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During the development of these strategies,HW met with Brian Dudley of the Massachusetts <br /> Department of Environmental Protection(DEP)to discuss DEP's opinion on how specific <br /> approaches to fertilizer management could help reduce nitrogen loading to reach the TMDLs for <br /> the embayment system. According to DEP's initial guidance, the strategies must show a direct, <br /> verifiable reduction in nitrogen loading for credit to be given towards a particular TMDL. <br /> Examples that could be verified include the reduction in lawn area on a property, a restriction in <br /> new lawn sizes, or quantifiable changes in fertilizer practices at municipal fields or golf courses. <br /> DEP also remains open to discussing how fertilizer reductions achieved through education and <br /> outreach could be achieved and quantified. The concept of a pilot outreach program was <br /> discussed to evaluate the extent of change in homeowner practices over time. The strategies <br /> discussed below take these issues into consideration. <br /> Adoption of the five strategies targeting current nitrogen loading(i.e.,the first five listed above <br /> and in Table ES-1 could result in an overall nitrogen loading reduction of approximately 5,400 <br /> pounds (lbs)/year,which represents 5.2 % of the controllable nitrogen load within the watershed <br /> (Table ES-1). In addition,the sixth and last strategy targeting residential lawns for future <br /> development could result in reduced nitrogen loads associated with future development. <br /> While these actions,on their own, do not solve the water quality problems experienced in <br /> Pleasant Bay, they can play an important role in the overall water quality management of the <br /> Bay, driven by the wastewater planning efforts in each watershed town. <br /> Pleasant Bay Fertilizer Management Plan iv Horsley Witten Group, Inc. <br /> Final Report December 2010 <br />