CONSTITUTION HALL • 525 WEST ALLEGAN STREET • P.O. BOX 30028 • LANSING, MICHIGAN 48909

- 7528

www.michigan.gov /dnr • (517) 284

- MDNR(6367) S TATE OF M ICHIGAN

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

L ANSING

RICK SNYDER

GOVERNOR DR. WILLIAM E. MORITZ

DIRECTOR

March 24, 2016

Mr. Prasad Chumble U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Office of Water

Office of Wastewater Management

Mail Code: 410M Washington, D.C. 20460

Dear Mr. Chumble :

Subject: State Programs for Protection of Water Quality from Forest Road Discharges

I write with an understanding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is

interested in receiving additional information regarding accountability measures for noncompliance with state Forestry Best Management Practices (BMP) programs.

Michigan has adopted and used a BMP guide for Sustainable Soil and Water Quality

Practices on Forest Land si nce 1994, with the most recent update published in 2009. The use of the BMPs is voluntary in Michigan, but compliance does enable responsible parties to meet pertinent environmental regulations, including the federal Clean Water
Act; Part 31, Water Resour ces Protection, of the Natural Resources a nd Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451 as amended (NR E PA); Part 91, Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control, of NREPA; Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of NREPA; and Part 303, Wetlands Protection, of NREPA.

The advent of f orest certification programs ha s elevated the awareness and implementation of forestry BMPs over the past decade . Forest certification programs presently function as an effective accountability measure for compliance with BMPs in

that t he programs require that certificate holders meet or exceed the recommended BMPs and that BMP monitoring takes place (e.g. SFI 201 5

- 201 9 Forest Management Standard, Objective 3

– Protection and Maintenance of Water Resources ).

Approximately 5.9 million ac res of public and private forestland in Michigan is certified under the forest management standards of the Forest Stewardship Council ®

, Sustainable Forestry Initiative ® , and the American Tree Farm System, all of which specifically require compliance with f orestry BMP and are regularly audited for

conformance.

Michigan D epartment of Natural Resources (D NR ) has been conducting BMP compliance audits on both certified and non

- certified forest lands since 1996. As of

2011

, the audits were conducted under the au spices of the of Michigan SustainableMr. Prasad Chumble Page Two March 24, 2016

Forestry Initiative®

– Implementation Committee . The most recent BMP audit was conducted in 2014, and assessed BMP compliance on 36 sites (with a total of evaluated 1,250 BM Ps) located on n ational f orest lands, s tate f orest lands, industrial private (corporate) forest lands, and non

- industrial private (family) forest lands.

Results of the 2014 audit showed that 93.7% of BMPs on the audited lands were being applied correctly or in an acceptable manner; 3.6% were being applied incorrectly; and only 2.7% were needed but not applied.

Forest certification also influences the operations of forest producers (logging companies and sole proprietors) that operate on both certified and non

- certified forest ownerships. The SFI 2015

- 2019 Forest Management Standard (Objective 11

– Training and Education) and Fiber Sourcing Standard (Objective 6

– Training and Education) require SFI Implementation Committees to provide a program for core an d continuing education (including BMPs for protection of water quality, streamside management, and road construction, maintenance, and retirement) for designation as a Qualified Logging Professional (QLP). The verification of a responsible QLP is required for execution of timber sale contracts on SFI certified forest lands, and is also required for sourcing from

both SFI certified and non

- SFI certified forestlands to SFI certified primary mills.

Through the SFI

– Implementation Committee

, Michigan also mai ntains an Inconsistent Practices Reporting 1

- 800 telephone number by which the public may report any observed instances of improper logging operations by SFI QLPs. Such reports are promptly investigated by the SFI

– Implementation Committee

.

I hope that t his information proves useful for the purpose of U.S. EPA assessment of

s tate p rograms for p rotection of w ater q uality from f orest r oad d ischarges

.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Mr. David Price , Forest Planning and Operations Manager, Forest Resources Division, at 517

- 284

- 5891 ; priced1@michigan.gov ; or Department of Natural Resources, P.O. Box 30452, Lansing, Michigan 48909; or you may contact me.

Sincerely,

William O’Neill

Natural Resources Deputy Director

517

- 284

- 5810

cc: Mr. David Price , DNR