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ASSESSING THE CONDITION OF THE NATION'S COASTAL WATERS
Citation:
Summers, J K. ASSESSING THE CONDITION OF THE NATION'S COASTAL WATERS. Presented at U.S. EPA Science Forum 2002: Meeting the Challenges, Wash., D. C, May 1-2, 2002.
Description:
EPA's Office of Water submits a National Water Quality Inventory every 2 years to Congress prepared under Section 305(b) of the Clean Water Act. The estimate of total estuarine area increased by 49,000 square miles in 1998 primarily due to the addition of Alaska. This resulted in a reduction of the percent of estuarine area that was assessed (from 72% in 1996 to 32% in 1998). Differences in state assessment methods have historically limited the comparability of data across states and from year to year. The wide range in water quality ratings reported by the states has reflected both differences in water quality and differences in monitoring and
assessment methods.
Using consistent data collected from 1990-1997, EPA's Office of Water and Office of Research and Development produced a National Coastal Condition Report. Although we recognized the shortcomings of available data, this report represented our best effort to assess the condition of the nation's estuarine resources. The next steps toward a national coastal assessment were outlined in the National Coastal Research and Monitoring Strategy. This strategy called for a national program organized at the state level and carried out by a partnership among federal agencies and state natural resource agencies. These goals were
realized in the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program's National Coastal Assessment (NCA). The primary objective of NCA is to estimate the current status, extent, changes and trends in the condition of all of the nation's coastal resources. NCA is a five-year program in which all 24 coastal states have participated since 2000. Using a compatible probability-based survey design and a common set of indicators, each state
monitors their coastal resources independently, yet, these estimates can be aggregated to assess coastal condition at the EPA Regional, biogeographical, and national levels. Based on NCA monitoring activities to date, 100% of the nation's coastal waters (at over 2500 locations) have been surveyed, focusing on indicators of biological integrity, water quality, and sediment quality.
The monitoring results represent the first comprehensive national assessment of the condition of estuaries in the U.S. These results will be compiled in both a National Coastal Report Card and the Water Quality Inventory report to Congress.