press & Siever, 1998
l
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Residential
Development
Commercial
Development
Water Treatment Plant
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Water
You can live without it…
…but not for very long!
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Your Share
12½ gallons
with a twist of
lemon please!
• Intake 2/3 of a gallon
each day
• 60% of body weight!
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Plentiful
• Earth = over 74%
covered
• Volume = 326
million miles³
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Plentiful???
100
Percent
80
60
40
20
0
Oceans
Frozen
Other
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
“Other”
0.7
Percent
0.6
0.5
Groundwater
0.4
Lakes
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Rivers &
Streams
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Whose water is it?
• Justinian Institutes (533)
“By the law of nature these things are
common to mankind---the air, running
water, the sea, and consequently the shores
of the sea.”
• English Law - Magna Charta (1215)
• U.S. Supreme Court (1800s)
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Recap – Chapter 1
Water, Water Everywhere But…
• The same water gets “used” over and over.
• It’s easily polluted.
• There is lots of it - but not much is readily
available.
• We can’t live without it.
• It’s yours and mine.
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Ohio’s Great Miami
River Watershed
• 4,000 mi² / 15 counties
• Dayton is largest city
• Major tributaries:
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Great Miami River
Stillwater River
Mad River
Wolf and Twin Creeks
• 1.5 million residents
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Buried Valley Aquifer
• Underlies river system and
many urban centers
• Source for > 90% drinking
water
• High production
• High permeability
• High vulnerability
• Significant exchange of
surface and ground waters
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
GMR Watershed
Snapshot
• Headwaters primarily
rural & agricultural
• Urban near confluence &
lower Great Miami River
• > 70% of people live in
urbanized areas
• > 80% of land used for
agriculture
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Water Quality Impairment
Ohio EPA - Stillwater River
Phosphorus
• Proposed reduction =
977K lbs./year
• Agriculture is source of
90%
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Recap - Chapter 2
The Great Miami River Watershed
• It’s big and covers all or parts of 15 Ohio
counties.
• Our drinking water source is under our feet.
• Urban areas are mostly on the major rivers.
• The watershed is dominated by agriculture.
• Water quality relates to land use.
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Who’s in Charge Here?
Federal Government?
State Government?
Local Government?
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Federal
• Clean Water Act
– Surface water
– Zero discharge by 1985
– “Fishable and swimmable” by 1983
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Are We Meeting the Goals?
• Of our monitored streams:
– Yes = 58.8%
– Almost = 19.8%
– No = 21.4%
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Clean Water Act
“The term "point source" means any discernible,
confined and discrete conveyance, including…
This term does not include agricultural
stormwater discharges…”
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Counties
§ 303.21. Powers not conferred by chapter.
(A) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of
this section, sections 303.01 to 303.25 of the Revised
Code do not confer any power on any county rural
zoning commission, board of county commissioners, or
board of zoning appeals to prohibit the use of any land
for agricultural purposes or the construction or use of
buildings or structures incident to the use for
agricultural purposes of the land on which such
buildings or structures are located, and no zoning
certificate shall be required for any such building or
structure.
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Townships
• § 519.21. Powers not conferred by chapter.
(A) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of
this section, sections 519.02 to 519.25 of the Revised
Code confer no power on any township zoning
commission, board of township trustees, or board of
zoning appeals to prohibit the use of any land for
agricultural purposes or the construction or use of
buildings or structures incident to the use for
agricultural purposes of the land…, and no zoning
certificate shall be required for any such building or
structure.
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
County & Township Zoning
Regulation
of
Agriculture
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Incentive-Based Strategies
• “Farm Bill” Conservation Programs
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1935 Soil Conservation Act
1956 Soil Bank
1970 Water Bank
1985 Full title devoted to conservation programs
1990s CRP & EQIP
2002 EQIP at $1.3 billion (CSP added)
• More Incentives Needed!
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Water Quality Credit Trading
• Wastewater treatment plants facing
increased compliance costs meet their
requirements for pollutant reductions by
investing in more cost-effective
agricultural projects that produce better
environmental results in the same
watershed.
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Nutrient Reduction Costs
• Wastewater treatment
plants (WWTPs) can
reduce phosphorus and
other nutrients with
$$$$ treatment
• Agricultural producers
can reduce phosphorus
and other nutrients for a
fraction of the cost
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Water Quality Credit
Trading
County SWCDs
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Trading Program Strategies
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All trades upstream
Project validation
Trading ratios
Insurance pool
Data collection
Adaptive
implementation
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Ancillary Environmental
Benefits
WWTP Upgrade
Ag. Practices via
Trading
Yes
Yes
?
Yes
Habitat
No
Yes
Canopy
No
Yes
Stream bank
No
Yes
Velocity
No
Yes
Wetland
No
Yes
Floodplain
No
Yes
Assimilative capacity
No
Yes
Pollutant of concern
Other pollutants
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Ancillary Pollutant Reduction
Estimated* Impact of Trading Ratios
Nutrient
TP
TN
Traditional
Trading
Approach
(lbs.)
(lbs.)
904,015
1,349,207 to
2,253,222
4,475,978 6,380,721 to
10,865,700
*Kieser & Associates, 2004
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Trading Market Study
Preliminary Economic Analysis
of Water Quality Trading Opportunities
in the Great Miami River Watershed,
Ohio
Prepared by:
Kieser & Associates
536 E. Michigan Ave., Suite 300
Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
20-Year Trading Economics
Meeting Nutrient Criteria Discharge Limits
• WWTP upgrades = $422.5 million
• Trading = $46.5 million
– Ag. practices $37.8 million
– Data, admin., etc. $8.7 million
• Citizens save $376 million!
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Key Partners
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Wastewater Treatment Plants
United States Department of Agriculture
Soil and Water Conservation Districts
Ohio Farm Bureau Federation
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce
Community-based subwatershed groups
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Migration from Large Cities
From Growth and Change at the Urban-Rural Interface, OSU, 2003
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Ohio’s Changing Landscape
• Population of large and
small metropolitan
counties peaked in 1970
• Population of fringe
counties of large metro
areas grew more than
500,000 between 1970
and 2000
Photo from WOSU –”View from Malabar”
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Central to Decentralized
Systems
Dayton Population and New Miami
County HSTSs
14000
12000
250000
10000
225000
8000
200000
6000
4000
175000
2000
150000
0
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Date
New HSTSs
Population
275000
Dayton
Population
New HSTSs
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Moving to the “Country”
• More than a million HSTSs in Ohio*
• More than one out of four new homes will
use HSTSs*
• Less than 7% of Ohio’s soils are suitable
for traditional HSTSs**
• Failure rate estimate is 25% = 900,000
gallons per day*
*Ohio Department of Health
**OSU Extension
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Moving to the “Country”
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Excuse Me???????
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
“Truly Tasteless”
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Exurban Land Use Planning
• “Ohio counties and townships
have a somewhat limited ability
to handle the population and land
use changes…” (OSU, 2003)
• Health district staff may act as de
facto planners when
approving/disapproving HSTSs
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Household Sewage Treatment
Systems
• HB 231 Signed by Governor in February
• New rules
– Soil types
– Drainage
– Hydrogeology
• Promote coordination
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Development vs. Water Cycle
40% evaporation
30% evaporation
55%
runoff
10%
runoff
25% shallow
infiltration
10% shallow
infiltration
25% deep
infiltration
Natural Ground Cover
5% deep
infiltration
75% - 100% Impervious Cover
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Coming Up Next
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Dayton Well Field
Protection Area
• Drinking water
production areas built
out with industry
• More than 600
businesses with over 140
million pounds of
hazardous substances
• Multiple jurisdictions
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Comprehensive Local Strategy
• Monitoring and
enforcement
• Inventory and
spill reporting
• Land use
controls
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Education
Funding for easements
Funding for projects
Emergency response
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
Recap - Chapter 3
“Patchwork” Management
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Federal laws won’t solve local challenges.
State laws won’t solve local challenges.
Market-based incentives are vital.
We’re building tomorrow’s problems today.
Creative and cooperative solutions work.
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
It’s OUR Future!
• Should water resources be a priority in planning
processes?
• How can planning processes address water resources that
extend across many jurisdictions?
• Are comprehensive/integrated approaches to water
resources management possible in the absence of an
overarching set of rules or regulations?
• Can planning bridge the gap between water science and
and the water resources management strategies based on
zoning techniques?
THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
MCD’s VISION
“Thriving communities, a
healthy watershed, and a
higher quality of life,
sustained by well-managed
water resources throughout
the watershed.”