Guánica Bay Watershed

Nutrient enrichment and fecal contamination can cause environmental degradation to coral reefs, sea grass beds and drinking water and cause significant threats to public health. The Center for Watershed Protection (CWP) and local partners are continuing efforts to work with University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez and InterAmerican University in San Germán to identify and track land based sources of pollution by tracking sewage, septage and other sources of pollution to their origin so that these sources can be addressed. Existing methodologies
developed for the U.S. (https://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/)
are being amended to detect illicit discharges in freshwater and the near shore coastal environment in southwest Puerto Rico.

Field crews conducted initial surveys in Guánica Bay, the Rio Loco, Lajas Valley, Yauco and LaParguera in September, 2010. Results of the field work indicate nutrient and bacteria hotspots throughout the surveyed areas. Hotspots were determined based on water quality and physical indicators such as ammonia, bacteria, nutrients and other parameters. Additional field work will be performed in February, 2011, to further isolate the sources of contamination by more intensive sampling of problem areas and conducting drainage area investigations of stormwater infrastructure and tributaries of concern. (CLICK PHOTO to enlarge)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting grant applications for $1.2 million in funding to support projects designed to research, educate, empower and enable communities to understand and address local health and environmental issues. Eligible applicants from non-profit, faith-based and tribal organizations working in the community of the proposed project are encouraged to apply.

Environmental Justice Small Grants funding is available for two categories of projects:

• 40 grants of up to $25,000 each to support projects that address a community‘s local environmental issues through collaborative partnerships, and;
• four grants of up to $50,000 each to gather better science on the environmental and health impacts of exposure to multiple sources of pollution in communities.

Environmental justice means the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race or income, in the environmental decision-making process. Environmental justice issues often involve multiple sources of contamination, like pollution from several industrial facilities within one neighborhood, environmental hazards at the workplace or home, or contamination resulting from the consumption of fish or other subsistence food.

Environmental contamination can lead to costly health risks and can discourage investments and development in low-income, minority, and indigenous communities disproportionately impacted by pollution. Understanding the impacts of multiple environmental risks can help communities develop more effective solutions to their environmental and health concerns.

More information on eligibility and how to apply: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/resources/publications/grants/ej-smgrants-rfp-2011.pdf.

Black P and Stockton T. 2009. Chapter 1- Basic Steps for the Development of Decision Support Systems. In: A. Marcomini et al. (eds.), Decision Support Systems for Risk-Based Management of Contaminated Sites, Springer Science Business Media, LLC. There is a growing desire to develop effective and efficient computational methods and tools that facilitate environmental analysis, evaluation and problem solving. Environmental problems of interest may include concerns as apparently dissimilar as revitalization of contaminated land, and effective management of inland and coastal waters. The approach to effective problem solving in both of these examples can involve the development of what are commonly called Decision Support Systems (DSSs). This chapter lays out the rationale for a DSS, the types of DSSs and the steps for developing a DSS. ESC Folder: Reading Room\Decision Support Literature\Decision Analysis Folder (contact: Brian Dyson, dyson.brian@epa.gov)

Borsuk M, Clemen R, Maguire L and Reckhow K. 2001. Stakeholder Values and Scientific Modeling in the Neuse River Watershed. Group Decision and Negotiation 10: 355–373. In 1998, the North Carolina Legislature mandated a 30% reduction in the nitrogen loading in the Neuse River in an attempt to reduce undesirable environmental conditions in the lower river and estuary. The paper describes a decision-analytic approach to modeling the Neuse River nutrient-management problem, focusing on linking scientific assessments to stakeholder objectives. The paper also discusses how the model can then be used by local decision makers as a tool for adaptive management of the Neuse River system. ESC Folder: Reading Room\Decision Support Literature\Objectives Hierarchy (contact: Brian Dyson, dyson.brian@epa.gov)

Bruins RJF, Franson SE, Foster WE, Daniel FB and Woodbury PB. 2009. A Methodology for the Preliminary Scoping of Future Changes in Ecosystem Services, With an Illustration from the Future Midwestern Landscapes Study. US Environmental Protection Agency, EPA/600/R-09/134. This paper presents a new methodology for constructing hypotheses about the potential effects of future change scenarios on ecosystem services. This new methodology offers a well-defined procedure for managing ecological complexity and improving study design. ESC Folder: Reading Room\Decision Support Literature\Objectives Hierarchy (contact: Brian Dyson, dyson.brian@epa.gov)

Keeney RL. 1988. Structuring Objectives for Problems of Public Interest. Operations Research 36(3):396-405. The analysis of problems of public interest requires a broad range of objectives. This paper outlines and illustrates a procedure to constructively involve stakeholders in the process of identifying these objectives. Objectives hierarchies were developed to represent various stakeholders. From these, a combined hierarchy was structured that addressed health and safety; economics; equity; environmental, social, and political impacts; flexibility; and scheduling. ESC Folder: Reading Room\Decision Support Literature\Objectives Hierarchy (contact: Brian Dyson, dyson.brian@epa.gov)

Labiosa WB, Leckie JO, Mumley T, Rytuba J, and Bernknopf R. 2003. A Decision Analysis Approach to TMDL Implementation Decisions: Mercury TMDLS in the San Francisco Bay Area. Proceedings of the National TMDL Science and Policy 2003 Specialty Conference. Water Environment Federation. Environmental decision situations (such as TMDL load allocation) are often rife with uncertainty and controversy, requiring the integration of diverse kinds of information and compromises between diverse interests. This paper describes a decision analysis approach to TMDL implementation decisions for mercury using a hypothetical mine-impacted tributary in the San Francisco Bay as an example. The paper focuses on the use of the Bayesian (subjective) definition of probability, which treats uncertainty as a probability and allows the decision maker to combine various kinds of information into a unified probabilistic framework. ESC Folder: Reading Room\Decision Support Literature\Decision Analysis Folder (contact: Brian Dyson, dyson.brian@epa.gov)

Maguire LA. 2004. What Can Decision Analysis Do for Invasive Species Management? Risk Analysis 24(4) 859-868. Decisions about management of invasive species are difficult for all the reasons typically addressed by multi-attribute decision analysis: uncertain outcomes, multiple and conflicting objectives, and many interested parties with differing views on both facts and values. This article illustrates how the tools of multi-attribute analysis can improve management of invasive species, with an emphasis on making explicit the social values and preferences that must inform invasive species management. ESC Folder: Reading Room\Decision Support Literature\Decision Analysis Folder (contact: Brian Dyson, dyson.brian@epa.gov)

Maloney KA, Maguire LA and Lind EA. 2000.Neuse River Estuary Modeling and Monitoring Project Stage 1: Assessment of Stakeholder Interest and Concerns to Inform Long-Term Modeling. Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. As input to water quality management models of nutrient cleanup in the Neuse, the authors used public meetings, written questionnaires, and personal and telephone interviews to learn what goals stakeholders have for the cleanup and how they would measure achievement of those goals. ESC Folder: Reading Room\Decision Support Literature\Objectives Hierarchy (contact: Brian Dyson, dyson.brian@epa.gov)

Maxim L, Spangenberg JH and O’Connor M. 2009.An analysis of risks for biodiversity under the DPSIR framework. Ecological Economics 69:12–23. This paper reviews definitions and uses of the Driving Forces–Pressures–State–Impacts–Responses (DPSIR) framework and reframes ‗DPSIR‘ using a complex system methodology based on the distinction between four ‗spheres‘ of sustainability (environmental, economic, social and political) and the analysis of their functioning and relationships. Within the resulting conceptual framework, each of the five D, P, S, I and R concepts are specified, for application in integrative analysis of relationships between policy, society, economy and biodiversity in one of the world’s largest European integrated research projects on biodiversity (ALARM). ESC Folder: Reading Room\Decision Support Literature\Decision Analysis Folder (contact: Brian Dyson, dyson.brian@epa.gov)

Reckhow KH.A Primer on Decision Analysis. Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC. Decision analysis provides a prescriptive approach for analyzing decisions when outcomes are uncertain. This paper uses everyday and hypothetical examples to illustrate the techniques for rigorous quantitative analysis of decision problems. ESC Folder: Reading Room\Decision Support Literature\Decision Analysis Folder (contact: Brian Dyson, dyson.brian@epa.gov)

Rehr A. 2010. The Decision Landscape. This is a graphic of the generic decision landscape. ESC Folder: Reading Room\Decision Support Literature\Decision Landscape (contact: Brian Dyson, dyson.brian@epa.gov)

Rehr A and Small M. Decision Landscape Primer: A Tool for Structuring a Multi-Stakeholder Decision Problem. This document provides a suite of questions that can be used to help develop a decision landscape, and a decision landscape schematic. ESC Folder: Reading Room\Decision Support Literature\Decision Landscape (contact: Brian Dyson, dyson.brian@epa.gov)

Rehr A and Small M. 2010. Decision Landscape for Implementing Additional Wastewater Treatment in the Florida Keys to Reduce Nutrient Loading to Nearshore Waters. This document provides an example of how the questions in the Decision Landscape Primer can be answered, using information contained in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) Management Plan. ESC Folder: Reading Room\Decision Support Literature\Decision Landscape (contact: Brian Dyson, dyson.brian@epa.gov)

Smeets E and Weterings R. 1999. Environmental Indicators: Typology and Overview. Technical report No 25. European Environment Agency (EEA). The purpose of this paper is to introduce the EEA ‗Typology of indicators‘ and the DPSIR framework (Driving forces, Pressure, State, Impact, Response) used by the European Environment Agency in its reporting activities. This report should help policy-makers to understand the meaning of the information in indicator reports. In addition, we hope the paper will be useful in helping to define common standards for future indicator reports from the EEA and its member states. ESC Folder: Reading Room\Decision Support Literature\Decision Analysis Folder (contact: Brian Dyson, dyson.brian@epa.gov)

Von Winterfeldt. 2000. Developing Performance Measures for Complex Evaluations: An Introduction and an Application to Upgrading Infrastructure Systems (draft). School of Policy, Planning, and Development University of Southern California. Performance measures define how decision alternatives should be measured to determine how well they achieve decision making objectives. This paper describes some concepts, suggests some guidelines, and illustrates their use for performance measurement. Throughout the paper, the concepts and guidelines are illustrated with an example that illustrates that the choice of a performance measure can have a powerful effect on the analysis results. The paper concludes by suggesting that the development and choice of appropriate performance measures for complex decisions should be a deliberate step, involving technical experts, decision makers, and external stakeholders. ESC Folder: Reading Room\Decision Support Literature\Objectives Hierarchy (contact: Brian Dyson, dyson.brian@epa.gov)

We are saddened to report the passing of two stalwart protectors of the Guánica Bay watershed and our nation‘s coral reefs.

Madeleine Cancel, the Executive Director of Camared, passed away on December 24th. Madeleine was committed to educating people and raising the consciousness about the coastline and sea. She organized and participated in coastal clean-ups, bringing together people passionate about protecting the beautiful natural resources of Guánica. One of Madeleine‘s last organized events was the September 2010 cleanup of the Rio Loco outlet, when a group of volunteers from Camared and Puerto Rico DNRA pruned overgrown vegetation and cleaned up trash. Another recent cleanup was in March 2010 when 63 volunteers removed 118 old car tires and 1013 pounds of trash from the Las Pardas Beach. Madeleine was a powerful force in the Guánica community and will be truly missed. The GuanicaUS website has a place to remember Madeleine:
https://guanica.us/?p=229

Robert L. Quarles, an Aquatic Biologist with EPA’s Gulf Ecology Division, passed away December 6th while fighting a long illness at the age of 41. Bob joined EPA in 1995, and had a love of work in the field and at sea. Bob was an active SCUBA diver and a long time participant in EPA coral reef surveys. He was a EPA boat operator, earned the title of Captain from the United States Coast Guard, headed field operations for nutrients and seagrass research, and earlier provided support for EMAP coastal condition surveys. Bob will be remembered for his commitment to EPA’s mission, his enthusiasm, and joy of nature, as well as the camaraderie he so willingly shared with his team mates. We will all miss Bob’s love of work, family and friends.

Tropical Storm (TS) Otto hit Puerto Rico in early October with torrential rains
that caused flooding, mudslides, and landslides. Twenty-one (21) municipalities
were declared disaster areas.

On October 14, 2010, Roberto Viqueira, Louis Meyer and Mario Rodriguez
conducted a field assessment of the damages caused by TS Otto to the Rio Loco
river basin. During the assessment they found the Rio Loco’s riverbanks had eroded,
and in some places the entire riverbank was destroyed and water was flowing
through into papaya fields. They also observed that debris collected around former
railroad structures, creating a dam that diverted the river into fields, and destroying
those fields.

The Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRA)
helped the farmers to remove the debris. DNRA was unable to remove the old
railroad structures, because the collapsed structures were too heavy to be lifted with
their machinery. DRNA was able to push the railroad structure to the bottom of the
river, so the water now flows over it. Material was not available to reconstruct the
riverbank at this time.

NRCS and Partners are looking for alternatives to help restore this site of the Rio
Loco river basin as part of the Guánica Bay Project. (contact: Mario Rodriguez,
mario.rodriguez@pr.usda.gov).

Worldometers is updated in real time – world statistics on population, government and economics, society and media, environment, food, water, energy and health. You can watch as the number of people born today rises steadily, as the number of hectares of arable land lost due to soil erosion this year grows, and as the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions this year speeds upward.

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Worldometers is part of the Real Time Statistics Project, which is managed by an international team of developers, researchers, and volunteers with the goal of making world statistics available in a thought-provoking and time relevant format to a wide audience around the world. The website is available in both English and Spanish. To display correctly, Worldometers requires that you have JavaScript installed on your browser. In addition, there are known compatibility issues with some browsers, like Konqueror or Safari. Please use IE, Opera, Mozilla or Firefox. Check out the site: https://www.worldometers.info/

Scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), recently returned from a successful field mission to Guánica, Puerto Rico. This mission was a core component of a larger collaborative effort to restore the Guánica Bay watershed and improve the condition of the neighboring coral reef ecosystem. The co-led CCMA/University of Puerto Rico component of this effort includes a baseline assessment of biological resources (fish, corals and seagrass), chemical contaminants, nutrients and sedimentation rates, prior to proposed watershed restoration activities.

UPR is conducting monthly surface water quality sampling for nutrients, as well as sediment trap sampling. Nutrients are being monitored monthly at 23 sites to assess the flux of nutrients from the watershed and from the wastewater treatment facility. Additional samples are being collected after extreme rainfall events. Eleven sediment traps are being used to determine sedimentation rates at fore reef sites as well as inside the Bay. CCMA has also conducted a one-time contaminant sampling mission at 33 sites in and around Guánica Bay where sediments were collected, and 16 sites where coral tissue was sampled. Samples are being analyzed for a suite of approximately 150 organic and inorganic contaminants. A stratified random approach was taken to determine sampling locations. Strata consisted of areas upstream and downstream, as well as inside and directly outside the Bay. This spatial stratification will be used to quantify the extent and distribution of contaminants within the Bay and the nearby coral reef ecosystems. Sampling locations for coral and sediment contaminants were further constrained by the availability of hard and soft bottom, respectively. These habitats were selected using the NOAA Benthic Habitat Map product available at: https://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreef/usvi_pr_mapping.html

There are two components to the NOAA-conducted biological assessment. The first is an in situ biological surveys for fish, corals and macro-invertebrates. Using ArcView GIS software, sampling sites were randomly selected within three habitat strata (hardbottom, unconsolidated sediments, mangrove) and the spatial strata described above to ensure coverage of the entire study region. At each site, information for fishes, macro‐invertebrates, and habitat were quantified following standardized protocols (see https://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreef/fish_protocol.html). These protocols are standardized throughout the U.S. Caribbean to enable quantification and comparison of reef fish abundance and distribution trends between locations. By relating the data collected in the field back to the habitat maps and bathymetric models, CCMA scientists will be able to model and map species level and community level information. Knowledge of the current status of fish, coral and macro‐invertebrate communities coupled with longer-term monitoring will support the evaluation of management efficacy.

The second component of the biological assessment involves a refinement of the existing NOAA benthic habitat maps for the study area. Two major improvements include a reduced minimum mapping unit from one acre to one quarter acre and increased coverage into areas formerly classified as unknown. The digital map product is being produced using a technique known as heads-up digitizing where digital satellite imagery will be visually interpreted and habitats delineated in a hierarchical classification scheme. In addition to forming the framework for subsequent biological surveys, the maps will permit a level of change detection that is a result of the restoration activities, for example, in the extent of seagrass.

This information will then be utilized to evaluate the subsequent effectiveness of restoration efforts. Complementary efforts to identify, design and implement appropriate watershed restoration activities are being led by the Center for Watershed Protection, NOAA’s Restoration Center and the U.S Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service. Funding for these projects was provided by NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program. (Contact: Laurie Bauer, Laurie.Bauer@noaa.gov or Dave Whitall, David.Whitall@noaa.gov). 

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is the primary Federal Agency of the USDA that works with private landowners to help them conserve, maintain and improve their natural resources. The Agency empha-sizes voluntary, science-based conservation; technical assistance; partnerships; incentive-based programs; and cooperative problem solving at the community level.

In the past year NRCS helped producers in the Guánica-Rio Loco Watershed to voluntarily implement conservation practices that avoid, control, and trap sedi-ment and nutrient runoff; improve wildlife habitat; and maintain agricultural productivity in order to address wa-ter quality resource concerns and to enhance the health of the coral reef in Guánica Bay. Within those three catego-ries there are practices listed that are meant to “avoid” the excess application of nutrients onto the field, “control” the amount of sediment and nutrients that are able to run-off the fields into the watershed, and “trap” sediment and nutrients before they make it into the watershed from the edge of the field.

These improvements will be accomplished through a conservation systems approach that will minimize runoff and reduce downstream sediment and nutrient loading. Sediment and nutrient loading contributes to both local water quality problems and the decline in health of the coral reef in the Guánica Bay watershed.

In addition, NRCS, through the Environmental Qual-ity Incentive Program (EQIP) awarded 35 contracts to farmers in the Guánica bay watershed for a total of $1,491,405.00. Contracts were awarded to eleven farm-ers in Guánica County, five farmers in Lajas County and nineteen farmers in Yauco County.

NRCS also holds meetings with the local communities and agencies. These meetings provide information to the community about the Guánica restoration program, in-cluding projects and funding opportunities. They also provide an opportunity for stakeholders to share their ex-periences and build a watershed alliance. For all meet-ings and activities NRCS provides participants with handouts, flyers and other informational material about the Coral Reef Initiative and Farm Bill Programs. (Contact: Mario Rodriguez, Mario.rodriguez@pr.usda.gov)

Fall 2011 EPA Science To Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowships For Undergraduate Environmental Study

EPA, as part of its Science to Achieve Results program, is offering Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) undergraduate fellowships for bachelor level students in environmental fields of study. The fellowship provides up to $19,700 per academic year of support and up to $9,500 of support for a three-month summer internship. Deadline: December 9, 2010. https://epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2011/2011_gro_undergrad.html
8th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3)

The U.S. EPA, as part of the P3 Award Program, is seeking applications proposing to research, develop, and design solutions to real world challenges involving the overall sustainability of human society. The P3 competition highlights the use of scientific principles in creating innovative projects focused on sustainability. The P3 Awards program was developed to foster progress toward sustainability by achieving the mutual goals of economic prosperity, protection of the planet, and improved quality of life for its people– people, prosperity, and the planet – the three pillars of sustainability. The EPA offers the P3 competition in order to respond to the technical needs of the world while moving towards the goal of sustainability. Deadline: December 22, 2010. https://www.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2011/2011_p3.html#SUMMARY

Environmental Education Grants

EPA’s Office of Environmental Education (OEE), Office of External Affairs and Environmental Edu-cation, supports environmental education projects that enhance the public’s awareness, knowledge, and skills to help people make informed decisions that affect environmental quality. EPA awards grants each year based on funding appropriated by Congress. Annual funding for the program ranges between $2 and $3 million. Most grants will be in the $15,000 to $25,000 range. EPA is currently working on the Requests for Proposals for the 2011 Environmental Education Grant Program. To be electronically notified when the RFPs are available, use the URL below and sign up by clicking the blue button on the right. https://www.epa.gov/education/grants.html

Personnel Updates
Rob Ferguson is the new NOAA Coral Coordinator for the Guánica Watershed Initiative.

Coral Reefs are valued at between $100,000 and $600,000 per square kilometer each year (UNEP, 2006)

Just three to four decades ago, coral coverage in the Caribbean was commonly 40 to 60 percent. Now in many areas of Puerto Rico it is less than 10%
The Caribbean has lost half its reef areas since the 1970s

Matthew Kendall, NOAA (in 2001) estimated 756 km2 of coral reef in PR so a loss of 50% or more of reef area 756/2 x $250,000 (conservatively) = Total loss of >$93 Million dollars a year