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Action Plan 13:
Protecting Ponds and Streams

October 17, 2011 draft final

About the new Buzzards Bay CCMP Action Plans
The Buzzards Bay NEP is now updating our 1991 landmark Buzzards Bay Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) to reflect the great progress achieved since that plan was finalized. It will include new or updated goals, objectives, and management solutions to meet the environmental needs for Buzzards Bay and its surrounding watershed throughout the next decade.

On this page is a draft action plan from the updated Buzzards Bay Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. The text on this page is a public draft provided to invite comment and discussion of the subject by residents and stakeholders. It may contain goals and recommendations that have not yet been endorsed or approved by the Buzzards Bay Steering Committee. The views or information contained here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the US Environmental Protection Agency.

We want your feedback on this action plan. First, please read the entire action plan Protecting Freshwater Ponds and Streams. Then at the bottom of this page click the "Rate the Goals and Objectives now" button to provide comments on each goal, objective and defined management approach contained in this Action Plan. Based on your feedback, we will update and revise all the action plans in the new CCMP.

Protecting Ponds and Streams

Problem

Many rivers and ponds in the Buzzards Bay watershed are impaired because of toxic contaminants, bacteria, nutrients, sediments, nuisance species, and other problems. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) reports these impairments to the U.S. EPA as required by the Clean Water Act, in its "Integrated List of Waters" reports. These integrated lists classify bodies of waters into different categories. For example, Category 5 waters are impaired, and Category 3 waters are unassessed. As shown in Table 37, these impaired freshwaters total 2,328 acres (of the 4,376 acres listed) and 17.0 linear miles of streams (of the 64.9 miles listed).

To restore these waters will require considerable effort. The Clean Water Act requires that states identify those waterbodies that are not expected to meet surface water quality standards after the implementation of technology-based controls and to prioritize and schedule them for the development of a total maximum daily load (TMDL). These TMDLs establish the maximum amount of a pollutant that may be introduced into a water body and still ensure attainment and maintenance of water quality standards. TMDLs and restoration of these bodies of waters may require a local watershed plan. The effort to characterize and assess all these bodies of water, and to restore impaired ones, represents an immense challenge to both local and state managers.

Goal

Goal 13.1. Ensure that no beneficial water uses(*) will be lost, nor ecosystems adversely affected by pollution discharges to fresh surface waters in the Buzzards Bay watershed.

Goal 13.2. Restore any beneficial water uses and ecosystems lost or impacted by the excessive contribution of nitrogen to any area within Buzzards Bay.

Objectives

Objective 13.1. Help adopt TMDLs for all freshwaters.

Objective 13.2. Help ensure that plans are developed and implemented to meet recommended TMDLs.

Objective 13.3. Help restore impaired wetlands habitat.

Objective 13.4. Protect open space that enhances and protects lakes, ponds, and streams.

Solutions

This action plan requires complying with the Clean Water Act. To achieve its goal, pollution sources in the watershed of each impaired body must be characterized, and where appropriate, a site-specific TMDL adopted. This is complex, and an immense task, because dozens of small subwatershed plans need to be developed. Moreover, many bodies of waters and tributary segments have never been assessed, so the scope of the environmental challenge remains unresolved.

DEP will need to develop TMDLs for each impaired water identified on the 303(d) and Integrated Lists in a timely way. Similarly, DEP will need to eventually evaluate all unassessed waters (those not included on the Integrated List).

Despite these challenges and prolonged timeline, and the lack of funds and staffing to solve this problem, municipalities should establish local priorities and implement common sense measures to reduce existing im-pairments. Municipalities should establish water quality task forces for priority freshwater systems and have these workgroups develop management strategies. Municipal legislative bodies (town meeting or city council) should authorize new funding to evaluate and develop priorities for restoration, and to implement specific remedial actions, like treating or eliminating stormwater discharges. Interested residents should become involved in protecting and monitoring these freshwater systems. Local laws and regulations are also needed to reduce the impacts of new development and to prevent new im-pairments.

Costs and Financing

The major costs of this effort are associated initially with the development of watershed characterizations, subwatershed plans, and TMDLs for impaired waters. State, federal, and local government must all contribute. More substantial costs of remediation will be borne by local government and property owners, but state and federal government must provide funds to leverage action.

Measuring Success

The percent of systems impaired, the total number of impaired systems, and the percent of unimpaired systems are all key measures for tracking progress towards the goals of this action plan. Development of subwa-tershed plans and strategies; TMDLs, and number of systems removed from the impaired waters list are other metrics for tracking progress.

Additional Background

This action plan was not in the 1991 CCMP, but elements were broadly covered in the original Wetlands Protection Action plan. Impairments of marine waters are addressed in several other action plans. Other action plans support the goals and objectives here, especially the Action Plans Managing Stormwater Runoff and Promoting Low Impact Development, and Protecting Wetlands and Coastal Habitat.

(*) Beneficial uses are those listed in Massachusetts Water Quality Standards, see entry in Glossary.

To fully understand the basis of these goals and objectives, and possible management approaches, please read the complete Protecting Freshwater Ponds and Streams Action Plan (October 17, 2011 draft final, pdf file).

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