Exam 2 Flashcards
Habitat Fragmentation
Process of which habitat loss results in the division of a large continuous habitat into smaller more isolated areas.
Drivers of Habita Fragmentation
-Urbanization
-Roads
- Industrial Areas
-Agricultural Fields
-Deforestation
-Geological (Natural Drivers)
Stormwater
Is runoff generated as a result of impervious surfaces
Effect of Stormwater
Alters natural and water chemistry causing:
-Reduction in stream integrity
-Increased risk of downstream flooding
- Pollution of natural water way
Runoff
Generated from rain and snowmelt flow over land or impervious surfaces and is unable to seep into ground
Non-point Pollution
Does not originate form a single source. Often cumulative effect of small contaminants
Point Pollution
any distinguishable confined source such as boats and concentrated feeding areas (Agricultual stormwater not considered point source) localized source
Groundwater 1972 Clean Water Act
Goal of fishable & Swimmable water (water quality standards) and Pollutant discharge elimination
National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
-Required for point source pollutants
-Technology based permit: if receiving water is currently fishable/swimmable
- Water based Quality: if receiving waters are impaired controls are more strict
MS4 Permit
Minimal Control Measures, all communities must develop stormwater control plan to get permit
1. Public Outreach and involvement
2. Construction site erosion
3. Post construction stormwater management
4. Illicit discharge detection/elimination
5. Pollution prevention and good housekeeping
Impaired Waterbody
A body of water that does not meet water quality standards
Total Maximum Daily load
A Pollution budget, includes calc. of max amount of pollutants that can occur in waterbody and allocates necessary reductions to one or more pollutants
-Serves as planning tool and potential starting point for restoration or protection with the goal of maintaining water quality standards
Water quality trading
Mechanism for polluters to Swap ‘Pollution credits’ Incorporates form and amount of contaminant used and cost to reduce. Entitles who more cheaply reduce loads pick up slack for those w/higher costs
Coastal Zone
Transition zone between marine life and terrestrial environment, coastal water and shorelands strongly influenced by each other, intertidal areas
- continually changing due to dynamic interactions between ocean and land.
National Coastal Zone management
Balances competing land and water issues
Coastal & Estuarine Land and Conservation
Provide matching funds to enable state and local governments to purchase threatened coastal/estuarine lands to obtain conservation easements
National Estuarine Research Reserve
Create Field labs for improving scientific knowledge
Federal Consistency
Federal actions consistent with states management policies
Enhancement Programs
Part of CZMA Provide incentives to enhance wetlands, coastal hazards, public access, and infrastructure
Aquatic Preserves
Established by Aquatic Preserves act, to ensure continuation of Aquatic preserves natural conditions so their value will increase for future communities (Pushed in Florida)
Coastal Nonpoint pollution control program
reduce polluted runoff to coastal waters
Ecosystem Services
Goods and Services provided by ecosystems to humans
Ecosystem-based coastal engineering
Flood protection by ecosystem creation and restoration, more suitable and cost effective, ecologically valuable, and provides ecosystem services
TYPES: Coastal Realignment, Sand Nourishments, Ecosystem Engineers
Grey Infrastructure
Hard Engineering Solutions,
Seawalls, dikes, breakwaters
Green infrastructure
Soft Engineering Solutions
Shore Nourishment, ecosystem engineering (salt marshes, mangroves, sand dunes)
Hybrid Infrastructure
Combo of grey and green infrastructure,
Seawall with salt marshes in front
Environment friendly Infrastructure
Ecologically enhanced hard solutions,
Vegetated revetments, use of natural materials
Ecosystem Engineers
Organisms that modify/ create their own environment
Allogenic & Autogenis
Bivalve Reefs
Provides habitats for species, shoreline stabilization, and erosion control
Mangroves
Increase Surge Levels in front and decrease surge in back, used in restoration
Coral Reefs
Allows for the natural break of water, wave attenuation, and provides nutrients for capture and sediment trapping
Salt marshes
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wave attenuation, increase soil elevation, reduce dike breaches, habitats (better in low energy environments so don’t get damaged)
Ecosystem Engineers
Organisms that modify/ create their own environment
Allogenic & Autogenic
Corals & Beaches -> higher hydrodynamics
Marshes and Mangroves -> Lower hydrodynamics
Depot Park: Past
Was a brownfield with arsenic and PAH contamination in the soil and water from railroad ties and petroleum tanks
Site cleaning to FDEP Standards:
- Soil and groundwater removal + treatment
- Soil Cap + liner because full removal not possible
Depot Park: Strategies to manage stormwater and improve quality
Used as stormwater retention plan to support downtown Gville runoff
Depot Park: Stage and Function of stages
-trashtrap, forebay, treatment wetlands (ponds/vegetation)
-Low impact development used - pervious pavers
Sustainable Farming Techniques
-Cover Crops to prevent weed growth, encourage beneficial pollinators, returns nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen to soil during crop rotations
-Don’t use large farm equipment that overly compacts soil
-Planted variety of crop types allowing for crop rotation
-Crops were used and sold locally only
small scale sustainability
Hydrograph Analysis: Increased Urbanization compared to natural land
Increased Runoff: shorter time to peak flow, higher peak flow, lower base flow -> HIGHER FLOOD RISK
Goal Of setting Total Max Daily load (TMDL) and factors to be considered
Goal: reduce the amount of specific pollutant in a certain waterbody to maintain quality
Developed for each pollutant/waterbody combo
Factors:
Point Sources: Waste Load allocation
Nonpoint: Load allocation
Margin of Safety (MOS)
Load/load reduction needed
Physical, Climatic, and Land use factors of TMDL
Physical: Waterbody characteristics, water quality data
Climatic: rainfall data
Land use: watershed land use data, land topography and soil type
Best Management Practices (BMP) for BMP for Agricultural runoff
Fertilizer and Pesticide timing, vegetative buffers, sustainable farming
BMP for urban runoff
Litter Control, Street vacuuming
Public education
Nonstructural BMP
Green roofs, disconnected impervious areas, porous pavement
Combination of structural and nonstructural BMP
Rain gardens, bioswales, infiltration basins, or restoration of streams, estuarian ecosystems
Flooding in Houston
Overuse of pavement, creates excessive runoff compared to natural systems
Promising Solutions to Houston Flooding
Convert impervious surfaces to permeable surface to reduce stormwater
Green infrastructure: rain gardens, green roofs, bio swales can be added to new or existing developments to make area more pervious
What might the city do to reducing future flooding risk and what are the costs and benefits of these potential solutions?
Entirely Stopping development: Ideal but unrealistic. Aim to reduce development instead and any future development required should be sustainable
Continuing to Invest in hard and grey infrastructure (dams and levee) to protect flood zones: Could be beneficial for at risk areas but leaves less space for nature and not enough protection for already developed areas.
Relocating People to safer areas (buyouts) are difficult, take a long time, and still need grey/green infrastructure
Key Moments that led to environmental Regulation
Smog in southern California (damaging to ozone/crops) -> laws to reduce burning of garbage
Silent Spring: ignited support for banning pesticides
Cuyahoga River Fires: fires regularly occurring due to chemical pollutants
Responsibilities of EPA
- Research important pollutants
- Monitor condition of environment
- establish environmental baselines
- Set and enforce consistent standards for quality
- Financial and Technical assistance and training
EPA in Trump ERA
Drastically reduced funding by 30%
Collecting fewer fines from major polluters/companies
Reversed 100 environmental rules
Is the EPA effective in water and air Quality
AIR: Drastic decreases in NO2, CO, SO2 and lead
WATER: Improvements in Chesapeake Bay -> reduced dead zone
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Effects
Landmark legislation that created assessments of environment impact and potential damage
Requires Impact Statement from all federal agencies
Effective: Improved behavior of Gov and became public Info
NOT Effective: Just a hoop for federal agencies to jump through, limited only to federal projects
Endangered Species Act
Conserve endangered species and threatened species and their habitats
- Develops plans for conservation and survival of species
- Site specific management
- Measurable delisting criteria
- Status report to congress every two years
National resource Council (NRC) recommendations
-EPA should oversee product licensing
-Roads and Parking lots key to addressing stormwater
- More continuous monitoring needed
-Watershed models need improvement
-Nonstructural stormwater measures
-watershed based permitting system needed
Bioswales
Stormwater control method and flooding mitigation
Planting mix used in developed areas, enhances infiltration and cleaning of water, and reduces pollutants
Rain barrels
Stormwater control method and flooding mitigation
retain and reuse water on site
Rain Gardens
Similar to bioswales, plants that thrive in wet conditions and treat water before infiltration
Forebays
Sediment traps
Why is the coastal zone so vulnerable to human exploitation
Ecosystem connectivity -> vulnerable to upstream/offshore changes
more than 40% of population lives with 50 miles of coast
Dredging and filling of wetlands
Boats/fishing/pollution
Changes in sediment deposits, freshwater and contaminants
Management of Coastal Zones
Protecting habitats by managing shoreland and marshland activities and establish buffer zones between water and development
Protecting water quality by managing development, land use, wastewater discharge
Coastal zone management act: centralize development decision making to regional/state levels
Grey Soultion in Coastal Defense
Groynes, Jetties, breakwater, seawalls, dike, revetments
Main issue: destroy natural system, prevent sediment deposits, costly maintenance, unable to keep up with sea level rise
Green Solutions in Coastal Defense
Marshes, reefs, dunes, and mangroves
solves the issues of grey solutions while providing ecosystem services
How do coastal ecosystems protect the coast or dikes?
Things like seagrass, oyster beds, and coral reduce waves before they reach the coast/dikes so they have less energy to erode the sand or damage dike
- Longer slopes of shoreline also help break waves further from coast
