Contacts: Dan Dewell FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOAA Public Affairs 10/16/97Four states' plans to control water pollution from wide-spread "nonpoint" sources have received an initial stamp of approval from the federal government. Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Michigan were the first U. S. coastal states and territories to have such plans conditionally approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency under a program designed to improve the environmental health of coastal areas.
Nonpoint pollution, as the name implies, includes widely scattered and cumulative sources such as runoff from urban streets and parking areas, agriculture, forest harvesting activities, marinas and recreational boating activities, and impacts from the construction and maintenance of dams, channels, and other alterations of natural systems.
"The recent outbreaks of Pfiesteria piscicida in mid-Atlantic states are the types of problems nonpoint source pollution plans are intended to address," said Dr. Nancy Foster, director of NOAA's National Ocean Service. "Nonpoint source pollution is suspected as contributing to conditions that led to Pfiesteria-related fish kills and health problems. We've seen growing problems with Pfiesteria and other harmful algal blooms in areas around the nation, and nonpoint pollution is suspected as playing a role in many of these cases as well. State nonpoint source pollution plans are an important step toward protecting these environments and maintaining healthy, productive and enjoyable waterways and coastal areas."
State coastal nonpoint programs are designed to restore and protect coastal resources by reducing sources of polluted runoff that can severely degrade coastal water quality and near-shore areas. Polluted coastal waters can result in closure of beaches to swimming, restrictions on shellfish harvesting, and impacts to fisheries. Consequently, coastal water quality has significant implications for both coastal environments and economies.
Management measures in the state plans address a broad spectrum of nonpoint pollution sources and are part of a growing national recognition of the need to better control the amount of diffuse sources of pollutants that impact our nation's waters. The NOAA and EPA approvals, issued as "findings," identify many existing state programs that are being used to address nonpoint pollution problems as well as conditions the state will address to complete development of its program. Findings for plans from several other coastal states, territories and commonwealths are expected soon.
The nonpoint pollution plans are part of a broader, overall coastal zone management program coordinated through NOAA with ocean and Great Lakes coastal states and territories. Development of plans specifically aimed at coastal nonpoint pollution was authorized in the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990.
The federal findings on plans for Rhode Island, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Massachusetts, were issued on Sept. 24 by the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management in NOAA's National Ocean Service, and various Environmental Protection Agency regional offices.
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