Summer, 1996 (v8n3)

Marin Coastal Watershed Project: Walter Creek is part of the Marin Coastal Watershed Enhancement Project.

A Cooperative Approach to Adapting Nonpoint Source Pollution Guidelines to Local COnditions

by Ellen Rilla, UC Cooperative Extension director, Marin/Sonoma counties, and Stephanie Larson, UC Cooperative Extension livestock and range management advisor, Marin/Sonoma counties

(Editor's Note: This is the first part of a two-part article on the Marin Coastal Watershed Enhancement Project, which was coordinated by Ellen Rilla and Stephanie Larson, and involved the work of many individuals in UC Cooperative Extension, the agricultural community, natural resources agencies, and environmental groups. Funding for the project was provided by the Marin Community Foundation.)

The condition of riparian habitat in coastal Marin County has deteriorated significantly since the early part of this century. Agricultural practices are often cited as a primary cause of this habitat degradation. Public perceptions of agricultural practices and resultant criticism of agriculturists have polarized community factions and hindered cooperation in solving resource management problems. Some agricultural practices have undoubtedly contributed to resource degradation, but management is highly varied, and there are numerous examples of sound resource management on agricultural land in coastal Marin County.

Though agricultural management practices have greatly improved over the last 20 years, the viability of agriculture is threatened by an increasingly restrictive regulatory environment. In response to recent amendments to federal water quality laws, Regional Water Quality Control Boards will begin regulating nonpoint source (NPS) pollution on rangelands unless landowners take voluntary steps to improve water quality.

Several watershed enhancement programs have been conducted in coastal Marin County since the early 1980s. Despite the benefits of these projects, they have primarily focused on repair of localized erosion problems, and they have not significantly affected agricultural management practices.

Project Goals

The Marin Coastal Watershed Enhancement Project was designed to address the issue of NPS pollution on a local level. A primary focus of the project is to provide landowners with the resources that they need to demonstrate cooperative, voluntary compliance with water quality regulations. This approach will minimize regulatory involvement in local land management.

Project goals include improving water quality, fish habitat, and natural resources in western Marin County through voluntary adoption of appropriate management practices. Specific objectives of the project include helping landowners identify water quality problems, demonstrating existing examples of good management, providing information on management practices that maintain or improve water quality, and assisting with monitoring programs.

This two-year project was funded by the Marin Community Foundation, a local private foundation, between approximately March 1994 and March 1996. The Foundation was interested in funding a project that would bring stakeholders together for cooperative watershed enhancement, addressing their goals in the areas of environmental quality and land conservation.

Nonpoint Source Pollution

Pollution is defined in the California State Water Code as "an alteration of the quality of the state waters by waste to a degree which unreasonably affects either of the following: (1) The waters for beneficial uses; (2) Facilities which serve these beneficial uses." The Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) identifies categories of pollution as either point source or nonpoint source. Point source pollution is an observable, specific, and confined discharge of pollutants into a water body. Examples of this kind of pollution include dairy waste ponds, food processing plants, and agrochemical processing plants. In contrast, NPS pollution consists of diffuse discharges of pollutants throughout the natural environment.

Nonpoint sources of pollution, including erosion, and, to a lesser degree, animal nutrient production, occur naturally at certain levels. However, common management practices increase these types of pollution. Nonpoint source pollution from rangelands can be exacerbated by grazing, road building, mining and recreational activities. Grazing can be a source of excessive sediment, nutrients, and pathogens. Animal concentration in riparian areas allows the direct deposition of nutrients and pathogens in waterways, and can cause streambank erosion and sedimentation.

Statewide and nationwide, sediment is considered to be the primary nonpoint pollution source on rangelands. However, in Marin County, because of the high concentration of livestock on dairies, animal waste is the greatest pollution concern from both point and nonpoint sources. Pollution of Tomales Bay by dairy waste has increasingly become a focus of public concern because of its presumed negative effect on shellfish production, a $2 million dollar industry operating in Tomales Bay.

Project Area

The project area encompasses the watersheds of three major coastal streams north of San Francisco, within Marin County. These include Walker Creek, Lagunitas Creek, and numerous smaller tributaries to Tomales Bay and the Marin County portion of Stemple Creek/Estero de San Antonio, which flows into Bodega Bay.

The watersheds encompass approximately 232 sq. miles, or 148,480 acres, primarily in agricultural ownership. The Lagunitas Creek watershed is unique, with an estimated run of 500 Coho salmon documented, or ten percent of the state's current Coho population. The Walker Creek watershed drains into Tomales Bay, one of the prime remaining estuaries on the west coast. It is also listed as an impaired waterbody by the State Water Quality Control Board. Stemple Creek becomes the Estero de San Antonio, and is part of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. Federal lands within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) and the Point Reyes National Seashore fall within the project area boundaries. These federal lands were not specifically addressed by the project at the onset, though park service staff actively participated in landowner outreach and education. With the change in park superintendents midway through the project, the boundaries of the study were expanded to include the park lands encompassing Olema Creek. The project area also encompasses proposed federal legislation which seeks to expand the seashore park boundaries by 38,000 acres by purchasing development rights from willing landowners.

The predominant agricultural use is characterized by dairy, sheep, and cattle operations ($40 million/year) interspersed with small commercial horse operations in rural residential settings. Conservation easements exist on 25,000 acres due to an aggressive campaign by the local Marin Agricultural Land Trust.

Regulatory Agencies

Laws regulating NPS pollution have been in existence since 1977, but until recently, regulatory agencies have focused on controlling point sources of pollution.

In California planning and enforcement authority for NPS pollution is passed from the EPA, to the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board), then down to the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards. In 1988, the State Water Board produced a nonpoint source management plan for the State of California. This plan outlines three management approaches for addressing NPS pollution problems. This is commonly referred to as the "three tiered" approach, where each enforcement tier increasingly emphasizes regulation. Tier One is described as "Voluntary Implementation of Best Management Practices," and encourages landowners to utilize available technical assistance to voluntarily assess and improve management practices that effect water quality. Tiers Two and Three involve enforcement actions from the Regional Board.

The Nonpoint Source Management Plan did not adequately address some nonpoint sources, and it is currently being amended. This process includes preparation of a rangeland grazing plan for California. The rangeland grazing plan will specify a strategy for either individual landowners or watershed management groups to address NPS
pollution on rangelands. This proposed strategy utilizes Tier One compliance and is based on the assumption that, if landowners demonstrate a significant effort to reduce water pollution through voluntary measures, enforcement will not be necessary. The primary element of this strategy is preparation of water quality management plans by all rangeland owners or operators.

The deadline for the State Water Quality Control Board to have a nonpoint source management plan that complies with federal water pollution laws was July 1995. There will be an eight-year time frame for implementation of this plan. By 2003, landowners will be expected to have significantly reduced NPS pollution through voluntary compliance.

Agency/Community Involvement

An important aspect of the project is the cooperative effort of local government agencies and private support groups working together as a team to assist landowners with NPS pollution issues. Participating groups include the University of California Cooperative Extension, Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, National Park Service, and the Marin County Resource Conservation District. To ensure that the project is practical and meets the needs of agriculturists, a local sheep and beef producer was hired to help with landowner outreach.

A team of six staff from these groups provide day-to-day project orchestration. This team approach eliminates program duplication, and the coordination of efforts assures efficient flow of information between regulatory agencies and land owners.

A thirty member advisory committee, made up of community representatives, producer groups (from shellfish growers to dairy operators), regulatory and resource agencies, and environmental organizations provides general guidance and oversight. The committee met at the onset of the project to discuss and amend project goals and objectives. Members are kept up-to-date on project progress with informational memos between meetings. Initial interviews were conducted with members prior to the project start-up as a partial assessment of their views of the problem, potential solutions and possible pitfalls.

(Part 2 of "Marin Coastal Watershed Project," which includes descriptions of landowner outreach, local compliance, and next steps, will appear in Vol. 8, No. 4, Fall 1996 of Sustainable Agriculture. See "Marin Project Products," next page.)