Abstract |
The National Coastal Condition Assessment is one of a series of water assessments being conducted by states, tribes, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other partners. In addition to coastal waters, the water assessments will also focus on rivers and streams, lakes, and wetlands in a revolving sequence. The purpose of these assessments is to generate statistically valid reports on the condition of our Nations water resources and identify key stressors to these systems. A first step in the development of this type of program was the initiation of EPA's EMAP. This program laid the groundwork for the National Coastal Assessment program, a national coastal monitoring program organized and executed at the state level. The Great Lakes have been added to this round of assessments and is included in the final NCCA report projected to be released in 2012. This document is the QAPP for the National Coastal Condition Assessment program. This QAPP was prepared and formatted in accordance with the guidelines presented in EPA Requirements for Quality Assurance Project Plans for Environmental Data Operations (EPA QA/R-5), U.S. EPA Quality Management Staff (U.S. EPA, 1993). According to the type of work to be performed and the intended use of the data, four categories have been defined that vary the level of detail and rigor prescribed for a particular QAPP. This document was prepared for a Category II Project: Complementary Support to Rulemaking, Regulation, or Policy Decisions. Such projects are of sufficient scope and robustness that their results can be combined with those from other projects of similar scope to provide the necessary information for decisions. |