Ohio Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program

Deadline Friday, June 18, 2021.

• Request for Proposals - Assistance Grants for Developing 9-Element Nonpoint Source Implementation Strategies in the Ohio River Watershed
• Grant Application - 9-Element Nonpoint Source Implementation Strategy Development
• Priority Watershed List for Request for Proposals (RFP)

Ohio EPA's update to the Ohio Nonpoint Source (NPS) Management Plan was approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in August 2020. This important update provides direction and strategic focus to Ohio EPA's programs and activities geared toward reducing the impacts of nonpoint source pollution such as hydromodification, habitat alteration, polluted runoff and adds other activities like Invasive Species management and innovative storm water management demonstrations. Management Practices listed in the update are now eligible for federal Section 319 grant funding and grants awarded from other sources. Since Ohio EPA is not altering the scope of the previously updated nonpoint source management plan, a full revision to the Management Plan was not required. As a result, Ohio EPA focused updated strategies and practices only on programming actions for which Ohio EPA is the primary implementer and/or facilitator.

Ohio's approved NPS Management Plan update incorporates large sections from Ohio's recently submitted Nutrient Reduction Strategy. This information was derived following collaboration and input from a large number of agricultural and urban stakeholders. Moving forward Ohio's NPS Management Plan will implement several provisions of the Nutrient Reduction Strategy. Ohio's updated plan also incorporates objectives for Ohio EPA's Lake Erie Program, as well as strategies for dealing with NPS issues in urban waters as well as protection activities critical to protecting high quality waters. For information about Ohio's updated NPS Management Plan, contact Rick Wilson at (614) 644-2032.

• Current: Ohio Nonpoint Source Management Plan (2019-2024)
• Previous: Ohio Nonpoint Source Management Plan (2014-2019)

Nine-Element Nonpoint Source Implementation Strategies (9-Element NPS-IS) in Ohio

The 9-Element NPS-IS is a strategic plan that provides assurance to nonpoint source grant programs and institutions (i.e., U.S. EPA) that, as described, a proposed water quality project meets the 9 Essential Elements per U.S. EPA §319 Program Guidance (April 2013).

For a project to be eligible for Ohio EPA Section 319 Funding, a proposed project must be described in a U.S. EPA-approved 9-Element NPS-IS for the HUC-12 watershed in which the project is located.

The NPS-IS ensures that potentially funded projects are: rooted in the best science available; located in areas that will address the worst problems; and that have the administrative, evaluation, and educational components needed to ensure that the water resource will achieve as much long term benefit as possible.

The NPS-IS is a living strategic planning document that summarizes causes and sources of impairment, established critical areas, identifies quantifiable objectives to address causes and sources of impairment, and describes projects designed to meet those objectives.

Each NPS-IS is unique at the HUC-12 Watershed Assessment Unit (WAU) scale. The NPS-IS is designed to evolve as projects come and go. Likewise, every updated version (containing new projects, new data, and or changes to critical areas, goals and objectives) must be reviewed and approved by Ohio EPA.

Nine-Element Nonpoint Source Implementation Strategies (9-Element NPS-IS) in Ohio

The 9-Element NPS-IS is a strategic plan that provides assurance to nonpoint source grant programs and institutions (i.e., U.S. EPA) that, as described, a proposed water quality project meets the 9 Essential Elements per U.S. EPA §319 Program Guidance (April 2013).

For a project to be eligible for Ohio EPA Section 319 Funding, a proposed project must be described in a U.S. EPA-approved 9-Element NPS-IS for the HUC-12 watershed in which the project is located.

The NPS-IS ensures that potentially funded projects are: rooted in the best science available; located in areas that will address the worst problems; and that have the administrative, evaluation, and educational components needed to ensure that the water resource will achieve as much long term benefit as possible.

The NPS-IS is a living strategic planning document that summarizes causes and sources of impairment, established critical areas, identifies quantifiable objectives to address causes and sources of impairment, and describes projects designed to meet those objectives.

Each NPS-IS is unique at the HUC-12 Watershed Assessment Unit (WAU) scale. The NPS-IS is designed to evolve as projects come and go. Likewise, every updated version (containing new projects, new data, and or changes to critical areas, goals and objectives) must be reviewed and approved by Ohio EPA.

• • NEW! Useful Maps and GIS data layers to aid in development and updates of NPS-ISs
  • FINAL Template with Descriptions for Ohio's Nonpoint Source Pollution Implementation Strategies (NPS-IS), 7/25/16 [PDF] [DOCX] 
  • Guide to Developing Nine-Element Nonpoint Source Implementation Strategic Plans in Ohio, 8/30/16 (This guidance is under review, September 2020)
  • Critical Source Area Identification and BMP Selection: Supplement to Watershed Planning Handbook
  • Historical References — Watershed Action Plans 
    These references are provided because the information included in them may be useful when developing 9-Element Nonpoint Source Implementation Strategies and are not to be considered as equivalent to approved 9-Element Strategic Implementation Plans  
  • Interactive Map of 9-Element Plans in Ohio 
  • Developing Nine-Element Nonpoint Source Implementation Strategic Plans (NPS-IS) in Ohio
    Presented by the Ohio Stormwater Association, Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Soil and Water Conservation and the Ohio EPA.
    • September 30, 2020 Webinar Video, Presentation Slides
    • October 7, 2020 Webinar Video Only

1. Total Maximum Daily Load Report - Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) are developed as a tool to help restore and protect waterbodies where beneficial uses are impaired or threatened for aquatic life, recreation, public drinking water, or human health. The objective of a TMDL is to determine the loading capacity of a waterbody and to allocate the load among different pollutant sources. A TMDL identifies the links between the waterbody use impairment, sources of impairment and the pollutant load reductions needed to meet the applicable water quality standards. It serves as a roadmap for measures that can be taken to improve water quality.
   
   Types of information available through this report: assessment of water quality impairment, causes and sources, waste-load allocations, load allocations, implementation plan.
    
2. Ohio EPA Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report –The Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report (also called the Integrated Report or IR) indicates the general condition of Ohio's waters and identifies waters that are not meeting water quality goals. The report satisfies the Clean Water Act requirements for both Section 305(b) for biennial reports on the condition of the State's waters and Section 303(d) for a prioritized list of impaired waters. For each impaired water, Ohio EPA prepares a total maximum daily load (TMDL) analysis. In cases where impairment is not related to a pollutant (e.g., habitat alteration,) an alternative restoration strategic effort can be prepared. https://epa.ohio.gov/dsw/tmdl/OhioIntegratedReport Types of information available in the IR: assessment unit attainment status, cause of impairment, TMDL status Data used to develop report available in spreadsheet on webpage or through How’s My Waterway.
   
   Summarizes data from watershed surveys into an interactive map of watershed assessment units (HUC 12s), large river assessment units and Lake Erie assessment units. The IR and interactive map are snapshots taken every two years. More recent data may be available for a watershed in a Biological and Water Quality Report (or Technical Support Document) available here: https://epa.ohio.gov/dsw/document_index/psdindx
    
3. Biological and Water Quality Reports (or Technical Support Documents) - Ohio EPA conducts surveys in selected watersheds around the state. A biological and water quality survey is a survey of the biological, chemical and physical properties of surface waters to determine the appropriate beneficial use designations (aquatic life, recreation, human health and water supply) assigned in Ohio Water Quality Standards, evaluate water quality trends and determine if the water body is meeting the goals of the federal Clean Water Act.
   
   The results from each survey are detailed in biological and water quality reports (BWQR). These reports summarize major findings and provide results from individual sampling locations. The reports can be found here: https://epa.ohio.gov/dsw/document_index/psdindx or on the TMDL project pages.
   
   Types of information available: water body existing and recommended beneficial use designations, attainment status, causes and sources of impairment, detailed discussion of sampling locations, sampling data results.
    
4. Loading and Analysis Plans - A loading analysis plan (LAP) is a plan prepared by Ohio EPA that lists actions to be taken by the Agency for sampling sites found to be impaired for a beneficial use designation (aquatic life, recreation and public water supply). Actions may include development of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), follow up sampling, referral to another agency and/or no action, for example where the cause of impairment is natural. For those sites where the Agency is planning to develop a TMDL, the LAP contains the proposed modeling approach and water quality restoration targets for a watershed study area.
   
   LAP development is relatively new, and are not available for all watersheds but can be found in in the “Supplemental Information” on specific watershed TMDL report links. Links to an example LAP and Fact Sheet from the Lower Scioto River TMDL page is below:
   
   Loading Analysis Plan and Supporting Data Acquisition Needed for the Lower Scioto River and Selected Tributaries. Report, Fact Sheet
   
   Types of information available: Impaired assessment units, causes and sources of impairment, actions to be taken by the Agency to address the impairment. For watersheds with existing TMDLs, comparison of previous sampling results with new findings.
    
5. How’s My Waterway - U.S. EPA’s new tool provides water quality information at the community, state and national level. Ohio’s water quality information from the final 2020 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report is included along with permitted discharger, drinking water and nonpoint source program grant project information on a 12-HUC watershed assessment unit (WAU) scale. Available at: https://www.epa.gov/waterdata/hows-my-waterway.

GRLI (Great Lakes Restoration Initiative) 

Additional project summaries are available in the Section 319 Program Annual Reports. 

2010 Cuyahoga County Surface Water Improvement Grant Program

• Project Summaries
• Final Report

2011 Buckeye Lake Nutrient Reduction Grant Program

• Project Write Ups
• Final Report

2012 Cuyahoga County Surface Water Improvement Grant Program

• Workplan
• Final Report

2012 Lucas County Stormwater Demonstration Grant Program

• Project Write Ups
• Final Report

2012 Powell Creek, Defiance County, Nutrient Reduction Grant Program

• Workplan
• Final Report

2013 Hancock County Sediment and Phosphorus Reduction in the Lye Creek Watershed

• Project Summary
• Study Plan

2014 Brokensword, Crawford County, Nutrient Reduction Grant Program

• Project Narrative
• Final Report

2014 Cuyahoga County Surface Water Improvement Grant Program

• Workplan
• Project Summary

2014 Maumee River Sediment & Nutrient Reduction Grant Program

• Workplan
• 11th Semi-Annual Program Report

2016 Maumee Agricultural Habitat Restoration Grant Program

• Workplan
• Final Report

2017 Lake Erie Tributary Water Quality Restoration Grant Program

• Workplan
• 3rd Semi-Annual Progress Report

John Mathews
Nonpoint Source Section Manager

Ohio EPA, Division of Surface Water
50 W. Town St., Ste. 700
PO Box 1049
Columbus, OH 43216-1049

(614) 265-6685 [voice]
(614) 644-2745 [fax]
email: john.mathews@epa.ohio.gov

• Analysis of Effectiveness of Ohio NRCS Practice Standards in Addressing Five Leading Causes of Water Quality Impairment, Rick Wilson Environmental Specialist, Ohio EPA -Division of Surface Water, March 1, 2010.
• 1997. A Guide to Developing Local Watershed Action Plans - locally developed watershed action plans submitted to receive state endorsement must comply with this guidance.
• U.S. EPA's Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters - locally submitted watershed action plans submitted to receive state endorsement should meet the nine essential elements described in this guidance.
• Getting to the Point About Nonpoint (2005-2010 Ohio NPS Management Plan)
• NPS Related Definitions
• See the 319 Grant Documents tab for 319 Grant Documents.