The Nitrogen and Selenium Management Program: An Alternative Management Framework to Address a Bioaccumulative Pollutant in an Urbanized Southern California Watershed

Since 2004, a group of over 20 stakeholders have been implementing a comprehensive management program to address sources of nitrogen and selenium in the Newport Bay watershed in Orange County, California. The collaborative, stakeholder driven effort, the Nitrogen and Selenium Management Program (NSMP), included, among other things, an evaluation of the sources and loads of selenium and nitrogen, consideration of a water quality trading program, the development of a Best Management Practices (BMP) Strategic Plan, and the development of a tissue-based site-specific objective (SSO) for selenium. These NSMP work efforts then formed the basis of a Selenium technical Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and implementation plan for the watershed. The NSMP and the subsequent development of the selenium TMDL are examples of a how a collaborative, stakeholder driven effort provided an opportunity for federal, state, regional, and local agencies to work with the regulated community and environmental nonprofit organizations in order to develop a comprehensive, progressive, and unique approach to water quality management.