LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY | Secretary Aurelia S. Giacometto
A DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
The report presents the TMDL for nitrate nitrogen, which was determined to cause the impairment of Jackson Blue Spring and its receiving water, Merritts Mill Pond. These waterbodies are located in the Chipola River Planning Unit of the Apalachicola–Chipola Basin. Jackson Blue Spring and Merritts Mill Pond were verified by the FDEP as impaired by nutrients and were included on the Verified List of impaired waters for the Apalachicola–Chipola Basin that was adopted by Secretarial Order in May 2009. The TMDL establishes the allowable level of nutrient loadings to Jackson Blue Spring and Merritts Mill Pond that would restore these waterbodies so that they meet their applicable water quality criterion for nutrients. This report will be used as the basis for discussions during the development of the Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP).
2008 Revisions to Florida Watershed Restoration Act focused on water quality credit trading. Authorized trading, but limited to pilot project in Lower St. Johns River Basin (LSJR); Authorizes trading in the LSJR pilot program under process established in adopted Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP). Required FDEP to initiate rulemaking by September 1, 2008. FDEP issued Notice of Rule Development in August 2008 and held first public workshop on November 21, 2008. 2008 Legislation provides authority for Pilot Trading Program under process established in adopted BMAP, but, OGC recommended FDEP adopt rule for Pilot. Longer term, will also need to revise rule for any expansion of program. The rule will be done in “phases” with initial rulemaking focused on pilot program. Generally speaking, FDEP has translated BMAP text into rule language to support pilot. BMAP authorizes “Formal” Trading that occurs AFTER adoption of BMAP with detailed allocations to individual sources. Trading must be implemented via permits. One of the trading parties must have an individual permit.
This manual is written to be a practical field guide for forest landowners, logging contractors and the forest industry to ensure water quality during forestry operations. It sets forth the voluntary guidelines and procedures to be followed for each operation and describes the federally mandated Best Management Practices (BMPs) for forestry operations in wetlands. Each chapter is written as a stand-alone guide. BMPs common to several operations will appear with each.
List of the fiscal 2012 Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) awardees. The information includes the project location, the amount of funding, the project title and a brief description.
The Nutrient Reduction Decision Support Toolbox is intended for use by state and local agencies and other organizations interested in reducing nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and other pollutants to our waterbodies. The toolbox originated from the Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) Nutrient Reduction Priority Issue Team (PIT) and its initiatives to reduce the size of the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico as well as occurrences of hypoxic events across Gulf of Mexico coastal and estuarine waters. Nutrient reduction efforts must be made throughout the five Gulf states, as well as the states within the upper and lower Mississippi and Ohio River Basins to be successful at reducing Gulf hypoxia. The toolbox is based on a comprehensive and holistic framework for nutrient reduction developed through the collaborative interaction of local, state, and federal agencies; non-governmental organizations; agricultural producers; private businesses; and academic institutions. Each of the drawers in the toolbox represents one of the 10 key decision elements that are essential to reducing nutrients and their impacts within our waters.
The Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) is a national and state driven effort led by a coalition of producer and resource management organizations. The purpose of GLCI is to get more trained NRCS personnel to deliver the best, applied grazing land science to producers and managers on private grazing lands. The use of this technical assistance is voluntary and at the request of private grazing-land owners and managers. On the national level, the GLCI steering committee is a confederation of national organizations focused on carrying out actions needed to increase NRCS technical assistance on privately owned grazing lands. This also includes those operations where private lands are commingled with federal, state, and tribal lands. The original founding organizations include: American Farm Bureau Federation, American Forage and Grassland Council, American Sheep Industry, Dairy Industry, National Association of Conservation Districts, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Farmer's Union, Society for Range Management, and Soil and Water Conservation Society. The GLCI through national and state steering committees seeks to: Increase the number of trained grazing land conservationists in NRCS, Strengthen partnerships at national and state levels, Promote voluntary actions for resource management, Encourage diversification to achieve multiple benefits through a sound grazing land management planning process, Emphasize training and education, and Increase public awareness on the societal benefits of well-managed private grazing lands.
Green infrastructure uses vegetation and soil to manage rainwater where it falls. By weaving natural processes into the built environment, green infrastructure provides not only stormwater management, but also flood mitigation, air quality management, and much more. Resources related to green infrastructure basics, tools, case studies, research, and library.
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force was created by President Obama through an Executive Order (PDF) on October 5, 2010, and is the result of a recommendation made in Secretary Mabus' report on long term recovery following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. By October 5, 2011, the Task Force is charged with development of a restoration strategy that proposes a Gulf Coast ecosystem restoration agenda.
Secretarial Order No. 3289 establishes Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs), a network of public-private partnerships that provide shared science to ensure the sustainability of America's land, water, wildlife and cultural resources. Area includes southwest Louisiana and Texas, Oklahoma, and Mexico.