Chris Yoder | None At This Time (original) (raw)

Papers by Chris Yoder

Managing for the protection and restoration of aquatic life and ecological processes in surface w... more Managing for the protection and restoration of aquatic life and ecological processes in surface waters is an important, baseline objective for state and federal water quality restoration efforts. However, objective and robust biological indicators, assessment tools, and criteria were lacking when meaningful amendments to the Clean Water Act were made in the early 1970s. Many of the advances seen in monitoring aquatic faunas were forthcoming in the 1980s and included the use of information about common aquatic assemblages (macroinvertebrates, fish, algae). In Ohio, biological criteria (biocriteria) were adopted in the Ohio water quality standards regulations in 1990 based on the measurable characteristics of fish and macroinvertebrate assemblages, mainly for rivers and streams. This was preceded by a 10-year developmental process where standardized methods and procedures were established. Biocriteria are based on least impacted regional reference conditions and provide the impetus and opportunity to recognize and account for natural, ecological variability in the environment, something that chemical and physical water quality assessment tools have lacked. Having appropriately stratified biological criteria has allowed Ohio's water quality and resource management programs to take into account the influence of ecoregions, river and stream size, and habitat in establishing baseline objectives for the protection and restoration of aquatic life. It was partially the inability to account for these factors that confounded the prior use of biological assessments. This approach represents a shift from the traditional chemical-based approach in which criteria for single chemicals are applied unilaterally to these different situations. A carefully conceived ambient monitoring approach, using cost-effective indicators comprised of biological, chemical, and physical measures, can ensure that all relevant pollution sources are judged objectively and on the basis of environmental results. A sequential and tiered approach is used to link the results of administrative and management actions with true environmental measures. This framework includes a hierarchical continuum consisting of six indicator levels that include actions taken by regulatory and resource management agencies (plans, permits, funding), responses by the pollution source (or their analogs), changes in stressors, changes in ambient conditions, changes 2 in uptake and assimilation, and changes in health and/or ecological condition. This hierarchical organization offers an objective, consistent, and sequential process for determining the effectiveness of water quality and resource management programs beyond administrative accomplishments alone. It has profoundly influenced strategic planning and priority setting, water quality based permitting, water quality standards, baseline monitoring and reporting, nonpoint source assessment, and problem discovery in Ohio.

Mandated total maximum daily load TMDL analyses present an excellent opportunity to restore the n... more Mandated total maximum daily load TMDL analyses present an excellent opportunity to restore the nation's degraded waters. The current norm for TMDL practice is, however, unlikely to achieve this goal without improved water quality standards plus systematic monitoring and assessment using biological criteria. Better than chemical and physical criteria alone, biological criteria link human actions, their impacts on water bodies, and societal goals, which are expressed as designated uses. To be adequate, monitoring should improve understanding of the connections among stressor, exposure, and response gradients. Water quality standards, monitoring, and assessment can improve water resources because they track water body condition, not the number of TMDLs completed. Federal and state leadership must set policy goals, as required by the Clean Water Act, and provide adequate fiscal and professional resources. States with high-quality programs should serve as models. Administrators should use the advances made in 2 decades of water resource science to improve their water management programs. Without such improvements, those involved in the TMDL process will continue to be frustrated, and the nation's waters will continue to decline.

The biological assessment of lotic resources in much of the U.S. and Canada initially focused on ... more The biological assessment of lotic resources in much of the U.S. and Canada initially focused on wadeable rivers and streams. However, increased emphasis is being placed on larger, non–wadeable rivers. Many of these efforts include the development of multimetric indices represented by the Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) following the original developmental work in the U.S. They include the pioneering work in the Wabash River of the Midwestern U.S., the inland rivers of Ohio and Wisconsin, the Ohio River mainstem, large western rivers and Quebec rivers, all of which focused on the fish assemblage. Monitoring fish assemblages in large rivers includes logistical and technical considerations that affect obtaining reliable estimates of relative abundance for all species that are amenable to efficient capture. A single gear approach is preferred for practical reasons and electrofishing is the sampling method of choice. Sampling effort is expressed in terms of distance sampled at a site and includes formulas based on fixed distances or multiples of river channel width. Relative abundance data are analyzed via multimetric indices (e.g., Index of Biotic Integrity), which are contingent on the development of a reference condition that supports a derivation and calibration process. Defining reference for large rivers represents a different challenge than with smaller, wadeable streams. For the latter, sufficient and suitable reference analogs usually exist, thus reference condition can be empirically derived. However, such analogs are either rare or do not adequately reflect the restorable potential for large rivers. Thus in developing the expectations that are necessary for metric calibration and IBI development, adequate historical knowledge of the assemblage is critical. Once developed, the metrics and indices provide meaningful measures of assemblage quality and response to chemical, physical, and biological influences and perturbations. This has been demonstrated for a wide variety of human impacts including water pollution, habitat and flow alterations, and land use changes. Successfully applying this protocol to large rivers involves taking the correct sequence of steps in the initial development of sampling

We developed a systematic process to evaluate state/tribal bioassessment programs to provide info... more We developed a systematic process to evaluate state/tribal bioassessment programs to provide information about the rigor of the technical approach. This is accomplished via on-site interviews to produce an evaluation that assigns one of four levels of rigor as an outcome. Level 4 is the most rigorous and reflects a technical capacity to accurately determine incremental condition and support management programs. The remaining three levels are less able to assess incremen-tal condition and are appropriate for only some management support needs. Accurately determining impairment and diagnosing pollution-specific stressors are fundamental tasks that states/tribes must accomplish to provide management support. This goal is fulfilled to varying degrees by most states/tribes. The evaluation employs a checklist and a sliding scale of rigor for 13 technical elements. Feedback is provided to each state/tribe via a technical memorandum that describes the technical components of the monitoring program,

—A systematic, standardized approach to monitor fish assemblages has been applied in Ohio's river... more —A systematic, standardized approach to monitor fish assemblages has been applied in Ohio's rivers since 1979. A primary objective is the assessment of changes in response to water pollution abatement and other water quality management programs. All major, nonwadeable rivers were intensively sampled using standardized electrofishing methods and a summer–early fall index period. Most rivers were sampled two or three times, before and after implementation of pollution controls at major point source discharges and best management practices for nonpoint sources. A modified and calibrated index of biotic integrity (IBI) was used to demonstrate and evaluate changes at multiple sampling locations in major river segments. An area of degradation value (ADV) and an area of attainment value (AAV) were also calculated from IBI results to demonstrate the magnitude and extent of changes in fish assemblage condition along segments and between sampling years. Positive responses in the IBI and the ADV/AAV were observed 4 to 5 years after implementing improved municipal wastewater treatment. Positive responses were much less apparent in rivers predominantly influenced by complex industrial sources, agricultural nonpoint sources, and extensive hydrologic modifications. The ADV/AAV showed incremental improvements in river fish assemblages, unlike pass/fail IBI thresholds, and tiered IBI biocriteria provided more appropriate benchmarks than chemical, physical, or qualitative biological criteria. The results show the value of standardized and intensive fish assemblage monitoring and the use of tools that reveal the extent and severity of impairments to determine the effectiveness of water pollution control programs.

... RANDALL E. SANDERS AND CHRIS O. YODER, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Division of Wate... more ... RANDALL E. SANDERS AND CHRIS O. YODER, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Division of Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment, 1030 King ... chutes, raceways, and the deep end of riffles with mod-erate to fast currents and gravel or rocky substrates (Pflieger 1975 ...

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Mar 1, 2009

Journal of Environmental Engineering, May 14, 2004

Mandated total maximum daily load (TMDL) analyses present an excellent opportunity to restore the... more Mandated total maximum daily load (TMDL) analyses present an excellent opportunity to restore the nation's degraded waters. The current norm for TMDL practice is, however, unlikely to achieve this goal without improved water quality standards plus systematic monitoring and assessment using biological criteria. Better than chemical and physical criteria alone, biological criteria link human actions, their impacts on water bodies, and societal goals, which are expressed as designated uses. To be adequate, monitoring should improve understanding of the connections among stressor, exposure, and response gradients. Water quality standards, monitoring, and assessment can improve water resources because they track water body condition, not the number of TMDLs completed. Federal and state leadership must set policy goals, as required by the Clean Water Act, and provide adequate fiscal and professional resources. States with high-quality programs should serve as models. Administrators should use the advances made in 2 decades of water resource science to improve their water management programs. Without such improvements, those involved in the TMDL process will continue to be frustrated, and the nation's waters will continue to decline.

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, May 31, 1998

Mandated total maximum daily load ͑TMDL͒ analyses present an excellent opportunity to restore the... more Mandated total maximum daily load ͑TMDL͒ analyses present an excellent opportunity to restore the nation's degraded waters. The current norm for TMDL practice is, however, unlikely to achieve this goal without improved water quality standards plus systematic monitoring and assessment using biological criteria. Better than chemical and physical criteria alone, biological criteria link human actions, their impacts on water bodies, and societal goals, which are expressed as designated uses. To be adequate, monitoring should improve understanding of the connections among stressor, exposure, and response gradients. Water quality standards, monitoring, and assessment can improve water resources because they track water body condition, not the number of TMDLs completed. Federal and state leadership must set policy goals, as required by the Clean Water Act, and provide adequate fiscal and professional resources. States with high-quality programs should serve as models. Administrators should use the advances made in 2 decades of water resource science to improve their water management programs. Without such improvements, those involved in the TMDL process will continue to be frustrated, and the nation's waters will continue to decline.

Abstract. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... more Abstract. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .,2 Introduction .

Ohio EPA employs biological, chemical, and physical monitoring and assessment techniques in biolo... more Ohio EPA employs biological, chemical, and physical monitoring and assessment techniques in biological surveys in order to meet three major objectives: 1) determine the extent to which use designations assigned in the Ohio Water Quality Standards (WQS) are either attained or not attained; 2) determine if use designations assigned to a given water body are appropriate and attainable; and 3)

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Mar 1, 2009

Journal of Environmental Engineering, May 14, 2004

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, May 31, 1998

A As ss se es ss sm me en nt t: : D De ev ve el lo op pm me en nt t o of f a an n I In nd de ex x... more A As ss se es ss sm me en nt t: : D De ev ve el lo op pm me en nt t o of f a an n I In nd de ex x o of f B Bi io ot ti ic c I In nt te eg gr ri it ty y f fo or r N No on n--w wa ad de ea ab bl le e R Ri iv ve er rs s M MB BI I T Te ec ch hn ni ic ca al l R Re ep po or rt t M MB BI I/ /2 20 00 08 8--1 11 1--2 2 M Ma ar rc ch h 8 8, , 2 20 00 09 9 ( (A Ad dd de en nd du um m M Ma ar rc ch h 3 31 1, , 2