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An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century - California Ocean ...

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Figure 14.1 Report Card on Regional Coastal ConditionsScale of Ecological HealthNationalOverallWestOverallGreat LakesOverallGood Fair PoorCoastal HabitatWater QualitySediment QualityBenthicFish TissueCoastal HabitatWater QualitySediment QualityBenthicFish TissueNor<strong>the</strong>astCoastal HabitatWater QualitySediment QualityBenthicFish TissueOverallWestGreat LakesCoastal HabitatWater QualitySediment QualityBenthicFish TissueNor<strong>the</strong>astSou<strong>the</strong>astOverallCoastal HabitatWater QualitySediment QualityBenthicFish TissueSou<strong>the</strong>astGulfOverallCoastal HabitatGulfWater QualitySediment QualityBenthicFish TissueAlaska*Hawaii*Puerto RicoPuerto RicoOverall**Coastal HabitatWater QualitySediment QualityBenthicFish TissueThe Environmental Protection Agency’s 2004 Draft National Coastal Condition Report II assessed six coastal regions of <strong>the</strong>United States, including Puerto Rico, based on monitoring data collected between 1997 and 2000. Based on five environmentalindicators, EPA found that <strong>the</strong> overall condition of <strong>the</strong> nation’s estuaries is fair, with poor conditions in <strong>the</strong> Nor<strong>the</strong>ast Coastand Puerto Rico regions and fair conditions in <strong>the</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>ast Coast, Gulf Coast, Great Lakes, and West Coast regions.* Surveys completed but no indicator data available until <strong>the</strong> next report.Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Draft National Coastal Condition Report II. EPA-620/R-03/002. Washington, DC, February 2004.The protection of coastal waters will require managers to address a range of humanactivities that generate pollution in many locations and a variety of pollutants followingdifferent pathways. Management that is ecosystem-based and that considers entire watershedswill help guide this daunting task.The complex array of laws, agencies, and programs that address water pollution, and<strong>the</strong> number of parties involved, will require greatly enhanced coordination among federalagencies, primarily EPA, <strong>the</strong> National <strong>Ocean</strong>ic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).Greater coordination is also needed between <strong>the</strong> federal government and managers at <strong>the</strong>state, territorial, tribal, and local levels, watershed groups, nongovernmental organizations,private stakeholders, and <strong>the</strong> academic and research communities. The case ofnutrient pollution, discussed in Box 14.1, illustrates many of <strong>the</strong> challenges involved inimproving coastal water quality.Reducing Point Sources of PollutionWith strong public support, government and private sector actions over <strong>the</strong> past threedecades have made great strides in controlling water pollution from identifiable pointC HAPTER 14: ADDRESSING C OASTAL WATER P OLLUTION205

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