What are they and why are they important?
Presented by: Andrew Craig and Chad Cook
DNR Nonpoint Source Planning Coordinator and UWEX
WI Land and Water Conference - March 2015
“Nonpoint source pollution continues to be the leading source of water
quality impairments throughout the United States.” Draft Sect. 319 Grant Guidelines – November 2012
What are 9 Key Element Plans?
 Watershed based (HUC 12 size – 35 square miles)
 Restore impaired waters by reducing nonpoint runoff
sources (agriculture and urban)
 Can also protect non-impaired waters
 Mimic TMDL’s – ID sources and reduce pollutant loads to
meet water uses (fishable, swimmable, drinkable)
 Framework to incorporate existing activities/plans:
 County LW plans, Farmland Preservation Program
 NR 151 implementation, Ordinances
 Grants – state and federal – TRM, NOD, Lakes and Rivers
 Water Quality and Habitat Monitoring, TMDLs
9 Key Elements
 Identify the causes and sources that need to be
controlled to achieve pollutant load reductions
 Quantify significant sources and background levels
 Use Maps and Tables
 Describe management measures that need to be
implemented to achieve load reductions
 Map priority areas for practices
 Estimate the load reductions expected from
selected management measures
 SWAT, SNAP+, STEPL, EVAAL, BARNY
9 Key Elements
 Estimate amounts of technical and financial
assistance , costs and authorities relied upon to
implement the plan
 Long Term Operation and Maintenance of BMPs
 Monitoring and Evaluation
 Information/education component to encourage
participation and plan implementation
 Schedule for implementing the management measure
 5, 10, 15 or 20 years?
 Include plan milestones
9 Key Elements
 Interim, measurable milestones to assess if plan is being
implemented
 Set of criteria to determine whether plan objectives
are or are not being achieved over time
If little progress, how and when will plan be revised?
 Monitoring component to evaluate the effectiveness of
the implementation efforts over time using criteria from
above
 Integrate with schedule and milestones
 Use WQ and habitat monitoring; WQ modeling
Importance of 9KE plans
County LW plans
 ATCP 50 revised in 2014
 Revisions to LW plan content and development ATCP 50.12
 Revisions DO NOT REQUIRE meeting 9 Key
Elements or EPA approval
 Revisions are CONSISTENT with 9 Key Elements
 Over time, some LW plans will meet 9 Key
Elements in specific watersheds (TMDL’s, etc); not
the entire county
ATCP 50.12 - Content
Element 1
Element 4
Element 2 & 3
Element 1, 3, 6
Element 3
Element 1 & 3
ATCP 50.12 Content
Element 4
Element 4
Element 4, 6, 7
Element 7, 8, 9
Element 5
Element 1- 9
ATCP 50.12 - Development
Element 1- 9
Element 1- 9
County LW plans
Two options to address the 9 Key Elements:
 Develop a separate 9 Key Element plan
 Use existing information from LW plan, TMDL, WQ data

AND
Reference the 9 element plan in LW plan
 Revise LW plan to reflect the 9 Key Elements

For specific watersheds, not county wide
EPA 2015 grant requirements
 DNR Nonpoint activities funded with EPA 319
grant funds should be linked to water quality
outcomes
 Focus on restoration of impaired waters via
watershed based plans
 At least 50% of 319 funds must be used in 319
eligible areas
 319 eligible area = has a plan consistent with EPA’s
9 Key Elements - DNR/EPA review
Pink = approved TMDLs
Cross-hatch = 319 eligible
Expire in 2016-2019
Pink and some cross hatch
areas will become
ineligible in 2015 w/o
9 element plan
Green = Impaired Water
 Green /Red = Recently
Approved
 Yellow =Expire in 2016
 White = Expire in 2019
 Green = Impaired Waters
EPA & DNR Review of 9 Element Plans
 “EPA regions will annually review a sample of
WBPs from each state and provide feedback and
recommendations to help ensure the plans lay a good
foundation for efforts to restore and/or protect
waterbodies.”
 “EPA will select the plan(s) for review and conduct
each review using a protocol that will be
communicated with the states in advance of the
reviews.”
9KE plans under development
 In 2014, DNR used Federal 319 funds to help
develop 9 Key Element plans across the state
 Provide ‘example plans’ to help meet the 9 Key
Elements
 5 projects selected
 Eau Claire, Marinette, Brown, Outagamie and
Marathon Counties
 Not likely Federal 319 funds can used to develop
plans in future
9 Element Plan Timeline
 December 2014 - 319 project $ awarded
 January – September 2015 – develop 9 Key Element
Plan
 October – November 2015 - submit draft plan to DNR
and EPA for review
 November - December 2015 - revise plan and get
‘approval’ plan is consistent with 9 Key Elements
9KE TMDL plans under development
 Lafayette County – 2 TMDL basins
 Red Cedar TMDL - Barron and Dunn Counties
 Rock River TMDL – 8 counties
 Jackson and Mason Creeks – Rock River TMDL –
Walworth County
 Little Lake Wissota TMDL – Chippewa County
 Wisconsin River Basin??
 Milwaukee River Basin??
 Upper Fox and Wolf River Basins??
DNR, GLRI grants & 9 Key Elements
DNR Grants
 TRM, NOD, Lakes and River grants are funded with
Federal 319 and State $
 Multiple funding sources used to increase number
of nonpoint projects across the state
 Projects using 319 Federal funds must have an
approved 9 Key Element plan
GLRI grants
 GLRI projects funded with a combination of
Federal and local /state funds
 In 2015, projects using Federal GLRI funds must
have an approved 9 Key Element plan
 EPA and DNR will be reviewing the plans for
consistency with 9 Key Elements
319 Funds and Grant Structure
$4 million dollars per year
Program Funds
≤ 50%
≥ 50%
Project Funds
Program Funds (est. $2 million)
 20 DNR staff used implement Wisconsin NPS Program
Management Plan
 Program administration
 NPS Monitoring
 NPS Research
 TMDL Development
 All planning-related activities – NPS, TMDL, etc.
 NPS-related staff time
Project Funds (est. $2 million)
 Project #1 – Eligible DNR Staff (4 FTEs)
 NPS Coord, Lakes, WQ Biologists
 Project #2 – DATCP Contract (staff costs)
 Project #3 – TRM and NOD Grants – $ 1 million
 Project #4 – Lake and River Protection Grants – $200K
 Project #5 – Tier I & III Monitoring (USGS/SLOH/LTE costs)
Measuring & Tracking Progress
 National performance measures for NPS Program
 WQ-9 - Estimate annual load reductions of nitrogen,
phosphorus, and sediment achieved by § 319 funded
projects
 WQ-10 - Number of waterbodies primarily NPSimpaired that are partially or fully restored
 WQ-SP12 - Improve water quality conditions in
impaired watersheds using the watershed approach
NPS Success Stories: http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/success319/index.cfm
Resources to develop
9 Key Element plans
DNR 9 Key Element Web Page
 dnr.wi.gov - keyword: 9 Key Element
Your watershed
determines the
health of your
wetlands, lakes
and streams
fyi.uwex.edu/watershedplanning
Why?
• Concise, easy to use.
• Focused on Wisconsin.
• Restored and protected water resources require
good comprehensive planning and management.
• Certain elements of planning required to meet
DNR grant requirements.
29
“Good” planning
• Need buy-in and participation from key
stakeholders from the start.
• Meet guidelines, yes…but also be implementable.
• Not a plan to sit on the shelf.
• Dynamic…can be modified easily.
• Leads to restored and protected
water bodies.
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Getting Started (chapter 1)
• Why and how to create a watershed
plan.
• Geographic scope of your plan.
• Gathering stakeholders (contacting, meeting,
organizing).
• Education and outreach.
31
What You Need to Know
and How to Find It (chapter 2)
• A “Watershed Profile”.
• Water quality standards.
• Designated uses.
• Water quality criteria.
• Watershed assessment.
• Watershed protection.
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Creating Your Plan
(chapter 3)
• Prioritizing sources of pollutants.
• Vision, goals, objectives, action
items, cost estimates.
• US EPA’s “Nine Elements of a Watershed Plan”.
• Civic engagement.
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Putting Your Plan into Action (chapter 4)
• Overseeing implementation.
• Keeping the momentum going.
• Defining success.
• Monitoring progress.
• Modifying your plan.
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Chad Cook
Natural Resource Educator
chad.cook@uwex.edu
920-232-1990
fyi.uwex.edu/watershedplanning
Presentation produced by the UW–Exrtension Environmental Resources Center
Photos by Jeffrey J. Strobel and Kris Stepenuck
EPA Handbook for 9 Key Element
Watershed Plans
DNR Watershed Plan Guidance
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/surfacewater/documents/Watershed
Planning_Guidance_final_2013.pdf
DNR Healthy Watersheds Assessment
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/watersheds/hwa.html/
Other Tools and DNR Contact Info
 Tools to develop LW plans
 dnr.wi.gov – keyword:
 9 Key
 EVAAL
 STEPL
 Andrew Craig – DNR Nonpoint Source Planning
Coordinator
Andrew.craig@wisconsin.gov
(608)267-7695