[Community Watershed Guidebook Table of Contents]
The Forest Fertilization Guidebook describes detailed planning and operational guidelines for forest fertilization programs and should be read in conjunction with the following guidelines.
There are two principal concerns with fertilizers applied in a community watershed:
- directly or indirectly contaminating the community water supply with increased nitrogen and phosphorus, either through broadcasting fertilizer directly onto streams during aerial application or by indirect seepage into streams
- triggering algae production in lakes, reservoirs and streams, with a consequent reduction in water quality as a result of increased nutrients from fertilization.
Requirements:
- A 10 m fertilizer-free zone (FFZ) must be maintained around any flowing stream that is observable from the air in a community watershed.
- Forest fertilizers must not be applied within 100 m upslope of a community water supply intake.
- Applications of forest fertilizers in a community watershed must not cause a deterioration in water quality immediately below the treatment area or at the intake.
Biosolids from treated waste water sewage should not be applied in community watersheds.
Forestry grade urea (46-0-0) and ammonium sulphate (35-0-0-10) are the only fertilizers that have been specifically tested for trace element content to the satisfaction of the British Columbia Ministry of Health. They are the only formulation that is recommended for application in community watersheds. As other formulations are tested and approved by the Ministry of Health, they will be added to the list of acceptable fertilizers.
Notify the water purveyor of the times when fertilizers will be applied in the watershed.
Broadcast fertilization is not recommended in community watersheds with high natural nutrient levels in streams or lakes. If the additional nutrient input from forest fertilization may result in increased production of periphytic algae, fertilization should not take place. The growth of algae is primarily limited by phosphorus, or is co-limited by both nitrogen and phosphorus. Phosphorus is generally not available in soils in coastal watersheds, and as long as phosphorus is not applied in fertilizers, algae problems are unlikely. Some interior streams and lakes have higher natural phosphorus levels, and as a result, they are susceptible to a reduction in water quality through increased nitrogen availability after forest fertilization. These watersheds include those with natural, pre-treatment water quality parameters of:
- a lake or reservoir with a nitrogen/phosphorus ratio less than 15:1
- natural nitrate levels of greater than 1 mg/L in lakes, or of greater than 2 mg/L in streams
- phosphorus levels in streams or lakes of greater than 10 µg/L
- natural algae production (chlorophyll-a of greater than 50 mg/m2 in streams, or of > 2 µg/L in lakes.
The proponent is responsible for pre-treatment and post-treatment water sampling. All samples are to be taken in the same season that fertilizer is applied. Samples are to be measured for nitrate, ammonia, and total dissolved phosphorus.
- Apply urea in cool and moist conditions (October–March), but not when soils are saturated and heavy rain is occurring or is forecast within the next few days. Timing is a balancing act between volatilization and creating high fertilizer run-off conditions.
- In watersheds with lakes or reservoirs, fertilizers should not be applied during the spring or early summer, when algae blooms in lakes or reservoirs as a result of rising water temperatures and available nutrients may be increasing. In general, this can occur during the following periods:
- April 1–September 15 (coast)
- May 15–September 15 (Cariboo, Prince George and Prince Rupert forest regions)
- April 15–September 15 (Nelson and Kamloops forest regions).
Up to 30 per cent of the watershed area could be treated in any 12-month period, provided that a fertilizer-free zone can be maintained around all flowing streams visible from the air.
If a fertilizer-free zone cannot be maintained around at least 75 per cent of the total length of flowing streams, no more than 12 per cent of a watershed shall be fertilized. Monitoring results have shown that if less than 12 per cent of a watershed is treated, measurable levels of nitrate-N will not be detected below the treatment area.
- Maintain a 10 m fertilizer-free zone (FFZ) around all streams observable from the air.
- Map all streams in the proposed cutblock at a map scale of not less than 1:20 000 before applying fertilizer. In addition to the streams normally shown on maps of this scale, all other streams that can be observed from aerial photographs and from preliminary reconnaissance helicopter flights of the area should be sketched in. Use these maps to plan flight lines.
- Recognition of small streams from helicopters can be difficult in advanced second growth. Often they are more evident on air photos than they are from low-flying helicopters. Historical air photos can also be used to demarcate streams, that would have been more evident at earlier seral stages.
- If advanced second growth makes recognizing flowing streams very difficult and unreliable, do not treat more than 12 per cent of the watershed area in any single application, to protect water quality.
- Treatment boundaries should eliminate streams from the treatment block.
- Flight lines should run parallel to the stream or water body and should be laid out. This will provide a buffer before the fertilizer is applied to the remainder of the block (Figure 11).
- Plan flight lines so that there is a 10 m fertilizer-free zone (FFZ) around all streams. For example, a 60 m application swath (30 m either side of the flight line, Figure 12), will ensure that there is a minimum 10 m FFZ. This minimum setback should be applied to all streams, regardless of whether they have a riparian reserve.
Figure 11. Strategy for laying out a buffer zone to protect a stream flowing through an area proposed for fertilization.
Figure 12. Strategy for laying out a 10 m buffer zone for no fertilizer application along a creek.
- A fertilizer-free zone (FFZ) is the band around any flowing stream, where the intent is to keep the zone free of fertilizers. Because some fertilizer pellets will inadvertently enter this zone, it is not strictly "fertilizer-free," but the intent is to prevent fertilizers from being applied anywhere in the zone.
- Treat riparian reserve zones as fertilizer-free zones. Every community watershed stream greater than 1.5 m wide has a minimum 10 m riparian reserve zone, and streams wider than 5 m have wider reserves. There is no benefit in fertilizing these no-harvest areas.
- Watersheds that are not nutrient sensitive require a 10 m fertilizer-free zone around all flowing streams that are observable from the air, and it is desirable to maintain a minimum 10 m fertilizer-free zone around all streams.
- Fertilizing is not recommended for nutrient sensitive watersheds.
- If fertilizing does take place in sensitive watersheds, increase the FFZ to 30 m around all streams that are observable from the air.
- A 100 m FFZ must be maintained upslope and upstream of any community watershed intake. Refer to section 2.3.1 "Location of water intakes" for information on determining the location of the water intake.
Heliports should not be located within community watersheds. However, if they are, the following guidelines apply.
- Locate heliports in dry areas, well removed from ditches or natural water bodies.
- Direct any surface drainage through heliports away from ditches or streams.
- Clean up loading sites daily to prevent accidental exposure to concentrated amounts of fertilizer.
- Ensure that the contract contains a contingency plan that specifies the remediation of accidental spills.
Monitoring water quality before and after broadcast forest fertilization is recommended in all community watersheds. The monitoring is the responsibility of the person applying the fertilizer. The following guidelines are recommended.
- Choose two sampling sites, one upstream from the treatment area to serve as the control and the other immediately downstream of the treatment area. Sampling in these locations should indicate the maximum concentrations of chemicals from fertilizer application. More sites should be selected if the treatment area covers a large area.
- Locate sample sites accurately. Only if the same location is consistently sampled can changes in water quality be interpreted with confidence. Write station location descriptions accurately, denote the sites in the field with flags, and locate them on maps.
- Conduct pre-application monitoring for two weeks. Obtain three samples, twice per week at both control and treatment area sites.
- Analyze pre- and post-monitoring samples for pH, nitrate-N, nitrite-N, total ammonia, and total dissolved phosphorus. Samples must be shipped on the day of collection, and results received back from the laboratory as quickly as possible, preferably within three days.
- Report post-treatment monitoring results that exceed levels specified in this guidebook promptly to the Ministry of Health, the water purveyor, and the district manager. Use these results to guide future applications.
- Conduct post-application monitoring immediately after applying fertilizer and then twice a week for three weeks. Also, if a storm occurs during the three-week post-treatment period, obtain water samples within 24 hours of the event. This will indicate any increased nutrient inputs through direct application to streams or through accidental spills.
- Collect at least one sample approximately three months after applying fertilizer to determine that water quality is returning to background levels. In the interior of the province, collect at least one sample immediately after spring freshet.
- Ship samples on the day of collection in a cooler packed with ice in order to maintain a sample temperature of approximately 4°C. The laboratory must receive the samples within 72 hours of collection.
For assistance with water quality monitoring in community watersheds, contact:
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Water Quality Branch
Environmental Protection Department
Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks
765 Broughton Street
Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4
Clean up all spills, on land or into water, immediately.
Before beginning any fertilizer program, prepare a contingency plan and have the district manager approve in case of accidental spills of fertilizer into a water course. The plan should include but not be limited to:
- names and telephone numbers of emergency contacts in the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Forests, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, and the water purveyor
- a plan for an alternate water supply until water quality in the affected area returns to normal (the need for alternate supplies will be determined by the medical health officer)
- a water quality monitoring program to document the return of water quality to a level acceptable to the Ministry of Health
- accident clean-up procedures, including remediation of the site and disposing of spill material.
Pesticides are chemicals or organisms used to prevent, destroy or mitigate vegetative, insect and fungal organisms in order to satisfactory regeneration of desired vegetation or maintain forest health. Applying pesticides in a community watershed requires a high level of care to ensure that they do not contaminate the community water supply.
Requirements:
- Before a pesticide is applied in a community watershed, the water licensee must be notified and provided with a copy of the pesticide-use permit application.
- A minimum 10 m pesticide-free zone, except for biological pesticides, must be maintained around all streams, lakes and other water bodies in a community watershed.
- A pesticide-free zone must be maintained within 100 m upslope of the community watershed intake.
- Pesticides must not be stored in a community watershed for more than 24 hours before application and 7 days beyond the conclusion of the application, unless they are contained within a permanent structure.
- If a pesticide or pesticide breakdown product is detected at a community watershed intake, then no further pesticides will be used until the MOH medical health officer is satisfied that all necessary measures have been taken to preserve water quality.
The following guidelines support the regulations in the Silvicultural Practices Regulation and therefore apply to those areas under a silvicultural prescription. The guidelines are also appropriate for bark beetle and other insects control, which would likely be done in a mature forest, but not under a silvicultural prescription. These forest health actions will be described in the forest development plan, and those actions should be consistent with these guidelines.
Pesticides should be used in community watersheds only in the context of an integrated pest management (IPM) program. Integrated pest management is an ecological approach to suppressing pest populations in which all available techniques are consolidated into a unified program. The goal of IPM is to minimize impacts on human health and the environment by combining the best methods for maximum effect at reasonable cost with the least hazard. An IPM program includes:
- identifying and monitoring the population levels of pests and their natural enemies
- assessing damage to know when control is necessary
- combining various treatment strategies, including biological controls, physical or mechanical controls (e.g., flame weeders, screens, traps), cultural controls (e.g., resistant varieties) and pesticides
- recording and evaluating the results and refining the program.
A successful IPM program can result in a minimum application of chemicals in a community watershed.
Advise community water supply water licensees when pesticide applications are being planned within community watersheds. The water licensee should be informed two months before the planned application date. A copy of the pesticide-use permit application must be sent to the water purveyor. Contact the local BC Environment office for an updated list of addresses for community water licensees.
The following information must be made available to the community water supply water licensee upon request:
- application date(s), proposed or actual
- location of proposed treatment site
- pest to be controlled
- pesticide (trade name and common name)
- rate to be used
- total area to be treated
- proposed mixing site
- method of application
- environmental protection measures (e.g., buffer zones, special application techniques)
- types and extent of monitoring
- map(s) of suitable scale, showing locations of waterbodies and nearest community water intake downstream of the treatment area.
Keep pesticide operation records for at least three years after application.
Before operations begin, prepare a spill contingency plan and keep it on-site at all times that pesticides are in the watershed. Provide a copy of the plan to the water purveyor on request.
Maintain a minimum 10 m pesticide-free zone, except for bacterial pesticides such as Bt, around all streams, lakes and other water bodies in a community watershed. This regulation applies to all streams, whether flowing with water or not, within the treatment area.
In community watersheds, all streams greater than 1.5 m in width have a riparian reserve zone wider than 10 m. In order to maintain the vegetative composition of the riparian reserve zone, do not apply pesticides within the reserve unless it is necessary for insect or disease control.
Do not apply pesticides within 100 m upslope of a community water supply water intake. This zone is a general "no-activity" zone (including no timber harvesting and no road building).
The following practices are recommended for maintaining the pesticide-free zone.
Except for biological pesticides such as Bt, aerial application of pesticides is not recommended within community watersheds. Wherever possible, use only ground-based application to maintain the pesticide-free zone around all streams, lakes and other water bodies. This is because the risk of inadvertent water contamination is higher with aerial application than with other methods.
If the Pesticide Management Branch approves aerial application:
- select aircraft ferrying routes to avoid flying upstream of community watershed water supply intakes
- use the most practical target-specific application method available
- use only application equipment that is in good repair, free from leaks and appropriate for the intended use.
Persons who are experienced in aerial applications and who know the site must be at the treatment area during planning and application. It is also important for trained aerial application personnel be involved in developing the treatment program and to be on-site during application. As well, experienced personnel must be able to monitor site conditions during application to be able to modify or suspend the program according to changes in weather conditions.
For all aerial or ground-based power spraying operations, spray drift monitoring should be carried out using test cards, sensitive tape, or other appropriate methodologies to ensure effective buffer zone size.
The Ministry of Forests and the Pesticide Management Branch, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks require that weather conditions be monitored during pesticide application with appropriate equipment and methods. The minimum conditions that should be monitored include temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and wind direction. The intent is to limit volatilization and subsequent drift to non-treatment areas.
Applicators are responsible for creating adequate buffers to maintain the 10 m pesticide-free zone adjacent to all streams and lakes. The values shown in Table 9 are the recommended minimums for various application techniques.
Do not apply pesticides directly to the buffer zone. Some off-target contamination may occur in the buffer zone, but should not occur in the pesticide-free zone or the waterbody. When determining the size of the buffer zone, consider the characteristics of the pesticide, application equipment, terrain, soil and weather conditions at the time of the applications.
Use non-toxic marking materials to clearly mark the boundaries of the buffer zone before and during pesticide application.
Table 9. Width of buffer zone required for various pesticide application equipment
Transporting
Pesticides must be transported in a manner that prevents escape if containers breal during transport. If a pesticide container breaks or leaks during transport, spills should be contained within a leak-proof container. This "double wall" concept will prevent contamination of the environment and minimize the effort required for clean-up.
Mixing
ifit is practical to do so, locate mixing sites for chemicals outside the community watershed. If a mixing site must be in a community watershed, the location must be as far away from natural water bodies as practical, preferably at least 100 m.
Keep concentrated chemicals outside the pesticide-free zone.
If it is practical to do so, provide mixing water from outside the watershed. Do not use contaminated suction hoses to supply mixing water from rivers.
Use a reservoir (nurse tank) between the source and the mixing tank to protect water intakes from contamination, and maintain an air gap between the equipment and the mixing tank.
Transport all unused pesticides outside the community watershed or return them to a secure storage facility immediately after completing the project.
Disposal
Mix only enough pesticide for the planned treatment. This will minimize the amount of unused pesticide and therefore minimize waste and disposal problems. If possible, use excess pesticide in pesticide applications.
Dispose of all unwanted or unused mixed pesticides and all contaminated materials outside the community watershed and in accordance with federal and provincial recommendations. If there are questions or concerns related to pesticide disposal, consult the regional Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Environmental Protection Program.
Triple rinse metal, glass and plastic containers; single rinse bags. Put rinse water into a spray tank and use according to label instructions.
Dispose of empty containers regularly, preferably daily. Do not allow containers to accumulate on the job site. If daily disposal is not practical or a pesticide recycle system is in place, hold containers in secure storage until they can be disposed of safely.
Do not wash spray equipment, vehicles, aircraft, protective clothing or other contaminated items in the riparian management area or within 100 m of a water body.
Contaminated materials, particularly those associated with spills, may be declared "hazardous waste" under the Waste Disposal Act. Contact the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Environmental Protection Program, for further information.
Storage
Bring only the minimum amount of pesticide needed for the application into the watershed. Store pesticide containers in a safe, secure place until immediately before mixing.
Do not store forest pesticides in a community watershed outside of a permanent structure for a period exceeding seven days after the conclusion of the application.
If possible and practical, store pesticides outside of the community watershed.
If storage outside the community watershed is not practical, ensure that facilities for pesticide storage are:
- structurally sound
- kept locked when unattended
- vented to the outside
- weather tight
- designed to contain any spills.
If necessary, heat storage facilities to prevent freezing.
Post all storage facilities with appropriate warning signs. Section 36 of the British Columbia Pesticide Regulations requires notice in block letters with wording such as:
W A R N I N G !
CHEMICAL STORAGE
Authorized Personnel Only
Prepare and maintain a plan for handling pesticide spills within a community watershed. The plan should include:
- accident clean up procedures for the types of chemicals being used
- names and telephone numbers of emergency contacts
- name and telephone number of the water purveyors
- procedures for remediation of the site and disposal of spill material.
Keep a spill kit on-site while transporting, storing or applying pesticides in a community watershed. Spill kits should contain the following items as well as any other materials required by the nature of the operation or regulatory agencies:
- personal protective safety gear
- instructions for cleaning up spill and disposing of waste
- emergency phone numbers and the name and phone numbers of the water purveyor
- absorptive material
- tools to pick up contaminated material and spilled pesticides (e.g., shovels, plastic bags, brush dustpan)
- bleach and hydrated lime
- rope and flagging tape (to prevent access to the site).
Sampling water quality at the community water supply intake is required only where it is specified in the permit. Sampling is the responsibility of the person doing the application. Water quality should be sampled during and immediately after aerial or boom spray pesticide applications. In many watersheds, the water purveyor will have a routine water sampling program and should be involved in the sampling.
If limited backpack spray or hack and squirt type applications are used, water quality monitoring is at the discretion of the Pesticide Management Branch or the Ministry of Health and will be specified in the permit
Laboratory analysis of pesticides and residues can take a number of weeks. If this extends beyond the application period, the results can be used as a basis for prescribing alternate practices during the next application.
If water quality sampling detects pesticides or pesticide breakdown products at the community water supply water intake, no further use of pesticides is permitted in the watershed unless the Ministry of Health is satisfied that remedial measures have been taken and there is no risk of future contamination.
