Program Overview

The federal Clean Water Act (CWA) requires States to develop a program to protect the quality of water resources from the adverse effects of nonpoint source (NPS) water pollution. NPS pollution is all water pollution that does not originate from regulated point sources. Types of regulated point sources include wastewater treatment facilities, municipal stormwater systems, and concentrated animal feeding operations. NPS pollution occurs when rainfall flows off the land, roads, buildings, and other features of the landscape. This diffuse runoff carries pollutants into drainage ditches, lakes, rivers, wetlands, bays, and aquifers. Common NPS pollutants include:

• Fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides from agricultural lands and residential areas;
• Oil, grease, and toxic chemicals from spills, roads, urban areas, and energy production;
• Sediment from construction sites, crop and forest lands, and eroding stream banks; and
• Bacteria and nutrients from livestock, pet wastes, and leaking septic systems.

The Texas NPS Management Program (Texas NPS Program) is the State's official roadmap for addressing NPS pollution. The program publication is updated every five years. The most recent revision was submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by the Governor in December 2005. The Texas NPS Program is jointly administered by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

The Texas NPS Program utilizes baseline water quality management programs and regulatory, voluntary, financial, and technical assistance approaches to achieve a balanced program. NPS pollution is managed through assessment, planning, implementation, and education. The TCEQ and TSSWCB have established goals and objectives for guiding and tracking the progress of NPS management in Texas. Success in achieving the goals and objectives are reported annually in the NPS Annual Report, which is submitted to EPA in accordance with the CWA.

Implementation of the Texas NPS Program involves partnerships among many organizations. With the extent and variety of NPS issues across Texas, cooperation across political boundaries is essential. Many local, regional, state, and federal agencies play an integral part in managing NPS pollution, especially at the watershed level. They provide information about local concerns and infrastructure and build support for the kind of pollution controls that are necessary to prevent and reduce NPS pollution. Soil and water conservation districts (SWCDs) are vital partners in working with landowners to implement best management practices (BMPs) that prevent and abate agricultural and silvicultural NPS water pollution. By establishing coordinated frameworks to share information and resources, the State can more effectively focus its water quality protection efforts.

CWA §319(h) NPS Grant Program

Congress enacted §319(h) of the CWA in 1987, establishing a national program to control NPS water pollution. Through §319(h), federal funds are provided annually through the EPA to States for the development and implementation of each State's NPS Management Program. The §319(h) funding in Texas is divided equally between the TCEQ and the TSSWCB.

Protecting the State's rivers, streams, lakes, bays, and aquifers from the impacts of NPS pollution is a complex process. Texas uses a Watershed Approach to focus efforts on the highest priority water quality issues of both surface and ground water. The Watershed Approach is based on the following principles:

• Geographic focus based on hydrology rather than political boundaries;
• Water quality objectives based on scientific data;
• Coordinated priorities and integrated solutions; and,
• Diverse, well-integrated partnerships.

For groundwater management, the geographic focus is on aquifers rather than watersheds. Otherwise, the approach is the same. Wherever interactions between surface and ground water are identified, management activities will support the quality of both resources.

The TSSWCB and TCEQ apply the Watershed Approach to managing NPS pollution by supporting the development and implementation of watershed protection plans (WPPs). WPPs are locally-driven projects that serve as mechanisms for voluntarily addressing complex water quality problems that cross multiple jurisdictions. WPPs are coordinated frameworks for implementing prioritized and integrated water quality protection and restoration strategies driven by environmental objectives. Through the WPP process, TSSWCB encourages stakeholders to holistically address all of the sources and causes of impairments and threats to both surface and ground water resources within a watershed.

The development of WPPs is supported by §319(h) funding to varying extents; however, a WPP that meets EPA's criteria is required to be completed in order to utilize §319(h) funding to implement portions of WPPs.

The TSSWCB's efforts to restore water quality are channeled through Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and WPP development and implementation.

Request for Proposals - FY2010 CWA §319(h) NPS Grant Program 

The TSSWCB is requesting proposals for projects seeking funding under the FY2010 CWA §319(h) NPS Grant Program. Proposed projects should focus on agricultural and/or silvicultural NPS pollution prevention and abatement activities within the boundaries of impaired or threatened watersheds but may also include unimpaired watersheds.

The 2008 Texas Water Quality Inventory and 303(d) List describes the current water quality conditions for waterbodies in the state. All proposals must focus on the restoration and protection of water quality. Up to $2 million of the TSSWCB's FY2010 Clean Water Act §319(h) grant will be eligible for this request for proposals. Approximately $1.2 million will be targeted to implementation and education and $800,000 will be targeted to watershed planning and assessment. No more than 10% of this request for proposals may be utilized for groundwater projects.

The types of agricultural/silvicultural NPS activities that can be funded with 319(h) grants include the following: development of nine-element WPPs including the formation and facilitation of stakeholder groups, surface water quality monitoring, data analysis and modeling, implementation of nine-element watershed protection plans and the nonpoint source portion of TMDL Implementation Plans, demonstration of innovative BMPs, technical assistance to landowners for conservation planning, public outreach/education, and monitoring activities to determine the effectiveness of specific pollution prevention methods. For more information download the Proposal Submission Packet (MS Word, 937 kB)

Environmental Data Quality Management

The TSSWCB, along with its cooperating entities and laboratories, are committed to the application of sound science, appropriate quality assurance standards, and practicality in supporting agricultural and silvicultural nonpoint source abatement and prevention activities. Quality assurance activities are conducted by the TSSWCB and its cooperating entities to ensure that all environmental data generated and processed are scientifically valid; of known precision and accuracy and acceptable completeness, representativeness and comparability; and legally defensible regarding methodology.

• Environmental Data Quality Management

Initiatives

• Statewide NPS Management Program Initiatives

Active Projects

• Active TSSWCB Nonpoint Source Grant Projects

Completed Projects

• Completed Nonpoint Source Grant Projects

Program Reports

• 2008 Annual Report Managing Nonpoint Source Pollution in Texas (PDF, 63 MB)
• 2007 Annual Report Managing Nonpoint Source Pollution in Texas (PDF, 26.3 MB)
• 2006 Annual Report Managing Nonpoint Source Pollution in Texas (PDF, 1.5 MB)
• 2005 Nonpoint Source Management Program Report (PDF, 1.7 MB)
• Other archived reports

For More Information, Contact:

John Foster, Statewide Programs Officer, 254-773-2250 ext. 235, jfoster [at] tsswcb [dot] state [dot] tx [dot] us

TJ Helton, Statewide NPS Program Coordinator, 254-773-2250 ext. 234, thelton [at] tsswcb [dot] state [dot] tx [dot] us

Aaron Wendt, Statewide Watershed Coordinator, 254-773-2250 ext. 232, awendt [at] tsswcb [dot] state [dot] tx [dot] us

Donna Long, Quality Assurance Officer, 254-773-2250 ext. 228, dlong [at] tsswcb [dot] state [dot] tx [dot] us

Lee Munz, NPS SWCD Liaison, 254-773-2250 ext. 241, lmunz [at] tsswcb [dot] state [dot] tx [dot] us

Pamela Casebolt, NPS Project Manager, 254-773-2250 ext. 247, pcasebolt [at] tsswcb [dot] state [dot] tx [dot] us

Mitch Conine, NPS Project Manager, 254-773-2250 ext. 233, mconine [at] tsswcb [dot] state [dot] tx [dot] us

Loren Henley, NPS Project Manager, 254-773-2250 ext. 240, lhenley [at] tsswcb [dot] state [dot] tx [dot] us

David Reeves, Database Administrator, 254-773-2250 ext. 230, dreeves [at] tsswcb [dot] state [dot] tx [dot] us

Brian Koch, Regional Watershed Coordinator (Wharton), 979-532-9496, bkoch [at] tsswcb [dot] state [dot] tx [dot] us