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8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 1/24
Water Resources UpdateWater Resources Update EnvironmentalBusiness Council October 28, 2014
Ann Lowery
Deputy Assistant CommissionerBureau of Resource Protection, MassDEP
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 2/24
Overview
– Sustainable Water Management
– Stormwater and MS4
– Cape and the “208” plan
– Water Infrastructure bill
–
Climate Change efforts – Regulatory improvements
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 3/24
Water Management Act
A new permitting framework
• What is SWMI? - Sustainable WaterManagement Initiative - created in 2010 by the
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Developed with input from a wide range ofstakeholders and support from the MassDEPand DFG, DCR and EOEEA.
Purpose: to reevaluate the way theCommonwealth manages water so that there isenough for the many and sometimes competinglong-term water needs of our communities andaquatic ecosystems.
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 4/24
New regulations: 310 CMR 36
The changes will establish a comprehensivewater management framework developed
though the Sustainable Water ManagementInitiative (SWMI)
Designed to ensure safe water withdrawals fromrivers and watersheds that reflect a carefullydeveloped balance among many interests.
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 5/24
Safe Yield and Streamflow criteria
a new methodology for calculating the “safe yield” of awatershed
a new approach to permitting which includes “streamflowcriteria”
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 6/24
Other new concepts for permitting
Baseline: The volume of water over which a permittee will be required tomitigate the impacts of increasing withdrawal volumes.
Permit Review Categories: Permit review categories, or “tiers,” whichdetermine the requirements for obtaining a WMA permit.
Minimization Requirements: Permitted withdrawers in our mostdepleted subbasins will have to minimize the impact of theirwithdrawal to the extent feasible through a combination of increasedconservation, optimization of withdrawal points, and returning water to
the subbasin.
Mitigation Requirements: Applicants seeking an increased withdrawalover their baseline (permit tiers 2 and 3) will be required to developand implement mitigation plans to offset the impacts of their increasedwithdrawal, to the extent feasible.
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 7/24
Implementation tools
A permitting Guidance Document has been created to assistpermittees with the application and permit implementationprocesses.
GIS Interactive Tool – (on line). Will display biological categories,groundwater withdrawal categories, and net groundwater depletiondata layers that were developed through the SWMI process.
WMA Permitting Tool - The WMA Permitting Tool, can be used by
Public Water Suppliers (PWS), consultants, watershed groups,government agencies and others to evaluate the impact ofgroundwater withdrawals.
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 8/24
Grant Funding
Grant funding for implementation projects: Two rounds of
funding have provided support for 27 projects to date.
A request for proposals for third round closed on October 9th. Awards of another million dollars in funding expected to beannounced this year to support municipalities implement new
permit conditions.
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 9/24
Next steps
Consultation session for South Coastal Basin 10/30
After South Coastal: – Cape Cod (workshop in January 2015), – Buzzards Bay (workshop in February 2015), – Ipswich (workshop in March 2015), and – Boston Harbor and Taunton (April 2015).
Grant Funding Awards
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 10/24
Stormwater Municipal Stormwater
Systems (MS4)
Previous general permit(2003) expired.
New Draft MS4 permitavailable for public commentuntil December 29th
Public Information session10/30 in Boston at EPA
Public Hearing: November17, Leominster PublicLibrary
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 11/24
EPA’s highlights
Enhanced illicit discharge detection and elimination(IDDE) requirements to identify, isolate and remove
sanitary and other wastes from the stormwatersystem;
Water quality monitoring of stormwater discharges;
Encouragement of low impact development and
green infrastructure techniques; and Requirements designed to implement approved total
maximum daily load (TMDL) waste load allocations(WLAs).
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 12/24
Municipal Assistance and MS4
The commonwealth is committed to working with municipalities to assist themin meeting the terms of the permit -- and by doing so making real improvementsto our water bodies that receive these stormwater discharges.
The 30 town Central Massachusetts Regional Stormwater Coalition - createdto develop and implement common stormwater education and trainingprograms and a regional data management system.
The Coalition has worked on ways for towns to reduce their costs associatedwith implementing new stormwater requirements, like developing a a single
(rather than 30 separate) outreach and education programs, and creating anequipment sharing program.
The Coalition has partnered with Worcester Polytechnic Institute, to help themestimate the costs of implementing new federal stormwater requirements, anddevelop mapping standards.
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 13/24
Transferability – and New Coalitions
The coalition has shared their products - hoping to promote theformation of and assist other such regional groups in their efforts to
implement new stormwater programs.
New regional stormwater collaboratives have formed following theCentral Region example – hoping to create more useful (transferrable)tools for stormwater implementation.
Stormwater coalitions across the state recently received over$516,000 in support from the Patrick Administration’s CommunityInnovation Challenge 2014 grant program.
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 14/24
Cape Cod and Water Quality
The Problem:
Increased population and development on Cape Cod hasresulted in excessive amounts of nutrients being dischargedinto sensitive resources, making our local estuaries lessdesirable for activities such as fishing, swimming, and boating.
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 15/24
Updating the 208 Plan
MassDEP is currently leading a stakeholder driven effort toupdate its Regional Water Quality Management Plan (alsoreferred to as a Section 208 plan) for Cape Cod.
With funding from the Commonwealth, the Cape CodCommission is working on the updated plan – which is nowavailable for public comment (until November 20).
The goal: of this process is to generate a unified framework foractivities to abate water pollution on Cape Cod, integratingpollution control technologies for the region that will work andare agreeable to regional areas encompassing multiplecommunities.
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 16/24
Regional collaborative approach
Common problem - Nitrogen loading is a Cape-wide problem,
Estuaries and impairments cross town boundaries
Cost estimates for implementing the solution range from $3 to 8 billion, withthe lower range based on a regional solution. A regional solution will:
– Facilitate a more holistic, watershed-based approach to addressing nitrogenimpacts;
– Limit the amount of infrastructure needed by building “shared” systems targetedtowards area of greatest need;
– Allow greater opportunity for solutions involving decentralized and innovativeapproaches, and continued use of conventional septic systems whereappropriate; and
– Achieve greatest economies of scale, and spread costs over the largest numberof users.
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 17/24
New tools
Multi Variant Planner
GIS interactive tools Cost information
Matrix of nitrogen reduction technologies
Using all tools: to achieve the optimal mix ofapproaches
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 18/24
Next steps
End of public comment
Revise Plan Governor to designate implementing
authority
Municipal involvement and commitment toplanning
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 19/24
Water Infrastructure
Chapter 259 of Acts of 2014
State Revolving Fund changes
MWPAD now Clean Water Trust
Increased cap on the Commonwealth’s annual
interest subsidy from $88m to $133M. Nofunds appropriated.
Amendments to regulations – to implementnew subsidies.
Planning grants – for three categories:
CWMPs, Asset Management, and greeninfrastructure planning.
$3 million, with $30K cap
MassDEP will administer
RFP expected to be out this year
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 20/24
Infrastructure…
CEC innovation grants – $1.5 million
Watershed permitting – and 20 year permits
Regional entry fee grants – 1:1 matching grant program. No
funds appropriated.
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
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Climate Change efforts
Reg changes- emergency declarations (Wetlands)
Streamcrossing standards (Wetlands)
Evaluating precipitation models (Wetlands)
Flooding pilot communities (with EPA) (WW and DW)
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
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Climate change efforts…
Planning grants (DMS)
State Revolving Fund Loans (DMS)
Energy independence – and Resiliencysupport
New positions: – MassDEP emergency response contact: Nick Child – New climate change coordinator for BRP (in process)
8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
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8/10/2019 EBC Water Resources Committee Meeting Overview of Current Water Related Issues at Mass DEP With Ann Lowery, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebc-water-resources-committee-meeting-overview-of-current-water-related-issues 24/24
Thank you
Contact information:
Ann Lowery617/ 292-5846