CHES BAY TEST 2

Question 1

Why it’s hard to know whether our nonpoint source efforts are working

Answer 1

loads from nonpoint are not estimated based on direct measurements, but instead on control actions, assumptions of their effectiveness, and computer models

Question 2

Drawback of models

Answer 2

do not include multiyear “lags” in delivery as some nutrients linger in soils or move slowly through groundwater.

Question 3

What did National Academy of Sciences’ 2009 evaluation of the Bay Program say?

Answer 3

It was unable to quantify the likely magnitude or even the likely direction of errors in the Bay Program’s tracking of nutrient reductions resulting from management actions in the watershed.

Question 4

What did U.S. Geological Survey 2020 paper find?

Answer 4

over the 20 years between 1992 and 2012 the declining nutrient fluxes to the Bay were mainly due to wastewater treatment upgrades. The trends also reflected widespread declines in atmospheric nitrogen inputs. On the other hand, their empirical model showed essentially no change in nitrogen loads and increasing loads of phosphorus emanating from agriculture, despite considerable efforts to control nutrients.

Question 5

What did the Bay Program management model find?

Answer 5

reductions of both nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural sources of 24% and 45% respectively from 1985 to 2019. And, it shows loads from developed lands increasing by about 45%, opposite the declining trend suggested by the empirical model

Question 6

why do models differ

Answer 6

• methodological differences
• how effects of climatic variability are simulated
• whether lag times are included
• agricultural practices may not be implemented to what is assumed

Question 7

nonpoint source

Answer 7

any source of water pollution that does not meet the CWA legal definition of “point source”

Question 8

where does nonpoint originate from

Answer 8

diffuse

land runoff, precipitation, atmospheric deposition, drainage, seepage or hydrologic modification (Dredging, dams, etc.)

Question 9

what causes nonpoint POLLUTION

Answer 9

rainfall/snowmelt moving over and through the ground - As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters and ground waters

Question 10

examples of nonpoint pollution

Answer 10

• Excess fertilizers
• Oil, grease and toxic chemicals from urban runoff
• Sediment from construction sites and eroding stream banks
• Salt from irrigation practices and acid drainage from abandoned mines
• Atmospheric deposition and hydromodification like channelization and dams

Question 11

what is the largest source of nitro phos and sediment loadings into the bay

Answer 11

ag

Question 12

where are most factory farms with more than 2 million chickens

Answer 12

Maryland eastern shore and Virginia

Question 13

chicken farms are the largest source of _____, with ____ million lbs/year

Answer 13

nitrogen, 24

Question 14

which state has most nitrogen from poultry entering the bay

Answer 14

Pennsylvania (10 million) followed by Maryland (5 million)

Question 15

how much nitrogen pollution from ammonia emissions from poultry

Answer 15

12 million lbs – more than sewage and wastewater treatment

Question 16

how many lbs of manure and how many lbs of nitrogen from manure does poultry produce

Answer 16

5.7 billion lbs

12 million lbs

Question 17

how Poultry Contracts work

Answer 17

• big companies like holly, typson, perdue hire farmers as part of their business
• these companies maintain ownership of the birds, stipulates that farmers can only use their feed, medication, and vaccinations
• these companies do not help farmers get rid of their manure

Question 18

what’s the problem with nonpoint

Answer 18

• leading remaining cause of water quality problems
• effects of nonpoint source pollutants on specific waters vary and may not always be fully assessed
• these pollutants have harmful effects on drinking water supplies, recreation, fisheries and wildlife

Question 19

structural BMPs

Answer 19

• e.g., putting in a constructed wetland or trees for riparian buffer, putting up fencing to prevent cattle from pooping in water
• they do work but typically not to the levels models consider them to be working

Question 20

non-structural BMPs

Answer 20

• e.g., when fertilizer is applied, how much to apply, minimum tillage
• only as good as the commitment of the farmer

Question 21

agronomic need of the crop

Answer 21

the science of what crops need (e.g., using GPS), not just applying fertilizer based on what’s always been done

Question 22

why is tilling bad

Answer 22

every time you till, you make the soil more vulnerable to runoff

Question 23

why are cover crops good for the winter

Answer 23

when it snows there is minimal runoff because there is no exposed soil

Question 24

AFO

Answer 24

the operation must confine its livestock for at least 45 days per year (does not need to be consecutive) and not grow crops or forage where the animals are confined

Question 25

CAFOs

Answer 25

AFO containing animal numbers above a defined threshold

AFOs with at least 37,500 or more chickens with dry manure handling per flock; 25,000 or more laying hens with dry manure handling per flock; 200 or more dairy cattle; 300 or more cattle (including heifers); 750 or more swine weighing greater than 55 pounds each;

Question 26

AFO/CAFO and permitting

Answer 26

state issues a general permit – technology based

Question 27

how many and which states have nonpoint regulations for agriculture

Answer 27

8

Florida, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin

Question 28

Nutrient Management Plans

Answer 28

• specify how much fertilizer, manure or other nutrient sources may be safely applied to crops to achieve yields and prevent excess nutrients from impacting waterways
• must be prepared by a certified University of Maryland specialist, certified private consultant, or farmer who is trained and certified by the department

Question 29

Phosphorus Management Tool

Answer 29

regulates the application of Phosphorus to fields. Farmers with high Soil phosphorus Fertility​ Index Values are required to follow PMT guidelines

Question 30

examples of Nutrient Management Systems

Answer 30

• Matching the application rate with crop needs
• Proper timing of nutrient application
• Conservation tillage
• Filter strips
• denitrification in riparian buffers
• manure holding areas

Question 31

which BMPs have the cheapest cost for reducing 1 lb of nitrogen and phosphorous

Answer 31

agriculture

Question 32

which BMPs have the highest cost for reducing 1 lb of nitrogen and phosphorous

Answer 32

stormwater

Question 33

when, or under what political conditions, will states actually regulate nonpoint?

Answer 33

• when water quality problems become obvious to the relevant populace
• when countervailing interests in water quality—such as waterbased tourism and recreational interests, drinking water quality, and culturally important fisheries—can sometimes overcome at least some political resistance to nonpoint source regulation

Question 34

give examples of how we’re making progess and how we’re not

Answer 34

progress - sewage treatment, emissions reductions from power plants and cars (less deposition)
regress - states are still failing to tackle the big remaining problems: sediment and nutrient pollution from agriculture and stormwater runoff

Question 35

https://grist.org/politics/the-plan-to-protect-the-chesapeake-is-failing-and-its-pennsylvanias-fault/

Answer 35

• EPA is not responding to states’ failure to meet pollution reduction benchmarks
• Pennsylvania’s final Watershed Implementation Plan shows the state falling far behind and lacking funding
• Pennsylvania has already tackled the lowest-hanging fruit — wastewater treatment plant, but most pollution ( 80 percent of the nitrogen Pennsylvania needs to tackle) comes from nonpoint runoff from 33,000 small farms
• lack of funding, buy-in from polluters, and EP enforcement

Question 36

https://www.pnas.org/content/118/25/e2108734118

Answer 36

positives
- oyster pops coming back in some places but not in others
- water treatment plant upgrades
- some dead zones have gotten smaller, seagrass has rebounded a little
negatives
- will fall short of 2025 mandated reductions
- watermen have resisted oyster sanctuaries or moratoriums
- Farmers, the poultry industry, and developers, worried about expenses, have sometimes been reluctant to adopt, or have resisted, measures such as stream buffers or stormwater containment systems that cost money

Question 37

how many birds does poultry contractor have

Answer 37

22,000 to 26,000

Question 38

how many poultry contractors in maryland

Answer 38

600 totaling almost 9 million birds

Question 39

examples of state nps regulations

Answer 39

permits requiring bmps
ban on manure spreading in winter
requirement for cover crops
vegetative buffer requirements

Question 40

how much excess phosphorous is applied to bermuda grass

Answer 40

60 kg per ha per year

Question 41

which crop has least excess phosphorous

Answer 41

wheat

Question 42

https://www.bayjournal.com/opinion/forum/it-s-time-to-match-cleanup-assumptions-with-results-not-give-up/article_8c5bbeda-0efb-11eb-9c8f-e3afbe8a7a01.html

Answer 42

it’s hard to know how much our actions will translate to nutrient reductions and improvements

Reconciling model estimates with real-world observations