Coastal Issues | Water Quality | Case Studies

Water Quality: Case Studies

Below are a few examples of projects states have supported with their coastal zone management funding.

Massachusetts Promotes Improved Storm Water Management and Open Space

The Massachusetts Coastal Nonpoint Source Pollution (NPS) Grant Program has recently supported several projects to help address urban sources of nonpoint source pollution. The Massachusetts Audubon Society North Shore Advocacy Office received funding for outreach and implementation of a newly updated Open Space Residential Design ordinance in three cities and towns in the Merrimack Valley region. This new model ordinance promotes low impact development land planning and site-design practices that simultaneously conserve and protect land and water resources, while reducing infrastructure costs. As a result of the project, the City of Newburyport, and the Towns of Georgetown and Salisbury adopted the new Open Space Residential Design ordinance.

Currently many communities in Massachusetts are unable to regulate storm water runoff outside of the state's wetland jurisdiction because they lack the local regulatory standards to do so. Therefore, to assist three communities along the South Shore improve their storm water management capabilities, the Coastal NPS Grant Program provided funding to develop a Model Storm Water Bylaw. The model bylaw not only enables a more comprehensive approach to storm water management in these communities but also provides an incentive program to encourage low impact development. The model leaves a place holder for establishing a storm water utility fee, meets and exceeds the Massachusetts Stormwater Policy and Standards, and attempts to fulfill EPA's NPDES Phase II Stormwater requirements for post-construction storm water management.

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Maryland Promotes Vegetated or "Soft Structural" Shoreline Erosion Control

Nearly 69% of Maryland's 7,700 miles of coastline are eroding at an average rate of 0.6 feet/year. Erosion could be delivering approximately 5.1 million cubic yards of sediments to the Chesapeake Bay each year. Maryland has sought to address this problem by providing technical assistance to waterfront landowners to implement a variety of innovative and traditional shoreline erosion control practices. Practices include softer structural approaches that combine the use of vegetative plantings and harder structures, such as rip rap sills, to diffuse wave energy and to protect marshlands, as well as a living shoreline approach that focuses on planting or organic materials such as coir fiber logs to restore, protect or enhance the natural shoreline environment.

The Maryland Coastal Nonpoint Source Program has directed a portion of its funds to the Shore Erosion Control (SEC) program that provides the technical assistance necessary to implement shoreline erosion control practices. SEC program staff provides assistance to landowners by evaluating sites, assessing problems and recommending solutions. Staff work with property owners during the project planning and implementation stages to make sure the owners have a good understanding of the benefits of different types of shoreline protection methods, costs, maintenance needs and regulatory requirements. Several recent projects have included installing off-shore segmented stone breakwaters and sand beach replenishment along 700 l.f. of eroding shoreline not only to abate erosion and prevent sediments from entering the waterway, but also to protect 1.1 acres of existing wetlands. Another soft structural project created 6,210 square feet of marsh and prevented 17 tons of sediment, 12 pounds of nitrogen and 8 pounds of phosphorous from entering the water.

The SEC Program further promotes vegetated, non-structural approaches to shoreline erosion control by offering short-term interest-free loans. The funds can be used to help with the design, construction, or management of soft-structural or vegetated stream bank or shoreline erosion control projects.

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Alabama and Mississippi Launch Clean Marina Program

In the summer of 2004, Alabama and Mississippi joined twenty other coastal states by establishing the Alabama-Mississippi Clean Marina Program. This unique bi-state effort is a voluntary, non-regulatory program that promotes responsible marina operating practices in the interest of protecting water quality. It is led by Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium in partnership with many other groups, including the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, State Lands Division, Coastal Section; Alabama Department of Environmental Management; Auburn University Marine Extension and Research Center; Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality; and the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program. The program was developed to reduce nonpoint source pollution and satisfy marina management measures for the states' Coastal Nonpoint Programs. It will also help marinas protect the very resource that provides livelihood and enjoyment for the Gulf Coast: clean water. Over time, the Clean Marina Program will encourage marina operators to use more responsible practices, inform boaters of environmentally sensitive practices, and create better communication of existing laws by offering recognition for creative and proactive marina operators implementing these practices.

After being designated as a Clean Marina, the marina receives a flag to fly on the property letting everyone know at a glance that they are going the extra mile to protect our waters. Designated clean marinas will also be authorized to use the Clean Marina Program logo on their letterhead and in all their advertising, and will be promoted through Alabama-Mississippi Clean Marina web sites, publications and public displays.

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Sediment and Erosion Control Efforts in Minnesota:

In Grand Marais, MN, a small town on the slopes of Lake Superior, rain storms routinely flooded the downtown area two to three times each summer, causing public safety and water quality concerns. Many areas of the community also suffered from severe erosion problems. The town was worried that the existing problems would only worsen as the community grows. With funding from Minnesota's Lake Superior Coastal Management Program, Grand Marais was able to develop a storm water management plan to address their concerns.

Using their new storm water plan as a guide, the town's multi-agency storm water committee was then able to prioritize projects to improve Grand Marais' storm water management system and restore water quality. Not only has the plan established a defined process to implement further runoff control efforts, but it promoted cooperation between city and county government, two groups that had not worked together closely in the past.

Having a storm water plan in place and prioritized actions has made it much easier for the town to develop and fund other storm water control efforts. Grand Marais received almost $350,000 in funding through the Great Lakes Coastal Restoration (GLCR) Grants program administered through OCRM and the Minnesota Coastal Program. With this additional funding, they were able to implement two priority storm water restoration tasks in areas prone to flooding and severe erosion identified in the storm water management plan.

 

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