Indiana NPS Management Plan: Executive Summary
Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution continues to be, and is increasingly recognized by the public, as the largest remaining source of water quality impairments in the nation. The State NPS Management Plan, prepared by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) Office of Water Quality (OWQ), reflects the current goals and direction of Indiana’s NPS Management Program. The report documents the methods the state will use to meet the criteria included in the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (U.S. EPA’s) Nine Key Elements. The Nine Key Elements are outlined in the U.S. EPA’s 2004 supplemental NPS guidelines, and are required for approval of this plan. The report includes the following sections, which address the Nine Key Elements.
Vision and Goals
The vision of the Indiana NPS Management Program is to restore waters impaired by NPS pollution and maintain water quality through locally-led partnerships. In order to achieve this vision, a long-term goal was established:
Make measurable improvements in water quality by addressing NPS pollution through education, planning, and implementation.
The key components of the long-term goal are:
- identify gaps in knowledge concerning NPS pollution issues in Indiana;
- characterize the extent and magnitude of NPS pollution in Indiana;
- build partnerships to reduce NPS pollution and improve and/or restore water quality within all waterbodies in Indiana;
- focus resources within IDEM to help educate, train, and assist stakeholders and partners as they work to address NPS pollution; and,
- target resources to activities that will result in measurable improvements in water quality and reduce NPS pollution.
Corresponding program objectives (short-term, medium-term, and long-term) will guide the actions that IDEM and its partners will need to take in order to reach the long-term goals and program vision. Each objective includes a measure for tracking the success of the actions.
Priorities
IDEM has established a hierarchy of funding priorities, which recognizes the importance of successful watershed planning and continued focus on restoring waters impaired by NPS pollution. The current funding priorities are:
- watershed management planning and implementation in watersheds with waterbodies on the Section 303(d) list of impaired waters and where the impairment is a result of nonpoint sources;
- watershed management planning and implementation in watersheds with approved total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for NPS pollution that address these sources with applicable load reductions; and,
- implementation of watershed plans that meet the requirements identified in the IDEM checklist and include the U.S. EPA’s Nine Key Elements.
A list of specific priorities and how NPS activities are ranked by IDEM is included in Chapter 3.
Implementation
The agency’s methods and tools for efficiently managing and effectively implementing its NPS program are outlined in this report. The key components to successful implementation of the program are described and include:
- a list of the IDEM programs which are involved with NPS pollution and how they relate to the program;
- a description of how IDEM plans to strengthen working partnerships with other state, federal, local, and private entities involved with NPS pollution prevention and management;
- a description of how 319 grant funds are managed and distributed; and,
- a description of how IDEM will educate its partners and the public on NPS pollution.
Monitoring
Monitoring and evaluation are essential for effective NPS pollution management. This report includes a description of IDEM’s monitoring programs for surface and groundwater. The surface water monitoring program is designed to characterize the overall environmental quality of each major river basin and to identify those monitored waterbodies within each basin that are not fully supporting their designated beneficial uses. Waters that do not fully support one or more of their designated beneficial uses are placed on Indiana’s 303(d) List of Impaired Waters. The 303(d) List defines the universe of priority watersheds for the NPS program. Impaired waters are targeted first for watershed-based projects such as TMDLs or 319-funded watershed plans to further characterize pollutant sources, loadings, and develop strategies for addressing NPS pollution.
Review, Revisions, and Reports
IDEM will review and evaluate the effectiveness of its NPS management programs through:
- evaluating environmental monitoring data to assess changes in environmental quality;
- reporting on activities through the 319 NPS Annual Report; and,
- updating the NPS management plan at least every five years, or when new information or data become available, when deemed appropriate, or when directed by the U.S. EPA. Updates will be based on review and evaluation of NPS Program success and challenges.
This plan is focused on the next five years and provides the foundation for future efforts. It will be reviewed using the measures of success outlined as part of the objectives to determine the effectiveness of the NPS programs.
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