[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 18 (Thursday, January 28, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 4910]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01561]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9941-00-OW]
National Coastal Condition Assessment 2010
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the final National
Coastal Condition Assessment (NCCA) 2010. The NCCA describes the
results of a nationwide coastal probabilistic survey that was conducted
in the summer of 2010 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
its state, tribal, and federal partners. Results include estimates of
coastal area with good, fair, and poor biological quality, water
quality, sediment quality, and ecological fish tissue quality. Results
are presented nationally and regionally for the Northeast, Southeast,
Gulf of Mexico, West, and Great Lakes coasts. The NCCA 2010 also
includes information on how the survey was implemented, and future
actions and challenges.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hugh Sullivan, Office of Wetlands,
Oceans and Watersheds, Office of Water, Washington DC Phone: 202-564-
1763; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
To better answer questions about the condition of waters across the
country, EPA and its state and tribal partners have embarked on a
series of surveys under the National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS)
program. The NCCA 2010 is the most recent in this series of surveys.
The key goals of the NCCA 2010 are to describe the ecological condition
of the nation's coastal and Great Lakes nearshore waters, how those
conditions are changing, and the key stressors affecting those waters.
An important component of the NCCA is collaboration with state, tribal,
and federal partners in developing new monitoring tools and analytical
approaches and in advancing the science of coastal monitoring. The
survey uses a statistical design to sample 1,104 randomly-selected
sites that represent the condition of the larger population of coastal
waters in the conterminous United States. This is the first time the
nearshore waters of the Great Lakes have been included in a national
statistically-based survey.
The report finds that more than half of the nation's coastal and
Great Lakes nearshore waters are rated in good condition for biological
and sediment quality, while about one third are rated in good condition
for water quality and less than one percent are rated in good condition
based on the potential harm that fish tissue contaminants pose to
predator fish, birds, and wildlife. Excessive phosphorus is the
greatest contributor to the poor water quality rating. Selenium is the
greatest contributor to the poor rating for potential harm to predator
fish, birds and wildlife from fish tissue contaminants. The draft
report has undergone peer, state and EPA review.
A. How can I get copies of the NCCA 2010 and other related information?
You may access the NCCA 2010 from EPA's Web site at http://www.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys/ncca.
Dated: January 13, 2016.
Joel Beauvais,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2016-01561 Filed 1-27-16; 8:45 am]
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