Nutrient Criteria Stakeholders Meeting
July 18, 2006
Elm Street Conference Center
Jefferson City, MO

In Attendance: Greg Anderson, MDNR; Bob Bacon, ERC; Debbie Baker, CPCB – Kansas U; Dorris Bender, City of Independence; Dale Blevins, USGS; Todd Bolte, St Louis MSD; Georganne Bowman, MDNR; Robert Brundage, Newman Comley, & Ruth; Loring Bullard, Watershed Committee of the Ozarks; David Casaletto, Table Rock Lake Water Quality; Cindy DiStefano, MDC; Brian Fredrick, MEC Water Resources; Peter Goode, Washington University; Don Huggins, CPCB – Kansas U; Candi Lordo, Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program; Dan Obrecht, UMC; Mark Osborn, MDNR; Trent Stober, MEC Water Resources; John Waitman, City of Springfield; Gary Welker, EPA;

David Casaletto gave an overview of the nutrient enrichment issue in Table Rock Lake. His presentation included a number of pictures of algae blooms and other forms of degradation resulting from poorly maintained private septic systems, as well as overland runoff and permitted point source discharges. He reported a general trend in improvement in some parts of the lake over the last few years, which can probably be attributed to controls on phosphorus discharges in the James River Basin. However, continued population growth in the area is a potential threat to that improvement. Other slides showed variations in water clarity in the lake, with a Secchi disk as a reference point. Mr. Casaletto gave a brief description of Table Rock Lake Water Quality, Inc., of which he is the executive director. It is a non-profit organization organized with the goal of continued protection of the lake through education and public outreach. A sub-committee for developing nutrient criteria was proposed and will be formed at a later date.

Don Huggins and Debbie Baker, of the Central Plains Center for Bioassessment at the University of Kansas gave an overview of revisions to proposed criteria in the matrix using more sophisticated statistical analysis. Specifically they applied robust regression to the response of chlorophyll-a and Secchi depth. Previously this had been done using simple linear regression. In most of the categories, advisory limits for total phosphorus were raised slightly.

Mark went over some questions that had been raised in a letter from Dorris Bender. Discussion was deferred.