Recently in Land Resources Category

Did you know... 65% of new impervious cover can be classified as car habitat!

What is "car habitat"?  

"...the geometry of roads, parking lots, sidewalks, cul-de-sacs and other new development infrastructure."  That's car habitat.

Local development codes enforce how much impervious surface is allowed.  They take into consideration how water drains and is absorbed by local soil conditions, as well as the level of development already affecting the watershed.

Better site design can reduce flooding by improving absorption of heavy water deluges into nature's groundwater infrastructure.  Snowpack might be nature's LARGEST water reservoir, but groundwater is also a very valuable service provided by nature in lowlands. 

Better Site Design (BSD), can include greater use of

• swales
• relaxed lot geometry
• natural area conservation
• open-space subdivisions
• pervious paving
• and other site design techniques

Several dozen communities across the country have changed their local codes and ordinances to promote BSD through a roundtable process to gain consensus among development stakeholders.

Better Site Design Can Reduce Development Costs

The strength of the BSD approach is that numerous modeling studies have demonstrated it can reduce impervious cover, pollutants and development costs by as much as 10 to 40% at individual development sites.

The weakness of BSD is that it lacks a watershed context and therefore reductions in site IC may be not be enough to meet subwatershed objectives.

SOURCE:
Chesapeake Stormwater Network, CSN Technical Bulletin No. 3, "Implications of the Impervious Cover Model".

Spiders that live near water may be an effective warning system for contaminants in aquatic ecosystems, according to a new USGS and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study.

PCB Contamination in Aquatic Habitat

Scientists examined PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls) levels in shoreline-living spiders at Lake Hartwell, a Superfund site in South Carolina, and used this information to map contaminant concentrations in lake sediment.

Future monitoring studies will use the spiders as indicators of ecosystem recovery from PCB contamination.

Researchers also made risk maps for a spider-eating bird, the Carolina wren, which could be exposed to PCBs through eating spiders. These spiders rely heavily on adult aquatic insects for food and play a key ecological role in the transfer of contaminants between water and land ecosystems. In spite of this, they are underused as a sentinel species at contaminated sediment sites.

This study, "Using riparian spiders as sentinels of PCB export and risk" was conducted by USGS at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and the EPA.  

Wading through the sources of lake contamination

Contamination of urban lakes and streams by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is widespread and has been increasing over the last 40 years in the United States.

PAHs are Toxic to Fish Humans and Other Organisms

These PAHs can be toxic to bottom-dwelling organisms, can cause tumors in fish, and several are believed to cause cancer in humans. 

In this study, researchers examined five sources of PAHs in 40 urban lakes from across the United States, including coal-tar-based pavement sealcoat, coal combustion, oil combustion, vehicle emissions and wood combustion.

Sealcoat Contributes to PAH Contamination

Of the five sources studied, sealcoat was the strongest contributor to PAH contamination in lake sediment. This research can help those trying to reduce pollution levels in the urban environment by providing them with a better understanding of PAH sources. 

This study, "Sources of PAHs to urban lakes in the United States," was conducted by USGS at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemist  

Federal Agencies Release Draft Reports Required by Chesapeake Bay Executive Order
 
Federal agencies released the seven draft reports required by President Obama's executive order on the Chesapeake Bay , which contain a range of proposed strategies for accelerating cleanup of the nation's largest estuary and its vast watershed.
 
Focus is on increased accountability and performance

The draft reports collectively call for increased accountability and performance from pollution control, habitat protection and land conservation programs at all levels of government, including an expanded use of regulatory authorities to address pollution control and additional voluntary and market-based solutions - particularly when it comes to habitat protection and land conservation programs. Federal agencies are also proposing new ways to harness the latest innovations in science and technology. The proposed actions are in response to overwhelming scientific evidence that the health of the Chesapeake Bay remains exceptionally poor, despite the concerted restoration efforts of the past 25 years. 
 
"We need bold new leadership, collective accountability by all contributors to the bay's problems, and dramatic changes in policies using all the tools at hand if we are to fulfill President Obama's goal for clean water throughout the region. These reports bring us a step closer to achieving the vision we all share for the future of the Chesapeake Bay ," said U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, chairperson of the Federal Leadership Committee and the federal representative to the Chesapeake Executive Council. 
 
The draft reports are the first step in the creation of a new strategy for restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay and waterways in the region, as defined by the executive order.

The reports include a variety of strategies and options for addressing issues such as

• water quality,
• public access,
• landscape conservation,
• climate change,
• scientific monitoring and
• protection of living resources

The draft reports were also submitted to the Federal Leadership Committee that is coordinating work on the executive order. The draft reports are available at http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net .

Executive Order 13508 on Chesapeake Bay Restoration and Protection
 
On May 12, 2009 President Obama issued Executive Order 13508 on Chesapeake Bay Restoration and Protection, the first-ever presidential directive on the bay and the first environmental executive order by President Obama.

Multidisciplinary Federal Leadership Committee

The order established a Federal Leadership Committee, chaired by EPA, and with senior representatives from the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Interior and Transportation.
 
Over 120 days, 10 federal agencies collaborated to develop the draft reports. The recommendations in the reports were shaped by consultations with the six states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the District of Columbia , as well as suggestions from stakeholders and the public. Successful restoration of the Chesapeake Bay depends on the involvement of federal, state and local governments; the private sector; nonprofit organizations; and the watershed's 17 million residents. The draft reports were released to engage the public in the process outlined in the executive order.
 
The draft report on water quality includes some of the more significant potential changes to existing programs.  

In this report, EPA proposes to develop new regulations for the Chesapeake Bay to significantly reduce runoff pollution from urban, suburban and agricultural sources.
 
The report also relays EPA's intention to hold the states in the watershed more accountable for controlling pollution, through increased oversight, enforcement activities and new policies.

Urban and suburban runoff pollution is the fastest growing source of pollution to the Chesapeake Bay , while agricultural runoff is the largest.

 
The Federal Leadership Committee will evaluate the proposals in the draft reports and consult with bay jurisdictions to refine the recommendations for meeting key challenges to the Chesapeake Bay 's health.   However, the agencies will be moving forward in a number of areas before the strategy becomes final.
 
"We have an urgent obligation to citizens of today and generations of tomorrow to restore the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed, and this executive order puts new weight behind our work," Jackson said. "We're moving quickly and transparently on a comprehensive strategy that will get real results for the bay." 
 
More information on the executive order: http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed that General Petroleum Corporation - a marine distributor of Chevron and Texaco products - pay a penalty of $74,473 for allegedly failing to obtain a storm water permit for its facility at the Port of Los Angeles.

Between October 1, 2004 and December 4, 2007, the General Petroleum Corporation discharged pollutants in storm water at its petroleum bulk storage facility without first obtaining a storm water permit, a violation of the Clean Water Act and California's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit requirements.

"Facilities such as these industries can control storm water pollution by following good housekeeping and continued maintenance," said Alexis Strauss, Water Division director for the EPA's Pacific Southwest region. "Controlling storm water pollution is essential to the ongoing improvement of Southern California water quality."

Polluted runoff is a major cause of water pollution that can carry pollutants, such as metals, oil and grease, acidic wastewater, bacteria, trash, and other toxic pollutants, from industrial sources into nearby water sources. The EPA requires industrial facilities to prevent water pollution by complying with federal and state water pollution requirements.

Today's action is part of a larger enforcement initiative focusing on ports to ensure the Port, as well as its tenants, comply with storm water requirements. The U.S. EPA and the Los Angeles Regional Quality Control Board conducted a storm water audit of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in May 2007, and issued 20 administrative orders to the Ports' tenants in November 2007, including General Petroleum Corporation.

The proposed settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period. For information on today's action or to comment, go to:

http: //www.epa.gov/region09/enforcement/pubnotices/pubnotice-gen-petrol.html

Rivers and streams are "living water" -- they are habitat for animals, insects, plants and beneficial bacteria that form the web of life in the water and at the edges of riparian ecosystems.  Urban rivers are often turned into utililitarian channels that divert water...and they lose their habitat functions.  Los Angeles River is probably the most notorious such "river diversion" program.  In the 1930s there were massive floods in the growing city and the Corps of Engineers paved them over with concrete!  Literally.  They deepened the river to move fresh water to the Pacific ocean the fast, faster, and fastest way possible. 

Today we  see a different vision for rivers.  And Los Angeles has been working hard for almost a decade to restore their river habitat as a more natural ecosystem for both native species... and people. 

Funding for LA River Revitalization

In mid-2009, local Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (34th District) announced the approval of $9 million more in federal funding for energy and water projects in the Los Angeles area; $2.15 million will go towards the Los Angeles River revitalization.

Among the House-passed appropriations measures is $1.5 million to pay for the Los Angeles River Revitalization Study.

Los Angeles River Revitalization

In 2002, the City of Los Angeles formed the Ad Hoc River Committee to serve as the central point for the revitalization of the 32-mile corridor of the river within the city's boundaries. In total, the river spans 51 miles including the sections that flow through Los Angeles County to the Pacific Ocean.

The Committee initiated the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan (LARRMP). The Master Plan, completed in 2007, provides the city with a long-range blueprint for development and management for the river.    

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently evaluating project alternatives with the aim of developing a "Recommended Federal Project" which may become eligible for federal funds. As part of its ongoing efforts to involve community input, the city periodically conducts outreach workshops.

The two recent meetings  featured updates on the Master Plan. Workshops give participants the opportunity to offer new ideas for the ongoing revitalization effort. This was the first such meeting in Northeast Los Angeles since November 2008. 

Many of the workshop proposals focused on ideas to bring people closer to the river such as more direct river access through pedestrian bridges, "green" corridors along major city streets to connect existing pocket parks to the river and "buffer zones" of restored vegetation along the river to shield noise from the adjacent Golden State (5) Freeway.

Reyes, who chairs the Ad Hoc River Committee, said that much progress has been made in the past six years. Among the various project updates provided was the announcement that approximately 14 of the 32 miles of proposed bike paths along the river either are underway or completed.

The Los Angeles River Improvement Overlay (LA-RIO) Plan

The Los Angeles River Improvement Overlay (LA-RIO) plan is scheduled to go before the City Council for approval this Fall. This plan is separate from the Master Plan because it will provide the city with design guidelines for future development projects or restoration of existing structures along the river. For the section of the river that runs through Northeast Los Angeles, an environmental impact report and a revised Cornfield-Arroyo Seco Specific Plan (CASP) is also expected to be completed by this Fall.

Community Redevelopment Agency Study

The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA/LA) announced that it will launch a study on future projects along the river adjacent to the communities of Cypress Park and Glassell Park. This includes proposed mix-use development of industrial/commercial/housing projects. The study is scheduled for completion in 2012.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers demonstration projects

In the funding Roybal-Allard announced on July 17, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will receive $100,000 for demonstration projects that will allow it to evaluate new high-tech materials as alternatives to concrete, test effectiveness of wetlands for runoff management and water quality improvements, and assess methods to sustain different vegetation types. Furthermore, $550,000 will go to the Los Angeles River Watercourse Headworks to continue a Feasibility Study for eco-system and habitat restoration.

For more information on the ongoing efforts on the revitalization of the Los Angeles River, visit www.lariver.org.

Protected Areas Database

15% of the United States' land area (more than 347 million acres) is highly protected conservation lands, and understanding conservation efforts in these areas just became a lot easier!

Information about the more than 22,000 protected areas in this acreage is now available online at the Protected Areas Database of the United States.

This comprehensive database is essential for species and habitat conservation decisions and other open space management decisions. It provides the most current information on

• geographic boundaries,
• land classification (federal, state, city or private),
• land owner or manager,
• management designation
• and much more.

This database is hosted by the USGS National Biological Information Infrastructure.