Rapid Assessment Monitoring Program for Tidal Wetlands of Delaware, New Jersey & Pennsylvania, Version 1.0

Quality Assurance Project Plan

Partnership for the Delaware Estuary & Barnegat Bay Partnership

Date: May 1, 2010

Prepared by: Danielle Kreeger, PhD, Science Director and Angela Padeletti Science Specialist, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, and Martha Maxwell-Doyle Project Coordinator, Barnegat Bay Partnership

Prepared for: United States Environmental Protection Agency, Head Quarters, Region II, III, NJ DEP


Table of Contents

1.1 Quality Assurance Project Plan Approval Sheet 3

1.2 Distribution List 4

1.3 Project/Task Organization 6

Figure 1: Organizational Chart for this Project. 8

1.4 Problem Definition/Background 9

1.4.1 Problem Definition 9

1.4.2 Background 10

Figure 2: Salt marshes and development in Barnegat Bay, NJ. 11

Figure 3. Tidal Wetlands of the Delaware Estuary(Reed et al., 2007). 12

1.5 Project/Task Description 13

Figure 4: Example watersheds for rapid assessment in the Delaware Estuary. 15

Table 1. Indicators and metrics included in MidTRAM 2.0. 17

Table 2. Sampling with the rapid assessment method in watersheds; general time frames. 18

1.6 Quality Objectives and Criteria for Measurement Data 19

Precision 20

Accuracy 20

Bias 21

Representativeness 21

Completeness 21

Comparability 22

1.7 Special Training Needs/Certification 22

1.8 Reporting, Documents, Records & Reports to Managment 23

2.1 Sampling Process Design/Monitoring Process Design (Experimental Design) 25

2.2 Sampling Methods/ Monitoring Methods 27

2.3 Field Quality Control 27

2.4/2.5 Analytical Methods/ Analytical Quality Control 27

2.6 Sample Handling and Custody Requirements 28

2.7 Testing, Inspection, Maintenance and Calibration Requirements 28

3.0 Data Management 29

3.1 Assessments and Response Actions 29

3.2 Data Review, Verification, Validation and Usability 30

3.3 Verification and Validation Methods 30

3.4 Reconciliation with user Requirements 31

3.5 Non-Direct Measurements 31

References 31

Appendix A: Acronym Definitions 33

Appendix B: Mid-Atlantic Rapid Assessment Method 34

Appendix C: Mid-Atlantic Rapid Assessment Method QAPP 35

Appendix D: Field Team Audit 36

Appendix E: Data Sheet 37

Appendix F: List of Project Relevant to this Program QAPP 38

1.1 Quality Assurance Project Plan Approval Sheet

Program Title: Rapid Assessment Monitoring Program for Tidal Wetlands of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Version 1.0

Project Title: This “umbrella QAPP” covers basic rapid assessment methodologies (RAM) for tidal wetlands in the coastal region between Delaware and New Jersey and is intended to be applicable to multiple grant-funded project components of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Wetland Assessment (MACWA). For each specific project, an addendum to this umbrella QAPP will be produced that specifies additional details pursuant to its specific work plan. For a list of current projects referencing this QAPP see Appendix F: Project List.

Note: QAPP Nomenclature. Any future modifications to this Version 1.0 Umbrella QAPP for MACWA RAM efforts will require approval and necessitate renaming as new versions (e.g. 2.0, etc.) Addendum QAPP’s for projects will be sequentially referenced as Version 1.1, 1.2, etc. in line with the most current version of the umbrella QAPP. This Umbrella QAPP for MACWA RAM efforts (Tier 2 studies) is not to be confused with a separate Umbrella QAPP for MACWA fixed station monitoring (Tier 4 studies.)

Organization name: Partnership for the Delaware Estuary & Barnegat Bay Partnership

Effective date: May 31, 2010[1]

Approval:

Project Start Date: May 31, 2010

Project End Date: Indefinite until replaced with a new version. This is an umbrella QAPP that covers ongoing work for multiple grant-funded projects.

Project Manager &: ______Date: ______

QA Officer Danielle Kreeger, PhD, Science Director

Partnership for the Delaware Estuary

Project Manager &: ______Date: ______

QA Officer Martha Maxwell-Doyle, Project Coordinator

Barnegat Bay Partnership

EPA Project Officers: ______Date: ______

Gregg Serenbetz

EPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds

______Date: ______

Kathleen Drake

EPA Wetland Protection Team, USEPA Region 2

EPA QA Officers: ______Date: ______

Chuck Spooner- (retired-personnel)

EPA HQ

______Date: ______

Donna Ringel

EPA Region 2

1.2 Distribution List

MACWA RAM Umbrella QAPP V1.0 Page 17

Thomas Belton, PhD

Research Scientist

NJDEP - Science and Research

401 East State Street, PO Box 409

Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0409

609-633-3866

David Bushek PhD

Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory

6959 Miller Ave

Port Norris, NJ 08349

856- 785-0074

www.hsrl.rutgers.edu

Kathleen Drake

Wetlands Protection Team

EPA Region 2

290 Broadway

New York, NY 10007-1866

(212) 637-3817

Dorina Frizzera

Environmental Scientist I
Coastal Management Office
NJDEP - POB 418
Trenton, NJ 08625-0418


609-777-3251
www.nj.gov/dep/cmp

Philippe Hensel, PhD

Physical Scientist

NOAA National Geodetic Survey

1315 East-West Hwy.

Silver Spring MD 20910

Philippe Hensel

(301) 713 3198 ext. 137

Kevin Hess

PA DEP Water Planning Office

San German; PA 17105

717-783-9491

www.depweb.state.pa.us

Kevin Holcomb
Wildlife Biologist; Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
PO Box 72, 800 Great Creek Rd.
Oceanville, New Jersey 08231

(609) 748-1535

Amy Deller Jacobs

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

Watershed Assessment Section

820 Silver Lake Blvd., Ste 220

Dover, DE 19904

302-739-9939

www.dnrec.delaware.gov

Danielle Kreeger PhD, Science Director

Partnership for the Delaware Estuary

One Riverwalk Plaza

110 South Poplar Street, Suite 202

Wilmington, DE 19801

302-655-4990 x 104

www.delawareestuary.org

Martha Maxwell-Doyle

Project Coordinator

Barnegat Bay Partnership

College Drive

Toms River, NJ 08754-2001

Martha Maxwell-Doyle

(732) 255-0472 x5

Kurt Phillip

Wetlands Research Services

P.O. Box 156

Newark, DE 19715

302-738-7535

Regina Poeske

Office of Monitoring and Assessment

US EPA Region III

1650 Arch Street

Philadelphia, PA 19103

215-814-2725

http://epa.gov/reg3esd1/3ea50.htm

Irene Y. Purdy

Region 2 Delaware Estuary Program Manager

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency

290 Broadway, 24th Floor, DEPP/CEPB/EOS

NY, NY 10007-1866

212-637-3845

http://www.epa.gov/region2/

Roger L. Thomas
Patrick Center for Environmental Research
The Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Ben Franklin Parkway
Phila., PA 19103

215-299-1105
www.acnatsci.org/research/pcer/


David Velinsky, PhD
Senior Scientist and Vice President,
Patrick Center for Environmental Research
The Academy of Natural Science
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19103

215-299-1147

www.ansp.org

Kathleen Strakosch Walz

Ecologist, NJ Natural Heritage Program

NJDEP Division of Parks and Forestry

Office of Natural Lands Management

22 S. Clinton Ave, Plaza Bldg 4, 4th floor PO Box 404 Trenton, NJ 08625-0404

609.292.3683

Nathaniel B. Weston, PhD

Department of Geography and the Environment

Villanova University

Villanova, PA 19085

www.homepage.villanova.edu/nathaniel.weston/

Bartholomew Wilson P.G.

Environmental Scientist IV

Delaware CoastalProgram

Division of Soil and Water Conservation/ DNREC

Phone: 302-739-9161

MACWA RAM Umbrella QAPP V1.0 Page 17

1.3 Project/Task Organization

The relationship of the main partners and project managers for the rapid assessment elements of MACWA are summarized in Figure 1 and identified below. The principal investigators responsible for scientific guidance and analysis are Kreeger and Jacobs.

Project Managers

Danielle Kreeger, PhD, Science Director of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE) will be responsible for the overall organization and implementation of wetland monitoring and assessment projects that are funded by grants received by PDE. PDE will coordinate various subawardees funded through to PDE as well as maintain the official approved QA Project Plan for PDE and any addendums deemed necessary. Dr. Kreeger serves as both the Project Manager and QA Officer for PDE.

Martha Maxwell-Doyle, Project Coordinator of the Barnegat Bay Partnership (BBP) will be responsible for overall organization and implementation of projects that are funded by grants received by the BBP. This organization will coordinate various subawardees to BBP as well as maintain the official approved QA Project Plan for BBP and any addendums deemed necessary.

Collaborator – Subawardees and Associates

David Velinsky, PhD, Vice President and Director of the Patrick Center for Environmental Research, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP) could be a subawardee for this project. If so, Dr. Velinsky and ANSP staff will help interpret results, provide peer review for reports, and furnish field staff to assist with rapid assessment efforts across the Delaware Estuary.

David Bushek, PhD, Professor at Rutgers University’s Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory will provide scientific advice, boat support, and potentially field personnel to assist with field efforts in southern NJ.

Chris Bason, Science and Technical Coordinator for the Center for the Inland Bays could be a collaborator for projects in southern DE as well as helping with data interpretation and Mid-Atlantic sub-regional NEP-led information products.

Kurt Philipp, Wetlands Research Services, will work with the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia to provide technical advice to the NEPs regarding monitoring needs and locations and data interpretation.

Nathaniel Weston, Villanova University, will work with the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia to provide technical advice to the NEPs regarding the unique monitoring needs, locations and data interpretation for freshwater tidal wetlands.

State Partners

Bartholomew Wilson and Amy Jacobs, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) will coordinate Delaware State efforts in collaboration with their ongoing rapid assessment efforts. Delaware will also engage seasonal employees to assist in field data collection.

Thomas Belton, PhD, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), and Dorina Frizzera, New Jersey Coastal Zone Program (NJCZP) will work with PDE and BBP to facilitate coordination and data sharing with other monitoring efforts in New Jersey and help with any state-specific needs of the project.

Kevin Hess, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) will assist in meeting any state-specific needs as well as collaborate with monitoring and data interpretation from MACWA activities occurring in Pennsylvania.

Kathleen Strakosch Walz, Ecologist, NJ Natural Heritage Program, NJDEP Division of Parks and Forestry will coordinate other wetland assessment efforts in NJ with MACWA.

Federal Partners

US EPA Quality Assurance Officer: Chuck Spooner, EPA Head Quarters and Donna Ringel, EPA Region 2, will perform the responsibilities as Quality Assurance Officers for the US Environmental Protection Agency.

US EPA Project Officer: Greg Serenbetz, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds, and Kathleen Drake Wetland Protection Team, USEPA Region 2

will perform responsibilities as Project Officers for wetland assessment grants administered to PDE or BBP through US EPA Headquarters and Region 2, respectively.

US EPA Region 2: Kathleen Drake, Wetlands Protection Team, will facilitate regional interagency coordination between Region 2 and Headquarters, within Region 2, and between Regions 2 and 3. This coordination will facilitate implementation of MACWA, including QAPP review, data sharing, and reporting with regard to rapid assessment outcomes to groups such as the Mid-Atlantic Wetland Workgroup, National Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Work Group, and other federal resource managers.

US EPA Region 3: Regina Poeske, Office of Monitoring and Assessment, will work with Kathleen Drake and EPA Headquarters to ensure interagency coordination within EPA and facilitate communication and coordination with national efforts such as the National Wetland Condition Assessment.

US Fish and Wildlife Service: Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge; Kevin Holcomb, will help to coordinate monitoring within the refuge.

MACWA RAM Umbrella QAPP V1.0 Page 17

Figure 1: Organizational Chart for this Project.

MACWA RAM Umbrella QAPP V1.0 Page 17

1.4 Problem Definition/Background

1.4.1 Problem Definition

To date, no single entity has been able to assess and track both the extent and condition of tidal wetlands across the Delaware Estuary and New Jersey. Consequently only patchy, obsolete or inconsistent data on current wetland status and trends are available, despite the importance of such data to decision makers. This lack of information has hampered our collective abilities to produce periodic “State of the Estuary” reports (e.g., BBNEP 2005; PDE, 2002, 2008) and provide watershed-scale guidance to managers about protecting and enhancing wetland “natural capital” on a long-term basis, especially with the growing threat from sea level rise and other expected climate and watershed changes.

For these and other reasons, the BBNEP and PDE have prioritized tidal wetland assessment, protection, and research as core components of our strategic plan governing our activities in the next 5+ years. Our objectives are to facilitate coordination of tidal wetland science and management programs across the sub-region of the Mid-Atlantic that extends from coastal New Jersey to coastal Delaware, help other entities with resource leveraging, and promote education and outreach about the national importance of the area’s coastal wetlands. Our collaborative approach will help to ensure that various wetland assessment projects will be complimentary and yield high quality data that can be shared across the region in support of diverse watershed- and ecosystem-scale analyses and management needs.

This QAPP is for the rapid assessment component (Tier 2) of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Wetland Assessment (MACWA.) To support this collaborative, multi-entity wetland assessment program at the sub-regional scale (MACWA,) multiple grants and projects are needed. Therefore, this QAPP is designed as an umbrella document that will ensure consistency of methods and approaches among projects. Using this as their backbone, project-specific addendum QAPP’s will be produced separately that provide additional details needed such as specific sampling locations, replication, timelines, and personnel. This umbrella QAPP will be updated as new technologies and information merit, and subsequent versions will be renamed accordingly as new versions (1.0, 2.0, etc.) and submitted for full review and approval by EPA. Project-specific Addendum QAPPs will be named as Versions 1.1, 1.2, etc. in line with the current version number for the RAM Umbrella QAPP.

Outcomes from the rapid assessment portion of MACWA will include new data on current tidal wetland condition, a basis for future monitoring and assessment programs, and important planning information for regional restoration and climate adaptation planning. We will use the current version of the Mid-Atlantic Rapid Assessment Method (MidTRAM) to assess and contrast the condition of watersheds that characterize the diverse tidal wetland types and stressor scenarios across the Delaware Estuary and Barnegat Bay.

This project represents Phase II of MACWA, which is currently a joint effort among the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Barnegat Bay Partnership, and state and academic partners to implement an integrated, 3-tier program to uniformly assess the diverse freshwater tidal, brackish, and salt marshes across the multi-state estuary. This effort builds on Phase I, which consisted of the launching the Delaware Estuary Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program (DEWMAP) by PDE. In the future, MACWA might be expanded to include other estuaries in the sub-region from northern New Jersey to Maryland.