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

Recommendation 14–12The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), working with state and local governments,should strengthen implementation of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination SystemPhase I and II stormwater programs.Improvements should include:• local codes or ordinances that are designed to achieve the management goals for aparticular watershed and require use of EPA-approved best management practices.• monitoring to determine whether goals and state water quality standards are being metand to identify ongoing problems.• an adaptive management approach to ensure that efforts are effective and that bestmanagement practices are modified as needed.• improved public education.• increased enforcement of legal requirements and personnel sufficient to implementstormwater management programs.Recommendation 14–13The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, working with states, should develop and implementnational and regional strategies to reduce the sources and impacts of atmospheric depositionto water bodies, building upon plans such as the EPA Air-Water Interface Work Plan.Recommendation 14–14The United States should work with other nations to develop and implement internationalsolutions to better address the sources and impacts of transboundary atmospheric deposition,and to initiate needed research programs.Chapter 15: Creating a National Monitoring NetworkRecommendation 15–1The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, and U.S.Environmental Protection Agency, working with states and other appropriate entities,should develop a national monitoring network that coordinates and expands existingefforts, including monitoring of atmospheric deposition. The network should be built ona federally funded backbone of critical stations and measurements to assess long-termtrends and conditions, with additional stations or measurements as needed to addressregional characteristics or problems.Recommendation 15–2The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should ensure that the national monitoringnetwork includes adequate coverage in both coastal areas and the upland areas thataffect them, and that the network is linked to the Integrated Ocean Observing System, to beincorporated eventually into a comprehensive Earth observing system.Recommendation 15–3The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, and U.S.Environmental Protection Agency, working with states and other appropriate entities, shouldensure that the national monitoring network has clear goals, specifies core variables and anappropriate sampling framework, and is periodically reviewed and updated. These agenciesshould also work with the regional ocean information programs to determine regional andlocal information needs.Specifically, the national monitoring network should include the following elements:• clearly defined goals that fulfill user needs and provide measures of management success.• a core set of variables to be measured at all sites, with regional flexibility to measureadditional variables where needed.CHAPTER 31: SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS497