5.11 Pollution and Contaminants
production, and military sources; agricultural and forestry efuents such as herbicide and fertilizer runof; garbage and solid waste from landflls, con- struction debris, and waterborne debris that can entangle wildlife; acid rain, smog and excess nitrogen deposition, radioactive emissions, smoke from fres, and other airborne pollutants; and excess energy sources (e.g., trans- portation noise, submarine sonar, beach lights). (Salafsky et al. 2008) In addition to physical alteration of aquatic habitat, sediments and contaminants delivered through point and nonpoint sources magnify the level of threats to aquatic systems (TNC 2000) . Point source pollution is delivered primarily in the form of municipal wastewater and stormwater discharges. Te majority of water quality problems in North Carolina, however, stem from nonpoint source pollution associated with land-use activities such as development projects, forestry and agricultural practices, and road construction (NCDWQ 2000; SAMAB 1996) . Agricultural pesticides, particularly neonicotinoids and fpronil, are having direct and indi- rect negative nontarget impacts on aquatic invertebrates and vertebrates (Gibbons et al. 2014). 5.11.1 Sewage, Solid Wastes, and Effuents—Anticipated Impacts Te National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program adminis- tered by the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) regulates the discharge of point source pollution in our state. Permits establish limits on pollutants that must be met before wastewater is discharged to surface waters. Wastewater treatment technologies vary among wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Tere is increasing con- cern over contaminants that are not currently treated by WWTPs or regulated by NPDES limits, such as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). EDCs can be found in pharmaceu- ticals, personal care products, and various industrial compounds. Stormwater runof is a nonpoint pollutant that is mostly unregulated in North Carolina except in larger cities. Stormwater best management practices (BMPs), such as detention ponds, grassed swales, flter strips, and rain gardens slow down stormwater and reduce pollutant input as it travels to surface waters from construction sites, agricultural felds, and paved areas. Aquatic systems can be impacted by wastewater discharges when efuent fails to meet regulatory limits, accidental spills of untreated wastewater occur, stream basefows are low and a large percentage of streamfow is comprised of treated wastewater, and WWTPs are not equipped to properly treat all contaminants within wastewater that afect aquatic organisms. EDCs have been shown to afect immune and reproductive systems in freshwa- ter mussels (Bouchard et al. 2009; Bringolf et al. 2010; Gagné et al. 2011) and in freshwater fsh (Blazer et al. 2014; Gagné et al. 2011) . Contaminants can lead to population-level impacts to species, including local extirpations.
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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