CCMP UPDATES &

PDE GOALS

STAC/EIC Meeting– Sept. 5th, 2013

Ground Rules

Agenda Time: 1.5 Hour

No comments until after the presentation!

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Origins: Delaware Estuary Program

1988 - Delaware Estuary was nominated by the three state governors for

inclusion into the National Estuary Program

PA, DE, NJ

1990 - Delaware Estuary joined the National

Estuary Program

Original Partners: EPA, DRBC, NJ, PA, DE, NOAA, USACE

1996 - Comprehensive Conservation and

Management Plan (CCMP)

Management Division

DELEP

Partnership for the Delaware Estuary

(PDE)

Oversee Management Plan (CCMP)

Coordinate dozens of partners

(Agency, NGO, Academic, Corporate)

Science

Policy

Restoration

Education

Fundraising

DRBC

Water Quantity & Quality

Monitoring

State of the Estuary

Advisory Committees

States

Various:

Restore habitat, Monitoring, Land management, etc.

Reorganization in 2005

Where is the Management Plan Now?

PDE annually reports CCMP

implementation to EPA

State of the Estuary Reports: 1996,

2002, 2008, 2012

CCMP Updates (est. 2013-2014)

EPA Requirement – Measurable Goals

for the Delaware Estuary

Updating the CCMP

CategoryAction

Ref.Status CCMP Original Update

Climate H7Needs

updating

Protect Littoral Habitats

from Sea Level Rise

Threats

Refresh language to reflect

current climate program &

partner efforts

Badge &

MascotE21, E22

Not

relevant

Create Estuary

Environmental Badge

& Mascot

Delete CCMP Actions

Wetlands H4 Needs

updating

Coordinate/Enhance

Wetlands Management

New wetland monitoring

programs & restoration

STAC/EIC feedback from 2012 workshop

Website to contain updates

Roll out – Winter 2013

PDE Measurable Goals

Healthy Waters

1. Brownfields, Public Access,

Ecotourism, Urban Forests,

Public Participation,

Estuary Engagement

Healthy Communities

1. Wetlands, Forests,

Riparian Buffers, Fish &

Shellfish

Healthy Habitats

Toxics, Nutrients, Dissolved

Oxygen, Flow, Salinity

Progress Update

Year Date Activity

2013 Oct. 3 Steering Committee

2013 Aug 22-

Sept 26

STAC/EIC – Final Review Period

2013 Sept. 5 STAC/EIC Meeting

2013 June 6 Toxics Advisory Committee Meeting

2013 Feb-July STAC Committees/Webinars/Interviews

2013 Jan. 28 Delaware Estuary Science & Environmental Summit - Polling

2012 Oct. 11 Steering Committee (13 Goals Accepted)

2012 Oct. 1-2 STAC/EIC Workshop

2012 June-

Sept

STAC Committees

Goals: Healthy Habitats

Wetlands, Forests, Riparian Buffers, Fish & Shellfish

Goals: Healthy Habitats

Healthy

Habitats =

Measure – short term Measure – long term Responsible

Agencies:

Assumptions/

NeedsFunctioning

wetlands

Get a robust tidal wetland monitoring program

with a regional body for coordination and

consistency of tracking wetland health in place by

2020

Develop estuary-wide baseline for tidal wetland

health by 2020 and goals to sustain tidal wetland

health by 2022.

Identify and implement tactics to maintain high

value tidal wetlands and limit acreage loss to 5%

of 2006 acreage by 2025

Take aggressive action to limit net

acreage loss of tidal wetlands to

15% of 2006 acres by 2040

Tidal wetland health TBD in 2022

based on short term actions

No net loss of non-tidal wetlands

PDE, EPA, States,

USFWS, NOAA

- Sustain MACWA to track

wetland acreage and

health

- Establish wetland

regional body

- Develop estuary-wide

baseline for health by 2020

Contiguous/

connected

forests

Stem forest loss to less than 1% per year by 2025

Develop metrics and tracking system for loss of

buffers and connectedness by 2017

TBD in/after 2025 based on short

term actions

States, USFW,

USFWS, DRBC,

EPA, TNC, NFS,

USFS Field station,

DVRPC

Work with partners and

existing tools to track

forests

Healthy fish and

shellfish habitat

Secure dedicated funding of $1million or more

per year for oyster shell planting by 2015

By 2017 define, map and inventory and by 2030

protect the following critical species habitat:

o Mussel habitat (fresh and marsh)

o Vegetated nursery habitat for fish & crabs,

particularly in shallow intertidal areas

o Beach habitat for horseshoe crabs

o Critical bottom habitat for sturgeon (and

other fish)

Facilitate 1-2 fish passage projects per year

Maintain or increase oyster beds at

2012 acreage with 25% increase in

productivity by 2030

Increase freshwater mussel

abundance and habitat by year and

amount TBD based short term

results

Achieve goals established in

recovery plans for Atlantic and

short-nosed sturgeon to improve

habitat

PDE, States, EPA,

USFWS, NOAA,

USCG, USACE,

DRBC, ASMFC

- EPA cannot participate in

solicitation of funding

- Subject to completion of

MOU with NJ Heritage

Program to id/map mussel

habitat

- Collaborate with partners

in the areas of sturgeon

recovery, fish passage, and

oyster recovery

Goals: Healthy Communities

Brownfields, Public Access, Ecotourism, Urban Forests,

Public Participation, Estuary Engagement

Goals: Healthy Communities

Healthy

Communities =

Measure – short term Measure – long term Responsible

Agencies:

Assumptions/Needs:

Growth That Helps

People and Living

Resources

Assess and inventory urban

waterfront brownfields

(UWB) and public access

opportunities by 2015

Prioritize and increase urban

waterfront brownfield

projects by 2017

Reclaim 50% of waterfront

brownfields to include

public access and living

shorelines/wetlands by

2050

States, EPA, NOAA,

DRBC, PWD, counties

& municipalities, PDE

- UWB = brownfields with frontage on tidal

waters

- Standardize use of term “brownfield” to

align with EPA’s definition

- Connect with existing brownfield partners

to inventory, prioritize, and increase

brownfield projects

Restored/Protecte

d Living

Resources*

Establish goals and measures

to reconnect the public to

natural resources through

ecotourism, urban forests,

and protected lands with

public access by 2015

Sustain or enhance existing

public access points in bay-

front communities, and

increase access points

(relative to 2012) in

underserved urban areas

to reconnect communities

to the water

States, USFS, EPA,

PWD, DRBC, USFW,

counties &

municipalities, PDE,

UWFP

Connect with other organizations and

partnerships working on similar goals

Public Understand-

ing and

Participation

PDE marketing &

communications plan

completed by 2015

Begin implementing

marketing/branding

campaign by 2018 with

means to measure results

TBD between 2015 and

2018 based on PDE

marketing and

communications plan

PDE, States, EPA,

USFWS,NPS

- Coordinate with partners to connect with

other regional marketing and

communication plans

- Contract with marketing professions

- Include assessing feasibility of using public

polling to determine increase in affinity for

Delaware River and Bay and its major

tributaries in planning

Goals: Healthy Waters

Toxics, Nutrients, Dissolved Oxygen, Flow & Salinity

Healthy Waters = Measure – short-term Measure – long-term Responsible

Agencies:

Assumptions/

Needs:Few or no toxic

impacts

Assess the need for and establish

biological endpoint criteria for

contaminants of concern by 2020

Continue support for established

monitoring programs, and achieve

expansion of toxics monitoring with

biological endpoints by 2025

Prioritize urban waterfront brownfield

projects by 2015

Reduce PCB concentrations in

fish tissue by 25% by 2050

(relative to 2013 levels)

Notes – Establishing new biological

endpoints by 2020 will help to

guide long-term reduction goals.

DRBC, States,

EPA, NOAA,

PDE

-Inventory existing toxics monitoring

programs by 2015

-Conduct gap analysis of monitoring

programs, funding needs

-Identify relevant biological endpoints

(eggs, blood, tissue, drinking water,

etc.) by 2017

-Total load reduction of PCBs by

~25% by 2025

Few or no nutrient

impacts

Assess nutrient impacts on estuarine

resources (e.g. wetlands and shellfish);

establish criteria by 2015 and targets

based on that assessment by 2020

Implement appropriate DO standards in

Zone 2-6 for fish and other key aquatic

species, with interim standards for

existing use by 2015 and standards for

highest attainable use by 2020..

By 2030, estuarine resource

endpoints show improvement

from targeted nutrient

reductions.

Achieve highest attainable use

for DO by 2030

DRBC, States,

EPA, counties

&

municipalities,

PDE

Following EPA’s release of ammonia

criteria, further assessment into other

nutrient impacts

Research nutrient impacts on

shellfish (e.g. sediment ammonia and

freshwater mussel erosion)

Research nutrient impacts on

wetlands by 2020

Flow to support

drinking water and

ecology

Utilize model-derived benchmarks for

flow management as they become

available

Establish and incorporate low

flow/salinity benchmarks for natural

balance and ecological highest attainable

use in flow management by 2017

By 2025 achieve and maintain

flow at benchmarks for drinking

water and ecological highest

attainable use in the face of

changing watershed conditions,

including climate change.

DRBC, States,

PWD, ACOE,

NYC, water

purveyors

(WRADRB).

PDE

Biological inputs needed for flow

model

Goals: Healthy Waters

Goals: Comments Received

Request to add The Nature Conservancy as a partner for two goals: Restored/Protected Living Resources and Public Understanding and Participation

Request to remove climate change language from the Healthy Waters goals.

Concerns raised about the “criteria setting” language in the Healthy Waters goals, especially with “establishing biological endpoint criteria by 2020” (Healthy Waters Row # 1) and “nutrient criteria by 2015” (Healthy Waters Row # 2); Request to consider replacing with language establishing metrics upon which eventual criteria would be based in the future.