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Targeted conservation keeps valuable nutrients and soil on the field – only the benefits flow downstream. That’s why NRCS is extending its landmark water quality initiatives for another five years.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced plans to extend two of its landmark water quality initiatives for five years. Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative(MRBI) and the National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI) have played a pivotal role in accelerating conservation in water quality by providing targeted funding and technical resources to agricultural producers in the areas that need it most.
In Wisconsin, NWQI has focused conservation in several watersheds since the Initiative’s inception, working in four watersheds in 2018.
“NRCS targeted water quality efforts have steadily demonstrated tremendous benefits in Wisconsin and across America’s landscape and water bodies,” said Angela Biggs, state conservationist for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). “By focusing resources where we can have the best impacts, we’re improving the quality of rivers and streams across the country while also giving producers the tools they need to make good investments on their working lands.” Read more...
A proposed update to the Rock River TMDL, to draft a TMDL specific to Beaver Dam Lake, was published for public comment and review on April 9, 2018 (with public comment through May 8, 2018). Following receipt of public comments and subsequent revisions, the final "Beaver Dam Lake Total Maximum Daily Load for Total Phosphorus, June 20, 2018", was submitted to EPA for review, as an amendment to the "Total Maximum Daily Loads for Total Phosphorus and Total Suspended Solids in the Rock River Basin, July 2011". As of August 17, 2018, EPA has formally approved this amendment. See below for related documents and supporting materials;
Dodge County Farmers for Healthy Soil and Water have their Cover Crop Showcase event
happening September 19th with the first session being held at 10
a.m.
We do have an
Eventbrite registration setup on the farmers website. It is a free event, we
just want to get a head count. If you would register before the field day that
would be great.
Did you miss the The Dodge County Farmers for Healthy Soil and Water Field day in August? While there's no substitute for having been there in person (there was AMAZING turnout, great fields sessions, and a VERY informative talk on why and how climate change may affect farmers), Wisconsin Agriculturalist was there and has written a nice article summarizing the talk by Dr. Hatfield. You can read it for yourself, here....
Farmers whose corn or soybeans are standing in water after this week’s heavy rains in southern Wisconsin might think about enrolling those lands in CREP, says Brian Loeffelholz, who coordinates the program for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
“When we visited some CREP sites in the flooded parts of the state the next day, the value of the program was very clear,” he said. “On one side of the road, corn would be submerged in water, nutrients were likely running off, and reduced yields or complete crop loss looked inevitable. On the other side, CREP lands were doing their job, absorbing and retaining water and keeping the soil and nutrients where they belonged.” More info...
EPA has released a new document that helps watershed managers better target their restoration efforts where they matter most: critical source areas. Critical source areas are those areas within a watershed that contribute a disproportionately large amount of pollutants of concern to the identified water quality problems. They are generally considered to be places where high-level pollutant sources overlap or interact with high pollutant transport potential. This supplement to EPA’s 2008 Watershed Planning Handbook is intended to help watershed project teams define CSAs where appropriate strategies will be implemented to achieve water quality goals in the most efficient manner possible. Both resources are also available here.
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New Team Leader
We are pleased to introduce Jim Amrhein, Water Quality Biologist for the South-Central region of the WDNR, as the new sector team lead for the Water Quality Monitoring Team. Jim has been working with the department for 28 years. He started off in the fish contaminant program before becoming a water quality biologist for the last 17 years.
"I passionately believe that you cannot manage our natural resources from behind a desk – that you need to get out in the field and see the resources for yourself. I really love to put together the picture of what we see in our streams and rivers from a biological standpoint and how it relates to what is happening on the landscape. We all know the secret to water (and habitat) quality is sound land management.
One of the greatest rewards of this job is working collaboratively with landowners to improve streams solve water quality issues. It is really fun to survey streams and watch the reaction on people’s faces when they see all the different fish that may live right on their property, and they never even knew it. It makes people proud of their resources."
Jim has worked extensively in the driftless area, and looks forward to expanding into the Rock River basin. Many of our citizen monitors and Water Action Volunteer partners may already be familiar with Jim from working with him in the Volunteer Monitoring Program in the region.
James (Jim) Amrhein, Water Quality Biologist: (608) 275-3280
State officials are seeking public comment on a draft list of five water quality standards topics proposed as priorities for protecting Wisconsin’s lakes and rivers. This prioritization process, which occurs every three years, is called the triennial standards review. The topics under consideration address things such as levels of toxic pollutants and algal toxins as well as guidance for implementing water quality standards.
Stakeholders are invited to comment on DNR’s draft priority list from August 28 to October 5, 2018. The draft report of the 2018 – 2020 TSR priorities, which includes the list and topic descriptions, is available on the DNR Web site at http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/surfacewater/tsr.html or go to the DNR’s website (http://dnr.wi.gov) and type in the search words “triennial standards review.”
A public hearing will be held on September 21, 2018 from 10:00 to 11:00 AM. This hearing is for citizens to comment on or ask questions about the topics presented. Anyone who would like to participate is invited to join online through a webinar using the link posted on the DNR’s triennial standards review Web page, or in person at the DNR’s Madison office at 101 S. Webster St., Madison, in Room G27 after signing in at the visitor’s desk.
Questions or comments on the triennial standards review process should be directed to Marcia Willhite by calling (608) 267-7425, e-mailing marcia.willhite@wisconsin.gov, or mailing to Wisconsin DNR WT/3, PO Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707.
The 2018 Impaired
Waters List was approved by the EPA as of August 2, 2018. This is now the
official impaired waters list for the state until it is updated again in 2020. For more information;
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Boat Wakes and Lake Shorelines
When: Wednesday
September 12, 2018 at 7PM
Where: Seven Seas
Restaurant, Hartland WI
Join the Clean Water Association and fellow Lake Country community members in an opportunity to learn more about large boat wakes and what can be done to address the challenges they pose to lake users.
- Mark
Riedel, WIDNR: Power and energy of boat wakes
- Mike
Engleson, Wisconsin Lakes: What lake organizations have
done to adcontrol the problem.
This was a highly
ranked issue in our survey at the Healthy Lakes Conference this spring. We
hope you will attend and learn about the effects and solutions involving
this growing sports industry. Please rsvp here
NASECA presents their popular annual classroom/field day which is a great opportunity for engineers, consultants, state/municipal employees, inspectors, contractors, suppliers, developers/builders, landscapers, researchers, and educators to earn 6 CE credits/PDHs.
NEW in 2018! The New Product and Innovation Forum/Vendor Reception will be a fun and informative evening of networking with your colleagues and learning about the latest in stormwater and erosion control products. Join us on Wednesday, September 19 at 5:30 pm at the Holiday Inn Express, Rice Lake for dinner and beverages. Registration is $10 per person and can be submitted online.
Schedule of Events- September 20, 2018
Afternoon Field Demonstrations at American Excelsior Company ErosionLab - 12:45-4:15 pm
Registration is $159 members/$179 non-members and includes continental breakfast, lunch, and 6 CE credits/PDHs. Register online or visit the online event page to download a printable registration form.
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Draft guidance concerning Urban Nonpoint Source and Storm Water (UNPS&SW) Program Planning Grant Application is available for review and comment on the Proposed DNR Program Guidance web page until September 12, 2018. After the 21-day notice period, the department will consider all public comments received, and may revise the draft guidance. The department will make the final guidance available to internal and external stakeholders via the UNPS grant program website.
Please send comments concerning this draft guidance to: DNRNPSPROGRAM@wisconsin.gov.
DNR Updates
Construction-Related Model Ordinance Rule
On August 1, 2018, revisions to Wisconsin
Administrative Code Chapter NR 152 went into effect, updating model
ordinances for construction site erosion and sediment control, and
post-construction storm water management. These revisions:
- include
the updated 2011 performance standards from NR 151;
- mirror
the Department of Natural Resources’ model
ordinance guidance, issued in April 2015;
- do
not create new policies; and
- do
not require local units of government to use either model ordinance.
The department issued the model
ordinances as timely guidance in 2015 to inform Municipal Separate Storm Sewer
System (MS4) permittees before they needed to update and adopt their ordinances
by May 2016 or March 2017, depending on the permit. Issuing the model
ordinances by administrative rule would have exceeded that timeframe.
Contact information: Suzan
Limberg, DNR Storm Water Specialist
General Permit
Questionnaire
The Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources encourages you to participate in our Municipal Separate Storm Sewer
System (MS4) permit program questionnaire. The department will use the
collected information to draft the next general permit in accordance with
applicable state and federal MS4 permit standards. Participation in the
questionnaire is voluntary. The department invites permittees, regional storm
water groups, consultants, and others interested in the MS4 general permit to
participate in the questionnaire. It will close on October 5, 2018.
Access the questionnaire here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WIDNR_MS4Permit
MS4 Program Updates
Webinar
Join us Wednesday, September 12, 2018, at 10:00 AM CDT, for a webinar on:
- a statewide summary of Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) annual reports; and
- MS4 general permit revisions relating to EPA Remand and eReporting Rules.
Please mark your calendar and save this information for viewing. No registration. Viewing limit of 250. The Department of Natural Resources will record the webinar.
- Join from your computer, tablet, or smart phone on the day of the meeting: Join Skype Meeting
- You can also dial in using your phone: 1-866-715-6499, Access Code: 371 164 9161
Subscribe for storm water municipal program email updates
here: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIDNR/subscriber/new
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Wastewater Policy Updates
Wastewater policy updates are distributed via the Gov Delivery subscription based email news service. Follow the link below to subscribe;
Public notices are required by law to alert interested members of the public of the DNR's intention to authorize a Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) discharge to a water of the state. The notices are posted here on the DNR website for 30 days and are also published once in the legal notices section of the local newspaper in the vicinity of the facility. The notice identifies the facility by name, indicates where the discharge is located, and briefly describes the facility's activities.
The public notice document explains how to get more information or comment on the proposed permit action. A member of the public may submit written comments or request that the Department hold a public informational hearing. For comments or requests to be timely, they must be submitted within 30 days from the date of public notice, unless otherwise indicated in the notice.
Public participation procedures are detailed in NR 203, Wis. Adm. Code [PDF exit DNR].
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