Ag/NPS

Dane County Proposed Ordinance Changes for Manure Management and Agricultural Performance Standards

The Dane County meetings regarding the proposed ordinance changes for manure management and agricultural performance standards have been rescheduled due to the inclement weather.  The meeting information is available on the Dane County website at:  https://lwrd.countyofdane.com/Event/Home/Index/12 and listed below.

• Monday, February 4th at 7pm at the Windsor Village Hall
• Tuesday, February 12th at 7pm at the Deer Creek Sportsman’s Club.

The presentations will be very similar to the last informational meeting held in December as well as the presentation provided to EANR and Lakes & Watershed Commission.

DATCP Producer-Led Watershed Grant Program Webinar

If you are a recipient of a 2019 Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grant, this webinar will be helpful in providing information on reimbursements, expectations, DATCP resources, reporting requirements and more. Please view this YouTube link to watch the webinar: click here

If you have any questions, please reach out to the program manager at Rachel.Rushmann@wi.gov or by phone 608-224-4622.

What to Expect for Wisconsin’s Ag Economy in 2019

An interview with Paul Mitchell, UW Extension Agricultural Economist, explores what farmers can expect for 2019 and gives an overview of the upcoming Wisconsin Agricultural Outlook Forum.

• What can farmers expect in 2019
• Farm Bill changes
• Wisconsin Ag Outlook Forum overview
• Where to find information about the Ag Outlook Forum

You may view the latest post here.

Monitoring

Water Quality Assessment

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is seeking public assistance to improve evaluation of the state’s surface water quality.  Assistance is requested in two forms:  guidance comments and water quality data.  The submission period for both runs from January 22 to March 1, 2019.

Guidance Comments

The Wisconsin Consolidated Assessment and Listing Methodology, known as WisCALM, provides guidance to assess surface water quality and trends against standards set by the Clean Water Act. The methodology is updated for each biennial surface water assessment cycle and the current guidance is being updated for the 2020 cycle.

This year’s updates include:

• An updated definition of the Impaired Waters List and creation of the Restoration Waters List and Healthy Waters List;
• Chlorophyll-a lake listing benchmark and terminology change; and
• Addition of a Quick Link section with links including Wisconsin administrative code, federal guidance documents, and monitoring strategies and protocols among others.

“Wisconsin’s surface water quality is good and improving in many areas, but by updating the technical guidance and maintaining the impaired waters list, the state works to address changes through targeted improvement plans,” said Ashley Beranek, DNR water resources management specialist.

A copy of the draft guidance can be downloaded by clicking on the following link: Draft 2020 WisCALM. For more about these changes, visit dnr.wi.gov and refer to the Water condition assessments & reporting page.  Public comments on the latest WisCALM guidance can be submitted to: dnrimpairedwaters@wisconsin.gov or via mail to Ashley Beranek, DNR, Bureau of Water Quality, 101 S. Webster St. WQ/3 Madison, WI 53707.

Surface Water Data

Every two years, the DNR requests that citizens and interested groups submit their surface water data (biological, chemical and physical). Data meeting specified requirements will be evaluated, along with department data, to assess the quality of the state’s water resources and to pinpoint problem areas. In accordance with the Clean Water Act, DNR uses these assessments to prepare a statewide Integrated Water Quality Report (“Integrated Report”), which includes an updated list of impaired waters. 

DNR is especially interested in data that:

• Documents improvement due to implementation of pollution control practices;
• Documents healthy waters;
• Supports planning for restoration or protection of waterbodies;
• Identifies public health risks; or
• Is from waterbodies in the Northeast Lakeshore areas, Fox River (Southeast) basin, or Grant, Platte, Sugar or Pecatonica River basins.

To enable DNR to efficiently process the data, a specific data submittal format is used. Data must be submitted electronically and the information must be submitted in specific Excel spreadsheet formats, along with quality assurance documentation. Templates and further instructions are available on the Surface Water Assessments webpage

Outreach

Updated! Rain Gardens – A Guide for Homeowners and Landscapers

The Wisconsin Standards Oversight Council and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources have updated the “Rain Gardens – A Guide for Homeowners and Landscapers,” formally known as “Rain Gardens – A How-to Manual.”

 The full brochure version and a print-friendly version, and additional rain garden information can be found on the department’s Rain Garden web page.

The guide covers the basics of rain garden sizing and siting, building a functional and beautiful design, appropriate maintenance, and recommended plants.

Stormwater

Urban Nonpoint Source Planning Grants

Urban Nonpoint Source & Storm Water (UNPS&SW) Planning Grant Applications for planning projects beginning in 2020 are now available on the DNR’s UNPS&SW webpage.

Cities, villages, towns, counties, regional planning commissions, tribal governments and special purpose lake, sewage, or sanitary districts have until April 15, 2019 to submit applications for 2020 planning projects. Urban Nonpoint Source Construction grant applications will not be solicited in 2019 but will be solicited again in 2020.

This grant program offers local governments competitive grants to control pollution that is carried by storm water runoff from diffuse urban sources. The grants reimburse costs of planning projects that control this type of pollution. Eligible planning projects include:

• Storm water management planning for urban areas;
• Preparation of local ordinances affecting storm water discharge
• Evaluation of alternatives for local financing of urban runoff control programs;
• Administrative costs for initial establishment of local storm water management funding programs; and
• Public information and education activities.

A webinar for this grant program is scheduled on Feb. 25, noon to 1:30 p.m. The webinar offers an overview of the UNPS-Planning grant program, what's changed since the last grant cycle, and what makes a good planning project.  Click here (exit DNR) to register for the webinar.

New Stormwater Specialist

We are pleased to introduce our new storm water specialist, Samantha (Sam) Katt. Samantha has MS4 compliance responsibilities for Sheboygan, Ozaukee, Washington, Waukesha, Milwaukee, Walworth, Racine, and Kenosha.  Sam holds a Master of Science in Freshwater Sciences and Technology with an emphasis in Freshwater Management and Policy from the UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences. During her graduate studies, Samantha worked for the City of Milwaukee Environmental Collaboration Office as the original developer of the City’s Green Infrastructure Plan. Samantha’s most recent experience is as a Project Manager for Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust (Sweet Water). It should come as no surprise that she loves being outdoors- hiking, camping, and visiting National Parks.

Wastewater

Watershed-Based Permit Compliance Continues to Grow!

The Rock River Basin TMDL was formally published and accepted by USEPA in August 2011.  At the time, the TMDL included nearly 90 WPDES permitted waste-water facilities representing Publicly Operated Treatment Works (POTWs), Industrial Facilities (e.g. power plants, manufacturing, cooling water, etc.), and food processing (e.g. cheese factories, canneries, etc.).  Of these, the following have chosen Water Quality Trading or Adaptive Management as an alternative watershed-based permit compliance option (a number of additional facilities are considering these options, though have not yet formally made a decision):

• Beaver Dam
• Cambridge/Oakland
• Deerfield
• Fontana/Walworth
• Grande Cheese
• Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District
• Milton
• NASCO
• Oconomowoc
• Oregon
• Riverside Energy (Alliant - Janesville)
• Springfield Clean Water
• Stoughton
• WDNR Nevin Fish Hatchery

If you are interested in exploring if/how these watershed-based permit compliance options might be suitable for your own facility, please ask your DNR Wastewater Engineer, or Amy Garbe - Adaptive Management and Water Quality Trading Coordinator for the Rock River Basin.

Grants

Water Resources Research
National Competitive Grants Program

Interested Water Resources Investigators:  As a result of the complexity of an administrative approval process and the prolonged government shutdown, we are on a relatively tight deadline to accept preproposals for the 2019 National Institutes for Water Resources Competitive Grants Program. We (UW, USGS) truly apologize for the brevity of the period for the call, but we are constrained by the terms of the call that state “Preproposals must be submitted to your State Institute or Center by 5:00 PM, Eastern Time (4:00 PM Central Time), February 15, 2018”. Please look through the attached call for proposals to determine if you are interested in submitting and meeting the deadline. 

Please make sure you do the following: 

1. Use Attachment A in the attached Call for Proposals to construct your preproposal. There is a 4-page limit (not including references). 

2. Create a pdf file of your preproposal and email it to Melissa Boyce (maboyce@wisc.edu) by 4 PM Central on Friday, February 15. We need a timestamp that your proposal was received on time, so the email to Melissa serves as a submission check. We will confirm (reply) that your preproposal was received on time.

"The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National Institutes for Water Resources requests proposals for matching grants to support research on the topic of improving and enhancing the nation’s water supply, including evaluation of innovative approaches to water treatment, infrastructure design, retrofitting, maintenance, management, and replacement; exploration and advancement of our understanding of changes in the quantity and quality of water resources in response to a changing climate, population shifts, and land use changes; development of methods for better estimation of water supply, both surface and groundwater, including estimation of the physical supply and of the economic supply of water; development and evaluation of processes and governance mechanisms for integrated surface/ground water management; and the evaluation and assessment of conservation practices." Full Grant Application