Water Quality in the Big Horn Basin
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303(d) | The SAP |
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Committee | Watershed Management Plan
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and AFO/CAFOs
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Shell River
Conservation
Districts were formed in 1945 following the devastating days of the "Dust
Bowl." The public elects residents from within the district to serve as
Conservation District Supervisors. Five Supervisors on the board serve without
pay, and work with citizens and government agencies in the District. South Big
Horn Conservation District (SBHCD) is responsible for setting local priorities
for natural resource concerns. Once priorities are established, the District
develops the necessary programs or utilizes existing local, state and federal
programs to address resource concerns. According to Wyoming Conservation
District Law, a Conservation District has the authority to “… develop
watershed plans, water quality monitoring and water quality improvement
projects…” They are also considered parent districts for landowner advisory
committees, which “are structured to provide local landowners with the
opportunity to develop mutual water development and rehabilitative plans and
legal authority to fund these plans.”
SBHCD’s
concerns over water quality in our county began in early 1995 with the
completion of a Needs Assessment Study conducted by the Wyoming DEQ (Dept. of
Environmental Quality). Although the SBHCD had been committed and involved in
various water quality issues for several years, the community and the District
saw the situation becoming more critical in the future and believed that the
District should become more involved in evaluating watershed conditions. A
watershed is a region of land with streams that drain into a common water body,
such as the Bighorn River. The District’s Manager, Janet Hallsted began taking classes to
become more familiar with proper testing techniques and became certified in
water quality monitoring in 1998.
Work began with DEQ in determining what data should be collected and tested. Monitoring sites were established and monitoring began the summer of 1996, testing for chemicals, oxygen content, and fecal coliform. Preliminary results showed minor imbalances for almost all the categories tested with the exception of an over abundance of fecal coliform. Fecal coliform bacteria are found in the feces of humans and warm-blooded animals. These bacteria can enter rivers from direct discharge or storm runoff carrying agricultural and wildlife wastes and from human sewage discharged into the water. Fecal coliform in a water body is an indicator that there is a problem in the water but is not pathogenic. Pathogenic organisms are bacteria, viruses, and parasites that cause diseases and illness. Fecal coliform bacteria occur naturally in the human digestive tract and aids in the digestion of food. Pathogenic organisms along with fecal coliform together generate Escherichia coli (E. coli), which can cause deadly infections.
During the summer of 2000 USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) conducted a synoptic study for pathogen indicators and samples were analyzed for fecal coliform and E. coli. USGS had a monitoring site near the Town of Basin and had been doing monitoring on a quarterly basis for many years collecting data for fecal coliform as well as other contaminants. DEQ then published the federally required 303(d) List of Impaired Streams naming watersheds that were impaired for various reasons, most of which were fecal coliform. This list confirmed the Big HornRiver as impaired for fecal coliform and indicated that other streams in our District needed more testing. All South Big Horn watersheds have been listed as threatened or impaired for fecal coliform since 2002.
|
Table A Impaired Waters |
Table C Threatened Waters |
|
Nowood
River |
Paintrock
Creek |
SBHCD,
along with the Wy Assoc. of Conservation Districts (WACD), felt that the
placement of any water body on the 303(d) list should occur based on sound,
scientific data and that solving these issues requires local people making local
decisions. Because of the efforts and attention of the WACD, Wyoming is the only
state that has been allowed the option of loca problem solving. In all other
states the government has come into communities and writes plans for them.
Government Plans require discharge permits for all sources of pollution which is
then regulated. The Clean Water Act establishes the Water Quality Standards and
TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) programs. Water Quality Standards are set by
States, Territories, and Tribes, identifying uses for each water body; drinking
water supply, contact recreation (swimming), and aquatic life support (fishing),
and the scientific criteria to support that use. A TMDL is the sum of the
allowable loads of a single 
pollutant
from all contributing point and non-point (coming from inconsistent) sources. If
a water body is not meeting the Water Quality Standard because of a natural
background issue (ex. wildlife waste), a site specific standard can be written
stating that this stretch of water body will never meet the standard and the
standard can then be changed. All human caused pollution needs to be eliminated
before this can be done.
Lee & Janet Hallsted monitoring on Shell Creek
The
first meeting of land owners affected by EPA listings of the streams in the
SBHCD was held on January 16, 2001, hosted by
SBHCD. Bobbie Frank, Executive Director of the WACD, spoke on the Clean Water
Act, TMDL regulations, and the implications of the Big Horn River listings. The District was advised to contract with a water quality
consultant to write a Sampling Analysis Plan (SAP). SAP’s must be written and
in place before credible water testing can be undertaken. An SAP must include:
S
Information on stream background
S
Project area descriptions
S
A purpose statement developed by
an advisory group
S
Monitoring procedure
In
a February 2001 meeting, SBHCD and the landowner group were made aware of
funding available from the Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts (WACD)
for watershed assessment and monitoring. Three grants have since been awarded to
South Big Horn Conservation District and have been used for monitoring equipment
and maintenance, testing facility fees, education seminars and information
distributed to the public. The District initiated a draft SAP and the creation
of a formal Landowner Steering Committee was discussed. In March, the SAP was
presented and forwarded to the DEQ for approval. Again, the group discussed
whether or not a 
more
formal steering group should be formed. At the time, the general consensus was
that an informal group of landowners, commissioners, county health nurse, and
other interested individuals was appropriate for the time being. The need for a
steering committee would be re-evaluated once the spring and fall water
monitoring was completed and test results were available.
Janet keeping records
In
a letter to EPA dated July 2001, WACD addressed EPA’s published proposed rules
and regulations for Animal Feeding Operations water quality solutions. The
association disagreed with nearly all of the proposals in the document. Some of
WACDs reservations were:
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Many more
Wyoming livestock producers would be affected than what EPA had projected.
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Regulation
would be established without trying for volunteer cooperation with producers
first.
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Lack of science
to defend the need for the proposed revisions.
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Federal
financial assistance was needed to accomplish goals.
WACD concluded that cooperative partnerships would be far more effective in protecting water quality than proposed rules as published. The State of Wyoming was given until 2006 to correct feed lot conditions and then government regulation will commence.
WACD
presented AFO/CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation) workshops in the state
throughout 2001 & 02 disclosing information on potential impacts livestock
operations may have on water quality. A few of the problems associated with
animal waste discharges include:
S
Settling of solids in streambeds destroying spawning areas and fish food
organisms
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Bacterial and viral concentrations increasing potential spread of disease
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Nitrogen compounds killing aquatic organisms by ammonia toxicity
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Infiltration of nitrates into ground water
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Nuisance conditions such as odor, rodents, and fly problems
WACD offers help with Best Management Practices (BMPs) that are determined to be the most feasible means of preventing or reducing non-point source pollution. BMP examples could include fencing, filter strips, grazing management, waste management/utilization, dikes, diversions, water and sediment control basins, tanks, and wells.
Time for a Formal Landowner Steering Committee
The Water Quality Steering Committee finally began to take shape at a land owner meeting in November of 2002. Jennifer Mercer and Mike Whaley were elected as co-chairs and the original members of the Steering Committee were:
Basin
– Jim Whipps, Troy Cooper, Bill Duncan, Ken Fink, Jim Waller
Emblem - Kay
Neves, Gordon Preis
Greybull –
Earl Jensen, Mike Whaley
Hyattville – Bill Greer, Justin & Jennifer Mercer
Shell – Jack Clucas
Otto/Burlington – Chris Bullinger, Terry Jones
Manderson – John & Nancy Joyce, Susan Wiley, Bill Greer, Cecil Mullins
Landowner meetings, which have been open to the public, have been held nearly every month Since February 2003. Plans were made for community meetings and efforts were concentrated on preparing to distribute information to the public. Since then Mike Whaley has stepped down as co-chair and Jennifer Mercer is now the sole Chair for the committee. Anyone who would like to participate in the efforts of the land owners or to offer help in your area of expertise, contact Janet at the South Big Horn Conservation office at 765-2483 (ext. 3), or Jennifer Mercer, 469-2301 for the next meeting date.
The District and Committee agreed to continue monitoring at that time. Water testing is currently proceeding. Testing has been narrowed to E-Coli, which DEQ has established as a better indicator of problem levels. The standard for E-Coli at the present is 126 colonies per 100 ml of water samples taken at each site.
The
state of Wyoming has taken the lead in the development of locally led watershed
plans to address impaired water as an alternative to TMDLs. Upon completion of a
watershed plan by land owners within the watershed, the Conservation District
will submit it to DEQ for acceptance into the State Water Quality planning
process. Since the Districts have chosen this option the State will prioritize
the TMDL as low and may never write one. The State is legally accountable to EPA
for ensuring watershed plans are completed in a reasonable time frame. In June
of 2002 WACD, DEQ, NRCS, and Wy Dept of Ag sent a letter of instruction and a
timeline for completion of watershed management plans to all of the Conservation
Districts in Wyoming.
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Water bodies listed prior to the
2002 list – management plan finalized within six (6) years of the listing –
for water bodies on the 1998 list this would make the deadline year 2004, those
on the 2000 list would be 2006.
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Water bodies on the 2002 list
and after – watershed management plan finalized within four (4) years of the
listing or by 2006 for those on the 2002 list.
The Committee began drafting a watershed plan in June 2003. The plan at a minimum must include goals for the watersheds, a resource description, watershed assessment including historical data, watershed improvement actions and recommendations, dates of actions and goals reached, monitoring and evaluation, and documents of support or explanation. So far, a watershed inventory and other portions of the plan have been completed with the help of WACD’s Watershed Coordinator.
The Water Quality Steering Committee started their public education campaign September 2003 focusing on septic issues with press releases, utility bill inserts, information in UW Extension and Security State Bank newsletters. Five community meetings were held that October and December for the residents of Manderson, Greybull, Basin, Shell, Burlington, Emblem, and Hyattville areas. The main points discussed were:
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Listed streams and background information related to the streams.
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Introduction of
the Water Quality Steering Committee and their responsibilities.
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Educational
information provided on septic systems and septic regulations.
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AFO/CAFO
updates.
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Grant
assistance being sought.
Financial Aid for Septic Systems and AFO/CAFOs
In April 2003, the committee wrote a letter of support to urge the Wyoming Non-Point Task Force to recognize that faulty septic systems were contributing to pollution and the need to fund their improvement. At the time there was no funding for septic problems in the state and no contaminated water body will be de-listed before addressing them. The effort was successful and the State released 319 funds (grants) for local septic projects. This year, in February 2004, the committee received notice from DEQ that the funds applied for last August have been approved for the full amount requested. The funds are now available for cost-share in repairing and installing legal septic systems and feedlots with "unacceptable conditions". The County Planner, Engineer, and NRCS have committed their technical assistance to the projects. Jennifer Mercer, co-chair of the Water Quality Committee (307 469-2301) may be contacted to apply for a portion of this grant.
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08/30/2006 by Nadine Hibbert
Water
Quality Links
US Environmental Protection
Agency
http://www.epa.gov/
Pam Protects Against
Pollutants and Pathogens
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul02/pam0702.htm
