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Agency For Bay Management
Presents:
Southwest Florida Environmental Initiatives
Conference
PRACTICUM BACKGROUND
•Almost 60 Years Experience – Founded In 1946.
•One of The Largest Engineering Firms In
Southwest Florida
•Provides Engineering, Survey, Planning,
Landscape Architecture And Environmental
Services
•Over 210 Employees
Johnson Engineering, Inc.
PRACTICUM BACKGROUND
•Created by Settlement Agreement for Florida Gulf
Coast University
•Assesses Overall Land Use and Natural Systems,
Environmental Protection and Mitigation tools in the
Estero bay Watershed
Agency for Bay Management (ABM)
Concerned Citizen
Goals
• Communicate environmental programs to
public
• Bridge gaps between policy and real world
• Identify project for funding
Who should present issues?
•Environmental Protection Agency – Water Quality
•Florida Department Of Environmental Protection – Total
Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)
•South Florida Water Management District – Lake
Okeechobee, Babcock, etc.
•Conservancy Of Southwest Florida – Rule Challenges.
•U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers – Environmental Impact
Statements (EIS), Watershed Approach
•Lee County – Best Management Practices (BMP), Master
Mitigation Plan
Who to sponsor?
•Consultants
•Non-profit Agencies
•Attorneys
•Developers
How to invite attendees?
•Post
Event set-Up
•Moderator
•Fee
•Location
•Food
•Entertainment
Final Line Up
•FDEP – Karen Bickford
•U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers – Chuck Scheppell
•Lee County – Roland Ottolini
•SFWMD – Jacque Rippe
•Estero Bay Nutrient Management Partnership –
Janet Strutzel
•Conservancy – Gary Davis
•Indian River Lagoon – Paul Millar
Invitation
WATERSHED APPROACH
OVERVIEW
July 2004
US Army Corps
of Engineers Jacksonville District
Colored areas are the 28 “areas”
Outlined in black are the 52 USGS HUCs
Watershed Approach
• Take an overall view of watershed
– Water quality needs
– Aquatic habitat needs
• Shape the environment, not the project
• Less focus on on-site, in-kind
• Interagency coordination, use of ADID’s, local planning efforts, etc
Watershed Approaches
• SAMPs and ADIDs
– Bird Drive Basin, Hole in the Dounut
– Meadowlands experience
• Regional EIS, Southwest Florida EIS
– Identify issues, help in planning
• Regional studies, or information gathering
• Permit by permit evaluation (need framework)
• Jacksonville District using all approaches
Water Management Update Southwest Florida
Environmental Initiatives Conference
Jacque Rippe, P.E., Director Lower West Coast Service Center
September 24, 2004
LOWER WEST COAST
SERVICE AREA
•Lee
•Collier
•Hendry
•Glades
•Charlotte
Hot Topics
• Lake Okeechobee Releases
• Legislative Local Initiative
• Babcock Ranch
• Everglades Restoration
• Tributary Restoration
• Impaired Waters
• Real-Time Water Quality Information
• Regulatory News
The Initiatives
• Caloosahatchee River Restoration:
$3,000,000
• Naples Bay Restoration: $2,090,00
• Estero Bay Restoration: $850,000
• Charlotte Harbor Initiative: $1,000,000
• Big Cypress Basin Restoration: $500,000
• C-139 Basin Initiative: $500,000
• Lake Trafford Restoration: $2,000,000
75
41
Punta Gorda
Cape Coral
Fort Myers
Bonita Springs
LEE
CHARLOTTE
GLADES
COLLIER
HENDRY
DE SOTO
HIGHLANDS
Lake Okeechobee
Okeechobee
Fisheating Creek Conservation Easement
Brighton Indian Reserve
Babcock / Webb
Charlotte Harbor
Preserve
Babcock Ranch
Gulf of Mexico
Potential Partners
• NRCS/WRP
• U.S. Department of the Interior
– U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
– National Park Service
• Florida Department of Environmental Protection
• South Florida Water Management District
• Charlotte County
• Lee County
• Babcock Preservation Partnership - a public / private effort
FDEP South District
TMDL Program
Karen Bickford, Environmental
Manager
Florida Department of Environmental
Protection
Watershed Management and
Restoration
239-332-6975
TMDLs in a Nutshell
What’s a TMDL?
A value determined using
Florida’sImpaired Waters Rule (F.A.C.
62303) methodology to be the
maximumamount of pollutant loading
that can be discharged to a healthy
water body.
City of Cocoa; Valuing
Stormwater as a Resource
Everett J. Wegerif, P.E.
Deputy Director of Utilities
City of Cocoa, Florida ______________________________________
Roger F. Dykes, Jr.
Watershed Hydrologist
City of Cocoa, Florida
Think Outside the Box--
– Many agencies now consider
stormwater a waste product to be
removed quickly and disposed of in the
most efficient manner
– BUT - Stormwater can be a tremendous
source of fresh water
City of Cocoa’s Experience
• Stormwater can be a valuable resource as a
supplemental reclaimed water source
• Stormwater must be available when it is needed
• Improved storage techniques to make more
water available during dry periods
• Non-potable water distribution systems are
needed to conserve other sources
Lee County Division of
Natural Resources
Roland Ottolini
Division Director
Lee County Division of
Natural Resources
SECTIONS:
• Marine Services
• Water Resources
• Environmental
Current Projected
Ten Mile Filter Marsh Project
• A Sustainable Program for Mitigating Impacts of Needed Public Works Projects.
• A Comprehensive Program for Restoring, Maintaining, and Preserving Valued Natural Systems.
• A Model Framework for Public/Public and Public/Private Partnerships.
• A “Pre-endorsed List” for Private Conservation or Development Proposals.
The Lee Master Mitigation Plan
4 Goals
Southwest Florida water
quality issues
Presented to Agency for Bay Management’s
Southwest Florida Environmental Initiatives
Conference
September 24, 2004
Gary A. Davis, Director
Environmental Policy
Conservancy of Southwest Florida
Major Coastal Watershed
Issues In Southwest Florida
• Water Quality – Stormwater Runoff--Nutrient Pollution
• Existing urban areas
• New development
• Agriculture
– Pesticide Pollution
– Wetlands Loss/Flowway Loss
• Water Quantity – Drainage Projects
– Lake Okeechobee Operation
Major Water Initiatives in
Southwest Florida
• Water Quality – SWF EIS/ACOE 404 Permits
– SWF Feasibility Study
– TMDL Program
– SFWMD Stormwater/ERP Permits
– Estero Bay Nutrient Management Partnership
• Water Quantity – CERP; SWF Feasibility Study
– MFL and Water Reservations
– WSE Schedule for Lake Okeechobee
Background: “Harper Methodology”
Used for Corps Permits • Version 1 (March 2003)
• Meeting April 30, 2003--Harper Methodology “accepted” by EPA, Corps, SFWMD, DEP
• Final Version (Sept. 2003) -- several changes
• Applicants for SFWMD ERPs submit calculations where > 5 acres wetlands fill
• SFWMD Fort Myers staff review and include conclusion about post- versus pre-development loadings in staff report for ERP
• Corps accepts water quality certification, EPA does not question
Conservancy SFWMD Rule
Challenge
• Basis Of Review Rule Challenge – Filed November 2004
– Administrative Challenge to Section 5 of the SFWMD Basis of Review for Environmental Resource Permits
• District’s stormwater permit rules fail to address dissolved nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) – The BOR creates a presumption that discharges from
stormwater ponds of certain size meet water quality standards
– That presumption is based on design criteria to remove 80% solids and do not address dissolved nutrients
Water Quality Initiative
• In February 2004 parties decided to place the case on hold and negotiate a settlement with the goal of developing a new SFWMD stormwater permitting rule
• The Conservancy and the District, along with interested parties, are in negotiations to settle the rule challenge. – The group has met five times since February 3,
2004
– The negotiations are ongoing
Conclusions
• SFWMD Basis of Review needs to be amended to address nutrient pollution from new development projects in Southwest Florida
• Work should continue on retrofitting existing sources
• We support additional BMPs and new presumptive criteria in SFWMD rules, if demonstrated to achieve no increase in pollutant discharge
• Harper methodology should be repudiated by EPA and Corps as methodology for assuring water quality in 404 permitting
Conclusions
• Federal, state, and local agencies should work
cooperatively with Conservancy, SFWMD, development
community to develop additional BMPs to improve water
quality in SW Florida
• Follow recommendations of SWFL EIS and avoid large-
scale wetlands impacts to prevent cumulative impacts
• Restore wetlands to restore water quality
EBNMP: A Cooperative
Approach
• Non-regulatory, voluntary participation
• Consortium members pledge to exercise
their best efforts to collectively meet
nitrogen management goals
• Regulatory agency partners agree to
exercise reasonable flexibility within the
framework of their rules in the processing of
permit applications for projects included in
the Action Plan
Problem or Opportunity
• The State of Florida will develop TMDLs
for the watershed by 2007
• TMDL requires stakeholders to develop a
Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP),
under FDEP guidance
• After TMDL, stakeholders are compelled
by law to implement specific activities as
opposed to voluntary action prior to the
TMDL
Setting Goals for Developing Nutrient Management Strategies
National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council
• Set quantitative resource management
goals (such as sea grass coverage)
• Determine environmental requirements
needed to meet the restoration goal
• Define and implement the strategies
needed to achieve the load management
goal
SFWMD/Lee County – land acquisition
WERC/SFWMD/Lee County – Ten Mile Canal filter marsh
SWFWC/Lee County/SFWMD – stormwater utility
EPA/Lee County – initiative
Lee County – mitigation and preservation strategy
Ongoing
Nutrient
Management
Projects in
Estero Bay
Watershed
Southwest Florida Environmental
Initiative Conference September
24, 2004
Indian River Lagoon
… The East Coast Experience
Paul Millar
Director of Water Resources
Loxahatchee River District
C-44
C-23
C-24
C-25 Indian River
Lagoon
St. Lucie
River
Lake
Okeechobee
St. Lucie Issues Team
• Established in 1998 by the South Florida Ecosystem
Restoration Task Force
• 17 Agency and Stakeholder groups represented
• 92 projects funded to date
• Total funding to date - $ 69 Million
$ 34.5 Million - State Allocations or Federal funding
$ 34.5 Million - Local Match Dollars
Summary
• Good PR for company
• Know political climate
• Knowledge
• Need to follow up
• Identify projects
• Synergy
• Networking / Learn the players
