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WRAS – Watershed Restoration Action Strategy
(Note: This is a 52-page .pdf file from which I've excerpted most of the first five pages. It is recommended that the reader visit the originating website -- http://www.in.gov/idem/water/planbr/wsm/05080003part1.pdf -- and study the entire 52 pages of language deception. I have only 'bolded' some of the Red Flag words and phrases -- but it should give you a definite idea of how rife this document is with language deception. The reader's emotions are being aroused, not his/her cognitive thinking. Variations of the word 'protect' run throughout, and should be replaced with the word 'control' to more clearly illustrate the intent and agenda.)
The Whitewater Watershed Restoration Action Strategy (WRAS) is intended to be a living document designed to assist restoration and protection efforts of stakeholders in their sub-watersheds. As a "living document" information contained within the WRAS will need to be revised and updated periodically.
The WRAS is divided into two parts:
Part I, Characterization and Responsibilities
and Part II, Concerns and Recommendations.
The first draft of the Whitewater WRAS was released for public review during the spring of 2002. A 60-day public comment period followed the public meetings at which this WRAS document was introduced. A final version of the WRAS includes public comments received during the 60-day comment period. For comments to be included in the final version, they were required to be written and submitted to WHPA, Inc. (the firm contracted to produce this WRAS) during the comment period. Wittman Hydro Planning Associates, Inc., 320 West Eighth Street, Showers Plaza, Suite 201, Bloomington, IN 47404. 812-333-9399, inquiry@wittmanhydro.com
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The overall goal and purpose of Part I of the Watershed Restoration Action Strategy (WRAS) is to provide a reference point and map to assist local citizens with improving water quality. The major water quality concerns and recommended management strategies will be addressed in Part II: Concerns and Recommendations of the WRAS. This Strategy broadly covers the entire watershed; therefore, it is intended to be an overall strategy and does not dictate management and activities at the stream site or segment level. Water quality management decisions and activities for individual portions of the watershed are most effective and efficient when managed through sub-watershed plans. However, these subwatershed plans must also consider the impact on the watershed as a whole. This Strategy is intended to be a fluid document in order to respond to the changing and dynamic quality of our environment. Therefore, this Strategy will require revision when updated information becomes available. Additionally, the reader may notice that some of the information in this Strategy is provided in duplicate. This is a result of the interconnectedness of the issues discussed and an assumption made by the authors that many readers may only be interested in a few sections of this Strategy.
Overview of the Whitewater Watershed - The Whitewater River rises in southern Randolph and Wayne Counties and flows in two main branches, which are just 10 miles apart as they flow southward before joining at Brookville. From here the Whitewater flows southeasterly into Ohio where it eventually joins the Miami River, a tributary of the Ohio River. A dam on the East Fork of the Whitewater near Brookville created a 5,260-acre reservoir, providing many recreational opportunities. While there is no true white water on the river, there are many rapids due to the steep gradient. The Whitewater is the swiftest river in Indiana, falling an average of six feet per mile. The watershed is generally steep, dissected land with farming taking place in the bottomlands and gently rolling uplands. Natural forest vegetation is limited to the banks of the watercourses and other slopes too steep to cultivate. The river was formed as the retreating glacial ice sheet dumped its meltwater to flow toward the Ohio River. Thick deposits of sand and gravel resulted and still characterize the river's bottom today (IDNR 1999).
Current Status of Water Quality in the Whitewater Watershed - Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires states to identify waters that do not meet, or are not expected to meet, applicable water quality standards. The Clean Water Act Section 303(d) list for Indiana provides a basis for understanding the current status of water quality in the Whitewater Watershed. The waterbodies listed in Table 0-1 are on Indiana's 1998 Clean Water Act Section 303(d) list submitted to and approved by EPA (IDEM 1998). The 2002 draft 303(d) list has been completed and the final list will be released in October 2002. The draft 2002 list is not included in this document, but is available from IDEM's Office of Water Quality (http://www.state.in.us/idem/water/planbr/wqs/303d.html).
Water Quality Goal - The overall water quality goal for the Whitewater Watershed is that all waterbodies meet the applicable water quality standards for their designated uses as determined by the State of Indiana, under the provisions of the Clean Water Act.
Part I, Chapter 1: Characterization and Responsibilities.
1. Introduction - The Clean Water Action Plan was developed by federal agencies in 1998 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Clean Water Act and to "help revitalize the nation's commitment to our valuable water resources." The Plan proposed that "states and tribes should work with public agencies and private-sector organizations and citizens to develop, based on the initial schedule for Whitewater Watershed Restoration Action Strategy the first two years, Watershed Restoration Action Strategies, for watersheds most in need of restoration" (USEPA 1998). A WRAS is essentially a large-scale coordination plan for an eight-digit hydrologic unit watershed. Each year, more assessments and data may become available. This will require amendments to the WRAS, which must be flexible and broad enough to accommodate change. The WRAS will also foster greater cooperation among State and Federal agencies, which should result in more effective use of personnel and resources. The WRAS provides an opportunity to assemble, in one place, projects and monitoring that have been completed or are on-going within a watershed. It also allows agencies and stakeholders to compare watershed goals and provides a guide for future work within a watershed. The WRAS for the Whitewater watershed contains two parts. Part I provides a characterization of water quality in the watershed and agency responsibilities. Part II provides a discussion of resource concerns and recommended strategies.
1.1 Purpose of This Document - The overall goal and purpose of the Watershed Restoration Action Strategy Part I is to provide a reference point and roadmap to assist with improving water quality. Part I is a compilation of information, facts, and local concerns in this watershed. It will serve as a reference document for watershed groups and others involved in the assessment and planning of watershed restoration activities. Part I of the Strategy is intended to be a fluid document in order to respond to the changing and dynamic quality of our environment. Therefore, it will require revision when updated information becomes available.
1.2 Guide to the Use of This Document -
Chapter 1: Introduction - This Chapter provides a non-technical description of the purpose of Part 1 of the Strategy. This Chapter also provides an overview of stakeholder groups in the Whitewater watershed.
Chapter 2: General Watershed Description - Some of the specific topics covered in this chapter include: An overview of the watershed; Hydrology of the watershed; A summary of land use within the watershed; Natural resources in the watershed; Population statistics; Major water uses in the watershed; Water quality classifications and standards.
Chapter 3: Causes and Sources of Water Pollution - This Chapter describes a number of important causes of water quality impacts including biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), toxic substances, nutrients, E. coli bacteria and others. This Chapter also describes both point and nonpoint sources of pollution. Chapter 4: Water Quality and Use Support Ratings - This Chapter describes the various types of water quality monitoring conducted by IDEM. It summarizes water quality in the watershed based on Office of Water Quality data, and presents a summary of use support ratings for those surface waters that have been monitored or evaluated.
Chapter 5: State and Federal Water Quality Programs - Chapter 5 summarizes the existing State and Federal point and nonpoint source pollution control programs available to address water quality problems. These programs are management tools available for addressing the priority water quality concerns and issues that are discussed in Part II of the Strategy.
Chapter 5 also describes the concept of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs).
TMDLs represent management strategies aimed at controlling point and nonpoint source pollutants.
IDEM's TMDL Strategy will also be discussed.
1.3 Stakeholder Groups in the Watershed - The Whitewater watershed contains several stakeholder groups that have different missions (Appendix C). Many of these groups have a long history of conservation work in the Whitewater watershed. The following discussions briefly describe some of the watershed groups.
Natural Resources Conservation Service - The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment. The NRCS offers landowners financial, technical, and educational assistance to implement conservation practices on privately owned land.
Using this help, farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners apply practices that reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, and enhance cropland, forestland, wetlands, grazing lands, and wildlife habitat.
Incentives offered by USDA promote sustainable agricultural and forestry practices, which protect and conserve valuable farm and forestland for future generations.
USDA assistance also helps individuals and communities restore natural resources after floods, fires, or other natural disasters.
Soil and Water Conservation Districts - Local Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) assist land users and residents in the protection and improvement of the local environment. SWCDs can provide technical and financial assistance to local watershed conservation groups.
Central Indiana Land Trust, Inc. - The Central Indiana Land Trust (CILTI) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation formed in 1990. CILTI maintains that development must be balanced with adequate greenspace. It operates in a regional capacity throughout central Indiana, and actively seeks to protect a broad array of natural areas from small urban greenspaces to pristine nature preserves of high biological integrity.
Historic Hoosier Hills RC & D, Inc. - The vision of Historic Hoosier Hills Resource Conservation and Development is to serve as a catalyst to motivate local people to solve overall economic and natural resources problems of the area, and to properly develop, utilize, and conserve our natural and human resources. Projects have included implementing an EQIP Grant to provide alternative livestock watering systems as a tool to promote Management Intensive Grazing in southeastern Indiana, and educational activities such as development of a short video which encourages proper harvesting techniques for Southern Indiana hardwoods.
Hoosier River Watch - Hoosier Riverwatch is a state-sponsored water quality monitoring initiative. The program was started in 1994 to increase public awareness of water quality issues and concerns by training volunteers to monitor stream water quality. Hoosier Riverwatch collaborates with agencies and volunteers to: Increase public involvement in water quality issues through hands-on training of volunteers in stream monitoring and cleanup activities. Educate local communities about the relationship between land use and water quality. Provide water quality information to citizens and governmental agencies working to protect Indiana's rivers and streams.
Fayette County Watershed Initiative - A water quality initiative has been launched in Fayette County for two subwatersheds that drain to the Whitewater River. The effort, funded by a Section 319 Grant from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), will tap public input to develop two "Subwatershed Management Plans." The subwatersheds of focus are the Garrison Creek and Lick Creek Watersheds. The Fayette County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) received this grant to work with citizens, businesses, agriculture, and other "stakeholders" to identify causes and effects of water quality problems in the watershed and to develop recommendations to curb any problems that may exist. The intent is to identify concerns and remedies and apply for funding to implement those remedies. Grant funding became effective in September of 2001 and a professional watershed coordination firm, Goode & Associates, Inc., was hired in January of 2002 to help the process move toward a long-term plan. The plans must be completed by September of 2003.
Fayette/Union County Soil and Water Conservation District - The Union County Soil and Water Conservation District has almost completed a watershed diagnostic study on the Silver Creek and Hanna's Creek watersheds. The study is being conducted through a grant from the Lake and River Enhancement Program, funded through the Department of Natural Resources. The final report is currently undergoing a review process by the Department of Natural Resources. Based on the final results, the SWCD plans to apply for funding to provide cost-share for land treatment practices and to implement other water quality practices that will benefit these areas.
Wayne County Soil and Water Conservation District - In 1997, Indiana Department of Natural Resources in conjunction with Wayne County Soil and Water Conservation District provided cost share funds in the watershed of the Middlefork of the Whitewater River. The funds come from the Lake and River Enhancement program to install conservation practices that help reduce sediment and nutrients entering the Middlefork Reservoir. In addition, the Natural Resource Conservation Service administers the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which provides cost share funds to install conservation practices in the watershed. At the present time, the Wayne County SWCD has been accepted for a 319 grant through the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. They will be hiring a watershed coordinator for the Middlefork Watershed who will be in charge of developing a watershed management plan. The grant starts July of 2002 and ends October 2004. http://www.in.gov/idem/water/planbr/wsm/05080003part1.pdf |