Published by the University of the Virgin Islands Cooperative Extension Service VI NPS Update Crown Mountain Road wash-out from clogged culvert after December 2 nd rainstorm. TABLE OF CONTENTS Storms Cause Territory-Wide Flooding, Erosion and Road Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Rain and Wind Data from Lenny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 EPA Releases New R ules to Control Polluted Runoff . . 2 DPW Tests Downtown Christiansted Sewer Lines . . . . 2 Onsite Sewage Disposal System Rules & Regulations Revised . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Draft V.I. 199 8 Water Quality Inventory Available . . . . 3 UVI-VIMAS to Publish Boaters Handbook . . . . . . . . . . 3 Grant Writing Professional Se minars . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Grant Funding Available . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Upcoming Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Nonpoint Source Pollution Committee Newsletter Vol. 2, N o.4 January 2000 STORMS CAUSE TERRITORY-WIDE FLOODING, EROSION AND ROAD DAMAGE Recently the territory has been overwhelmed by severe flooding, erosion and rain damage caused by a series of heavy rain storms. While flooding and dam age to our roadways is exp ected after hurricane s and severe storm events, the dam age was greatly co mpounded by non- existent o r poorly planned and designed drainage systems; clogged drainage channels, swales and culverts; and over-zealous clearing of roadside vegetation. With proper planning and maintenance, we can minimize the flooding and road damage experienced from extrem e storm events. Hurricane Lenny, a strong category 4 storm , battered the south and east coasts of St. Croix with hurricane force winds for hours. The storm also pounded the west end of the island with heavy surf and dumped large volumes of rain across the territory. In addition to wind and surf damage, St. Croix residen ts emerging from their hom es after the storm were confronted by roads blocked with trees, debris and mud; flood waters 1-5 feet deep; and gaping potholes. Severe flooding in Prosperity created a lake that was over a mile long, as wide as the roadway and over five feet deep - even humvees got stuck. Beaches were closed due to pollution from contaminated stormw ater runoff and wind and water-borne debris. On St. Thomas, Magens Bay Road was severely damaged. Recently- cleared ro adsides lost valuab le topso il and a lack of drainage channels caused stormwater to run down the road, creating potholes, wash-boarded areas, a clogged culvert, and slumped roadsides. A giant pothole that opened up on Bolongo Bay Road below D onkey Hill swallowed more than one vehicle. The Bolongo Bay area has been experiencing severe flooding problem s for a few years no w due to alte ration and blocking of the primary gut through the area. Smith Bay Road in front of the Renaissance Grand Beach Reso rt flooded with a tw o-foot-deep lake that cove red the entire roadway for days and imp eded traffic. Again, a blocked drainage culvert under the road contributed significantly to the flooding. Runoff entering the mangrove ponds behind Magens Bay breached the sea berm and contaminated the bay with sediment and bacteria-laden stormwater. Many other sedim ent plume s could be observed su rrounding the island. As if Lenny wasn t bad enough, a cold front that hit the territory two weeks later dumped more heavy rains on o ur already-saturate d soils, causing more severe floods, erosion, land-slides and road w ash-outs. On St. Thom as, flooding gridlocked traffic for over an hour on Harwood Highway between Addelita Cancryn Junior High School and B anco Pop ular, where cars w ere disabled in wa ter over their bum pers. Severe flooding at the en trance to the Renaissance Grand Beach Resort in Smith Bay also slowed traffic to a crawl and created a lake that has remained for weeks. Fireburn Hill road turned into a raging channel carrying torrents of water almost one foot deep (the road has no drainage channels or swales), and the road through Litton s Fancy was flooded by a blocked gut and culvert. A section of Crown Mountain Road in Dorothea flooded and caved in due to blockage of the channel that routes the gut under the road. These and many other road washouts and flooding problems could have been reduced or even prevented . Many of our roads need to have properly- sized swales, drainage channels and culverts installed to transport stormwater along roadsides and under ro adways to guts. Existing drainage swales, channels and culverts also need routine maintenance to prevent clogging and re duce flooding frequency an d severity. Finally, retention of plant cover along ou r roadsides will help hold soil in place so that it does not erode and block lanes of traffic, road cut slopes do not cave in onto the roads, and road fill slopes are not undercut. Low-growing grasses and ground covers effectively hold soil in place, minimizing erosion and landslide potential, while not blocking lanes and impairing visibility. For inform ation on proper erosion and storm water co ntrol, contact the UVI Cooperative Extension Service at (340) 692- 4080 on St. Croix or (340) 69 3-1080 on St. Tho mas. RAIN AND WIND DATA FROM LENNY Hurricane Lenny brought heavy rains and winds to the Virgin Islands as it passed through November 17th-19th. The UVI Water Resources Research Institute s (WRRI) automated weather station on St. Thomas captured wind speed and direction and rainfall data during the storm with its expanded weather monitoring program. The highest recorded wind gusts on St. Thomas were clocked at 59.67 mph 18th and 57.28 mph November 19th. WRRI s automated tipping bucket rain gauges, located in Dorothea, Fortuna, Tutu, and Red Hook, recorded rainfall volumes on November 17th of up to 3.7 inches in Fortuna. The graph below depicts rainfall amounts on the days before, during and after the hurricane. EPA RELEASES NEW RULES TO CONTROL POLLUTED RUNOFF The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently published new rules designed to protect America s drinking water and waterways by curbing one of the greatest remaining sources of water pollution - stormw ater runoff. EPA an nounce d that the n ew rules will reduce storm water runoff from construction sites between one and five acres and municipal storm sewer systems in urbanized areas with less than 100,000 people. The new stormwater rule builds on an existing program that controls stormwater runoff from municipalities with populations over 100,000 and 11 industrial categories, including construction disturbing over five acres. The existing p rogram did not apply to the Virgin Islands. However, the new rule does apply to stormw ater systems an d construction p rojects here in the V. I. According to E PA Adm inistrator Carol M. Browner, "The Clinton- Gore Administration is comm itted to reducing one of the largest remaining sou rces of water pollution , stormwater ru noff. Today w e are taking a major step to protect public health and the environment for America s families - increasing the safety of the water they drink, and the rivers, lakes and beaches they en joy." Stormwater is rain water that runs off of streets, parking lots, construction sites an d residential yards. It can carry sed iment, o il, grease, toxic chem icals, pesticides, bacteria and other pollutan ts into nearby storm drains. Once this polluted runoff enters the sewer system, it is discharged - usually untreated - into guts and waterways and into the sea. Stormwater runoff can contaminate drinking and recreational wate rs, and cause be ach and shellfish bed closures. Runoff washes 20 to 15 0 tons of sediment per acre from dirt roads, construction sites, and other cleared areas into the sea e ach year. Sediment has been identified as the single largest cause of water pollution in the Virgin Islands. The ne w storm water regulations will minim ize storm water run off impacts by issuing discharge pe rmits under the Clean W ater Act. Permits are expected to be issued for at least 110,000 additional construction sites and over 5,000 municipalities across the country. The Phase II permitting program is structured to be flexible. The program focuses on be st manageme nt practices (BMPs). Each permittee should select BMPs that create the most common sense, cost-effective plan to reduce storm water runoff on a case-by-case basis. Examples of BMPs include silt fences, storm drain inlet protection, and temporary mulching and seeding for construction sites, as well as public education programs, storm sewer inspections and local storm water ordinances. Incentive s are also p rovided for industrial facilities to protect their operations from stormwater exposure. EPA developed the rules with extensive public outreach and communication, including consultation with a wide cross-section of interested stakeholders. The final stormw ater Phase II rule is available on the Interne t at: http://www.epa.gov/owm/sw/phase2 along with additional information. The Rule is effective on February 7, 2000. EPA has submitted a Report to Congress on the new rule and its impact on municipalities. The report is available throu gh the Internet at: http://www.epa.gov/owm/sw/phase2. Hard copies may be obtained by contacting the U.S. EPA Water Resource Center, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460; telephone: (202) 260-7 786 (24 -hour vo ice mail), fax: (2 02) 260 -0386 , e-mail: center.resource@epa.gov. DPW TO TEST SEWER LINES IN DOWNTOWN CHRISTIANSTED The Virgin Islands Department of Public Works has received a grant to conduct sewer line smoke testing in the downtown Christiansted area. This testing will help to ide ntify leaks into and out of the public sewer system. The methods used during the testing will also reveal defective or illegal con nections to the public sewe r system. Property owners are advised to have their plumbing systems checked for proper water traps and possible improper connections to the public sewers. Those persons owning abandoned buildings or lots are advised to make sure that all se wer con nections not in use at this time are p roperly cappe d off. Vacant buildings with existing plumbing fixtures that are not currently in use, but will be used in the future, should have the water traps for all fixtures filled and maintained at all times. Failure to properly address defective or illegal plumbing will result in smoke entering buildings during testing operations. Failure to remove or obtain proper permits for illegal connections may also result in fines or other actions by the government. For further information on this project, please contact Earl Haas, DPW, at (340) 773-1290, x. 2254. GRANT WRITING PROFESSIONAL SEMINARS The Virgin Islands Resources Conservation & Development Council, Inc. (RC&D) is sponsoring two grant-writing seminars to be held this spring: * March 13 - 17, 2000 (St. Croix) * March 20 - 24, 2000 (St. Thomas) If you are an individual, governm ent agency or non-profit organization interested in learning how to prepare grant proposals to tap into private found ation monies,proposals to tap into privat Contact VI RC&D at (340) 773-9146 ext. 101 or fax (340) 692- 9607 to re gister today ! Plan to be th ere !!! ONSITE SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM RULES & REGULATIONS REVISED D PNR-CZM has prepared and is conducting final review of new rules and regulations governing onsite sewage disposal systems (OSDS) that treat domestic wastewater. They anticipate that the new rules and re gulations will be ready to go to public hearing in early 2000. The rules and regulations are fairly comprehensive and cover the following types of OSD S: conventional septic systems; alternative (constructed wetland) OSDS; graywater systems; holding tanks; abandoned septic tanks; alternative toilets; and experimental systems. For a copy of the new rules and regulations, or for further information on septic systems and other domestic wastewater treatment systems, contact Bil Rohring, DPNR-CZM, at (340) 774- 3320 x. 5107. DRAFT V.I. 1998 WATER QUALITY INVENTORY AVAILABLE D PNR has released its draft Virgin Island s Water Q uality Inventory for 1998 (305(b) repo rt). The Clean Water Act requires each state and territory in the United States to conduct water quality surveys to determine a waterbody's (gut, stream, pond, lagoon, bay or coastal water) overall health, including whether basic uses are being met. State and Territories define appropriate uses for a waterbody and inco rporate these uses into water quality standards for approval by EPA. Water standards and uses include those for protecting aquatic life, eating fish and shellfish, drinking water, swimming, boating, and fishing. S tates and territories co nduct water quality surveys and report their findings to EPA every two years. EPA then prepares a Report to Congress that provides the most complete and up-to-date snapshot of w ater quality condition s around the co untry. For information on the draft V.I. 305(b) report or to obtain a copy, contact Syed Syedali, DPNR-D EP, at (340) 77 3-0565 or visit http://www .irf.org/vidpnr/305b _vi.htm. UVI-VIMAS TO PUBLISH BOATER S HANDBOOK T he Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service (VIMAS) is publishing an informational handbook for boaters entitled "Pocke t Guide to B o a t in g i n th e V . I. " This handbo ok will provide boaters with valuable information for safe and env ironme ntally-resp onsible boating in the Virgin Islands. The handbook includes information on Clean Vessel Act (CVA) requirements for boats, marine sanitation devices (MSDs), fishing regulations in USVI waters, tropical marine ecology (fish species, seagrasses and coral reefs), and contact numbers for assistance or further information. The booklet is being printed with funding from the Clean Vessel Act and Nonpoint Source Pollution Manag emen t Program , and should be available in February. For more information or a copy of the handbook, contact Mayra Suarez-Velez, UVI-VIMAS, at (340) 693-1392. GRANT FUNDING AVAILABLE Higher Education Challenge Grants Program. This program "promotes excellence in undergraduate teaching programs in the food and agricultural sciences." Projects are selected com petitively and must "address state, regional, national, or international education needs." For more information, visite the USDA-CSREES homepage at http://www .reeusda.go v/serd/hep/hep.htm or contact Dr. Jeffrey Gilmore at (202) 720-1 973 or jgilmo re@ree usda.gov. "Special Competition" for grants on Biocomplexity in the Environment. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announce d a special com petition to awa rd $50 m illion in grants under the Biocomplexity in the Environment (BE) initiative launched by NSF D irector Rita Colwell. "Biocomplexity in the Environm ent" is now the title of the full program of environmental science and engineering at NSF. The fiscal year 2000 grants represent the beginning of an additional $1 b illion/year that the NS F hopes to receive as a result of the recently ado pted repo rt " E n vi ro n m e n t a l S c ie n c e a n d E n g in e e r in g in t h e 2 1s t C e n tu r y : t h e R o le o f th e N at ion al S cie nc e F ou nd at ion ." The deadline for le tters of intent is January 31, 2000 and for proposals March 1, 2000. The anticipated award date is Septemb er 2000. Visit the N SF website at http://www .nsf.gov/pubs/2 000/nsf0022/nsf0022.htm for further information. UPCOMING EVENTS January 15, 20 00. N i n th N a t io n a l S y m p o s i u m o n I n d iv id u a l a n d S m a l l C o m m u n i t y S e w a g e S y s t e m s C a l l fo r P a p e r s . Forward proposals to David M . Gustafson, Assistant Extension E ngineer - Onsite Sew age Treatm ent System s, Water Re sources Ce nter, Suite 146 Classro om O ffice Building , 1994 B uford Av e., St. Paul, Minnesota, (800) 955-8636, (612) 624-9282. January 30 - February 3, 200 0. N a t io n a l A s s o cia tio n o f Co nse rvation D istricts (NAC D) 54 th A n n u a l M e e t i n g, Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs, CO. Hotel Phone: (800) 634-7711. February 7-10, 2000. T o o l s f o r U r b a n W a t e r R e s o u r c e M a n a g e m e n t & P r o te c tio n , Westin M ichigan Ave., Ch icago, IL. Contact (847) 835-83 65 or (84 7) 835-6837 or visit http://www .chicago-botan ic.org for information. To have you r event includ ed in VI NPS Update , send the event title, date and time, location, contact person and other relevant information to the Editor at the address listed in the box below. Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution results from rain water flowing over and through the ground, picking up pollutants and depositing them into guts, salt ponds, beaches, coastal waters, and ground water. VI NPS UPDATE SUBSCRIPTION FORM VI NPS Update wants to hear from you. Send flyers, newsletters, articles, photos, letters or story ideas to the editor, care of UVI-CES, #2 John Brewers Bay, St. Thomas, VI 00802- 9990, (340) 693-1082, fax (340) 693- 1085, email jwright@uvi.edu Editor & Designer: Julie Wright, UVI-CES Reviewers: Clarice Clarke, UVI-CES, Janice Hodge, DPNR-CZM, Rudy G. O Reilly, Jr., USDA-NRCS Dale Morton, UVI-CES Photographer: Dale Morton, UVI-CES February 19 -21, 2000 . S t . C r o i x A g r i c u lt u r e F a i r : A g r ic u l t u r e 2 0 0 0 & B e y o n d - N o F a rm i n g N o Fo o d . Call UVI-CES at (340) 692-4080 or the V.I. Dept. of Agriculture at (340) 778-0998 for information. February 21 -25, 2000 . Int e rn at io na l Er o sio n C o nt ro l As so cia tio n (IECA ) 31st A n n u al C o n fe r e n ce a n d E xp o , Palm Sp rings, CA . Visit http://www.ieca.org/ or call (800) 455-4322 or (970) 879-3010 for information. April 25-27, 2 000. N W Q M C N a t io n a l M o n i to r in g C o n fe r e n ce : M o n i t o r in g fo r t h e M i ll e n n iu m , Hyatt Regency, Austin, TX . Visit http://mwqmc.site.net or call (405) 516-4972 for information. June 11-13, 2000. T h e E c o lo g y o f U r b a n S o il s: D e s ig n in g a n d M a n a g in g S o ils fo r th e L iv in g L an d s c ap e , St. Paul, M N. Visit http://www.scisoc.org/opae/shortcourse or call (651) 454-7250 for information. July 9-12, 200 0. T h e C o a s t a l S o c i e t y 17 th I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e , Portland Marriott, Portland, OR. For full conference details, contact Laurie Jodice at (541) 737-1340 or visit the website at http://www.oce.orst.edu/mrm/tcs17/confhome.html. January 7-9, 20 01. In t e gr a te d D e c is io n - M a k in g fo r W a te r s he d M an ag e m e nt Sy m p o siu m : P ro ce ss e s a nd To o ls , National 4H Conference Center, Chevy Chase, MD. Visit the symposium website at http://www .vt.edu/watershed.htm or contact Dr. Darrell Bosch at (540) 231-7417 (fax) for further information. March 11-14, 2001 . N i n th N a t io n a l S y m p o s i u m o n I n d iv id u a l a n d Sm all C om m un ity S ew ag e S ys te m s, Radisson - Fo rt Worth, TX . For information, contact Dr. James Converse, (608) 262-1106 or jcconver@facstaff.wisc.edu. VI NPS Update is a quarterly newsletter published by the University of the Virgin Islands Cooperative Extension Service, Kwame Garcia, State Director, and produced by the Virgin Islands Nonpoint Source Pollution Committee to inform the public about projects funded by U.S. EPA Nonpoint Source Polution Management (§319) grants and other NPS pollution control/prevention projects in the territory, and to provide information and material regarding the control/prevention of NPS pollution. No endorsement of products or firms is intended, nor is criticism implied of those not mentioned. Issued by the Virgin Islands Cooperative Extension Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in furtherance of the acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914. Extension programs and policies are consistent with federal and state laws and regulations on non-discrimination regarding race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability or gender preference. 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