Updating NMI’s 15-year anti-pollution strategy

Pop quiz: What is the definition of a watershed? If you’ve been to any of our eco-game shows, such as at the Environmental Expo or the Eco Arts fest, you might already be familiar with this question. The interagency Watershed Group certainly is. It is a truly representative body, composed of members from the Division of Environmental Quality, the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., the Department of Lands and Natural Resources, Northern Marianas College, the Governor’s Office, the Coastal Resources Management Office, the Resource Conservation and Development office, and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The WG recently went through a two-day planning session to update the CNMI’s 15-year non-point source pollution strategy. NOAA and the EPA jointly require all states to update their plans every five years to maintain their eligibility for funding.

For assistance with the revisions, the WG solicited the assistance of Bill Hasham from the Washington State Department of Ecology. He was one of the primary authors of the most recent five-year update of Washington State’s non-point source plan. Together the group re-examined all actions in the original plan, consolidated them, removed the completed actions, and revised the project descriptions. Each project addresses non-point source pollution problems in one of six different categories:

* agriculture;

* urban activities;

* habitat alteration;

* marinas and other recreational areas;

* monitoring and enforcement; and

* education
Some of the proposed projects to address these areas include the following:

* incorporate best management practices at animal facilities to ensure that livestock manure does not run off into nearby water bodies;

* construct or expand wetland habitats to help in naturally filtering runoff and sedimentation; and

* reduce illegal burning to decrease the risk of erosion and sedimentation.

A major project is the “Know Your Watershed” campaign currently being undertaken by the Division of Environmental Quality. This campaign is aimed at residents in the LauLau Bay area. A survey of their understanding of and practices relating to non-point source pollution is already being conducted. The campaign will also include producing educational materials to inform these residents that their actions on land affect the adjacent marine habitats, especially the coral reefs.

Now that the strategic planning session has ended, the tough work of writing up the plan is yet to come. Stay tuned to this page to find out more about the activities of the WG. Oh, and the answer to the pop quiz? A watershed is all of the land area that drains into a specific body of water. (Qamar Schuyler)