[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 214 (Thursday, November 5, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68536-68537]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28266]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OW-2015-0667; FRL-9936-59-OW]
National Wetland Condition Assessment 2011 Draft Report
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of EPA's draft report
on the National Wetland Condition Assessment (NWCA 2011) and opens a
30-day public review and comment period on the draft report. The NWCA
2011 is the first national assessment of the ecological condition of
the nation's wetlands. The NWCA 2011 draft report describes the results
of a nationwide
[[Page 68537]]
probabilistic survey of wetlands conducted in the spring and summer of
2011 by EPA and its state and tribal partners. Results are based on
ecological data collected at over 1,000 sites using standardized
protocols and include estimates of wetland area in ``good,'' ``fair,''
and ``poor'' condition, nationally and by ecoregion, for a biological
indicator based on plants and key wetland stressors. The report also
provides information on the design and implementation of the scientific
assessment, possible implications, and future actions. This report
completes the first series of probability-based surveys conducted under
EPA's National Aquatic Resource Surveys program.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 7, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2015-0667, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. EPA
may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit
electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted
by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be
accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the
official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish
to make. EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents
located outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or
other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please
visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregg Serenbetz, Wetlands Division,
Office of Water (4502T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-
566-1253; email address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Wetland Condition Assessment
2011: A Collaborative Survey of the Nation's Wetlands is the first
report assessing the condition of the nation's wetlands and the fifth
report in a series of National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS), a
national-scale monitoring program designed to produce statistically-
valid assessments that answer critical questions about the condition of
waters in the United States.
The key goals of the NWCA are to (1) describe the ecological
condition of the nation's wetlands and stressors commonly associated
with poor condition; (2) collaborate with states and tribes in
developing complementary monitoring tools, analytical approaches, and
data management technology to aid wetland protection and restoration
programs; and (3) advance the science of wetland monitoring and
assessment to support wetland management needs. EPA began planning
activities for the NWCA in 2006 and engaged with a broad group of
stakeholders including state environmental and natural resource
agencies, tribes, federal agencies, academia, and other organizations
to help inform different aspects of the assessment.
Both tidal and nontidal wetlands were targeted for sampling. To
select wetland sites for sampling, EPA used the same digital map of
wetland locations that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uses in their
Wetland Status and Trends program. While not a comprehensive map of all
wetlands throughout the U.S., these mapped locations are used to
statistically represent the extent of wetlands nationally. Sampling
sites for the NWCA were randomly selected from this digital map and
distributed based on the prevalence of wetlands across the U.S. using a
survey design that ensures the results reflect the full range of
wetlands in the target population. Each wetland site was sampled using
standardized field protocols to collect ecological data on plants,
soil, water chemistry, algae, and wetland stressors. The use of
standardized field and laboratory protocols is another key feature of
the NWCA and allows the data to be combined to produce a nationally
consistent assessment. The results presented in the NWCA 2011 report
are based on data from 1,138 wetland sites sampled during the spring
and summer of 2011 in the conterminous U.S. (41 sites sampled in Alaska
are not included in the national and regional results in the report).
The NWCA 2011 report describes the ecological condition of wetlands
nationally and in four ecoregions (Coastal Plains, Eastern Mountains
and Upper Midwest, Interior Plains, and West) using a biological
indicator of condition and several physical, chemical, and biological
indicators of stress.
This is the first time a national monitoring study of the
ecological condition of wetlands has been conducted. Under the NARS
program, studies have been completed for wadeable streams (2004), lakes
(2007), rivers and streams (2008-2009), and coastal waters (2010). The
release of the NWCA 2011 final report will complete the first full
cycle of NARS reports. EPA and our partners plan to continue to assess
each of these water body types on a five year rotating basis.
This draft report has undergone external peer review. States and
other stakeholders also reviewed and commented on the draft report. The
purpose of this action is to solicit public comment on the draft report
before finalizing it. EPA is seeking comment on the information
contained in the draft report, the reasonableness of the conclusions,
and the clarity with which the information is presented. The draft
report and other supporting materials may also be viewed and downloaded
from EPA's Web site at http://www2.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys/national-wetland-condition-assessment.
Dated: October 28, 2015.
Kenneth J. Kopocis,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2015-28266 Filed 11-4-15; 8:45 am]
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