Testimony of

Margaret A. Davidson

Acting Assistant Administrator,

National Ocean Service

of the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

U.S. Department of Commerce

before the

Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment

Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure

House of Representatives

February 14, 2002

Mr. Chairman, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to appear today to discuss FY 2003 plans and priorities for NOAA's programs under the jurisdiction of the subcommittee. My name is Margaret A. Davidson and I am the acting Assistant Administrator for NOAA's Ocean Service. My testimony today will focus on programs that help fulfill NOAA's responsibilities for protecting and restoring coastal and marine resources, including NOAA's efforts to manage the impacts of runoff pollution on coastal water quality. These programs operate under several authorities to help maintain environmental and economic prosperity along the Nation's coasts, improving the quality of life for Americans both living and visiting there.

Protecting and Restoring Coastal and Marine Resources

NOAA is the lead federal trustee for coastal and marine resources, ensuring effective stewardship of: living marine resources; anadromous species; endangered and threatened marine species; marine mammals; resources of national marine sanctuaries and estuarine research reserves; tidal wetlands and other significant coastal and marine habitats. In response to specific directives in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), NOAA protects and restores coastal resources when they are threatened or injured by releases of oil and other hazardous substances. NOAA preserves the Nation's natural resource heritage for the benefit of Americans today and tomorrow.

Presently, more than 700 coastal waste sites have been identified where contaminated sediments could adversely affect coastal habitats, fish, or wildlife. Contaminated sediment causes numerous environmental, recreational, and economic impacts.

When hazardous substances threaten or injure coastal and marine resources, NOAA and other natural resource trustees are responsible for:

§ ensuring that cleanup actions protect those resources from further injury; and

§ assessing and recovering natural resource damages to restore the injured resources, and compensating for the loss of services that the natural resources provided.

Two NOAA programs fulfill the mandate to protect and restore coastal and marine resources injured by hazardous materials: the Coastal Protection and Restoration (CPR) Program and the Damage Assessment and Restoration Program (DARP). The CPR program and part of the DARP program are under the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) within NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS). The DARP program is a collaborative effort involving NOS, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the Office of General Counsel.

The Damage Assessment and Restoration Program

NOAA's Damage Assessment and Restoration Program (DARP) conducts natural resource damage assessments and restoration for oil spills and discharges of hazardous substances. Restoration programs are underway all along the Nation's coast as a result of NOAA's successes with state, tribal, and federal partners. Examples include:

§ oyster reef, mangrove and marsh restoration, shoreline stabilization, sand replacement, bird rehabilitation, turtle hatchling protection, construction of public trails and walkways, rehabilitation of fishing piers and other restoration actions for the August 1993 oil spill near the entrance to Tampa Bay, Florida; and

§ lobster restocking, shellfish restoration, land acquisition, piping plover protection, loon habitat protection, seabird habitat protection, anadromous fish restoration and improved shore access for the January 1996 T/B North Cape oil spill off the coast of Rhode Island.

These results have been accomplished through the efforts of dedicated DARP teams of scientists, economists and lawyers working together to evaluate natural resource injuries, identify and evaluate restoration options, and implement restoration projects. DARP's accomplishments depend upon strong partnerships among the Damage Assessment Center in NOS, the Restoration Center within NMFS, and the Office of General Counsel for Natural Resources. The expertise provided by these offices makes DARP an essential part of NOAA's stewardship mission by supporting the restoration of coastal and marine resources.

It should be noted that the Damage Assessment Center's considerable successes have been realized through a relatively modest investment of resources that leverages monies provided by responsible parties. Since its inception in 1990, total appropriations of approximately $38 million for damage assessment activities have enabled the program and its partners to secure more than $300 million in restoration funding for injured natural resources from those responsible for the harm.

The Coastal Protection and Restoration Program

The Coastal Protection and Restoration (CPR) program works with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), states, and other lead cleanup agencies at hazardous waste and contaminated sediment sites to:

§ protect fish, wildlife, and coastal habitat by recommending cost-effective assessment, cleanup, and monitoring strategies;

§ restore natural resources through cooperative settlements with responsible parties; and

§ provide database and mapping tools and training to states and coastal communities to improve the efficiency of environmental assessment, cleanup, and restoration actions.

Since 1985, the CPR program has worked with cleanup agencies to resolve natural resource concerns during remediation efforts for hazardous waste sites. While remedial efforts are designed to eliminate or reduce the risks to human health, welfare, and the environment associated with hazardous substances, they may not fully address injuries to natural resources. CPR works with the Superfund program to reduce the threat to natural resources and ensure that cleanup actions at hundreds of coastal hazardous waste sites protect and restore coastal and marine resources. Annually, CPR staff improves habitat at 250 coastal waste sites. These include approximately 30 cooperative settlements at coastal waste sites, which includes a 300-acre restoration project at the Tulalip Landfill in Washington and 93 acres of marsh creation at the Tex-Tin, Texas site.

CPR has successfully improved and delivered integrated watershed database and mapping tools using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for ten coastal watersheds. These tools improve decision-making for contamination and restoration issues at local and National levels. Several projects, including the Anacostia Watershed, DC; San Francisco Bay, CA; Calcasieu Estuary, LA; Charles River, MA; Hudson River/Newark Bay, NY/NJ; Puget Sound (Duwamish River), WA; and Sheboygan River/Kalamazoo, MI were improved and expanded by using CPR tools. Coastal communities and coastal management agencies use these various tools to map contamination, to evaluate and communicate ecological risk issues for contaminated aquatic areas, and to pursue restoration planning.

FY 2003 Budget Request for NOAA's Restoration Programs

In FY 2003, the President is requesting a total of $18.4 million for the Response and Restoration line item, including an increase of $2.0 million to improve the restoration of injured resources, and to strengthen NOAA's contributions in protecting coastal resources. In partnership with industry, states, tribes, and coastal communities, these funds will allow NOAA to help protect the integrity of coastal ecosystems, and support broader, more effective restoration.

More specifically, this request will support a DARP pilot program that provides incentives for industry to voluntarily restore coastal environments contaminated by hazardous substances. This innovative application of existing authorities will provide industry with incentives to work cooperatively with NOAA in resolving natural resource damage liability. Over the past year, NOAA sponsored a series of meetings with industry that revealed strong interest in developing a more cooperative damage assessment process. The goals are: to expedite restoration of natural resources and their services; streamline the damage assessment process; encourage responsible parties to take the initiative and seek innovative approaches to natural resource restoration; and strengthen government partnerships with industry and other stakeholders. This request will also support improved partnerships with states, like the one with New York that is striving to reverse decades of PCB contamination in the Hudson River, and the one with Oregon that is working to restore natural resources in Portland Harbor following harm from hazardous substances.

The FY 2003 request will also enable NOAA to maintain its leadership role and continue support for a number of core activities by supporting ongoing damage assessments. These include commitments to assist state trustees for sites like the Calcasieu Estuary in Louisiana and Commencement Bay in Washington; developing improved methodologies for identifying and quantifying natural resource injury and restoration needs; and providing for more public participation in restoration planning and decision making.

In addition, the FY 2003 funding request will allow CPR to expand its partnerships and restoration activities. Additional support and technical assistance will be provided directly to states and local communities to accelerate restoration of waste sites, port areas, and brownfield sites. The funding will allow us to build on existing partnerships with states, industry, and non-governmental groups to expand regional restoration planning. This will allow us to better leverage our restoration settlements. By improving coordination among restoration, mitigation, and coastal habitat improvement projects, greater environmental and economic benefits will be realized for coastal resources and coastal communities throughout the Nation.

NOAA's FY 2003 funding request for the Damage Assessment Center and CPR is included within the total request of $18.4 million for the Response and Restoration line item. NOAA's FY 2003 funding request for the Restoration Center, which is a critical component in DARP, is included in the NMFS budget request under the Fisheries Habitat Restoration line item. The requested increase under Response and Restoration will bolster DARP efforts to work cooperatively with responsible parties and expedite restoration of coastal resources injured by hazardous substances. It will also improve the partnerships and restoration activities undertaken by the CPR program.

Benefits of NOAA Natural Resource Trustee Efforts

Over the past fifteen years, numerous benefits have accrued as a result of the CPR and DARP programs. These include:

§ Protection and restoration of injured coastal resources with a minimal investment of taxpayer dollars.

§ Remedial actions that better restore the public's coastal natural resources and that enhance recovery of coastal habitats and dependent economies.

§ Creation of incentives for environmentally responsible practices.

§ Advances in environmental science, law and economics beneficial to NOAA and the Nation.

§ Transfer of technology and guidance in the application of trustee authorities to help other federal, state and tribal programs.

The funding requested by NOAA in FY 2003 for these natural resource trustee programs will ensure that the agency's capabilities under the authorities of CERCLA and OPA for protecting and restoring injured coastal and marine resources continue to evolve. The result will be stronger cooperative relationships with industry and states that will benefit both coastal resources and the economy.

The Problem of Polluted Runoff for the Coast

As you are all well aware, polluted runoff remains one of the greatest threats and most vexing problems in protecting coastal waters. A recent report by the National Research Council entitled, Clean Coastal Waters: Understanding and Reducing the Effects of Nutrient Pollution, describes the introduction of excess nutrients into coastal systems as follows: "It has real impacts, from economic losses associated with reduced fisheries to potential human health impacts, and is likely to increase in severity as nutrient loading from upstream sources increases as a result of continuing urbanization, deforestation, agriculture and atmospheric deposition." As described in the Pew Oceans Commission report on Marine Pollution in the United States, "Because a majority of the nutrients in most regions now come from diffuse sources rather than direct discharges, reversing coastal eutrophication will require management strategies for watersheds reaching far inland from the coastal environment." At the second meeting of the recently convened U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, several witnesses identified nonpoint source pollution as one of the most critical issues the Commission should review as it develops its recommendations and formulates its final report to the President.

The challenge will grow as coastal populations continue to expand. Our census figures show that populations of coastal counties grew by an average of 10% in the decade between 1990 and 2000. In Florida, the population grew from 12.4 million to 16 million, representing an increase of 29%. NOAA continues to respond to these challenges through the full range of our coastal and ocean activities, including science, research, monitoring and management. Working with our coastal state partners, we have strengthened the ability of coastal jurisdictions to implement programs that will address major categories of nonpoint pollution in the coastal zone.

The Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program

Since enactment of section 6217 of the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990, NOAA has worked closely with EPA to ensure that coastal states have the tools necessary to effectively manage nonpoint sources of pollution. The effort to develop comprehensive coastal nonpoint pollution control programs is largely complete. Of the twenty-nine state coastal nonpoint programs that were originally submitted in accordance with a July 1995 deadline, all programs received conditional approval by June 1998. Since then, ten states have received full approval, representing a third of all programs. Of the remaining nineteen states, all are working to address conditions remaining on their programs, with significant progress made in the past few years. NOAA and EPA are working with these states as expeditiously as possible to examine how their progress addresses program conditions, which will move more states across the finish line. Since 1995, four additional states (Texas, Georgia, Ohio, and Minnesota) have joined NOAA's Coastal Zone Management Program. All have successfully developed and submitted their coastal nonpoint programs. NOAA and EPA anticipate conditionally approving the Texas, Georgia and Ohio programs in the next month. The Minnesota program is under review at this time.

Supporting Coastal State Efforts to Implement Coastal Nonpoint Programs

The development of state coastal nonpoint programs has provided coastal states with a comprehensive plan for using a wide range of capabilities to manage polluted runoff. Congress has supported the efforts of coastal states to implement their coastal nonpoint programs through appropriations of $10 million in fiscal years 2001 and 2002. The Administration recognizes the important role that state coastal management programs can play in addressing coastal nonpoint pollution problems and the President is requesting $10 million in fiscal year 2003 to continue these efforts. NOAA has been working with the coastal states to ensure effective use of the $10 million appropriated for implementation of state coastal nonpoint pollution control programs. Specifically, NOAA's funding guidance has stressed the need for state projects to have a coastal focus and include accountability for results - documenting real and measurable results that make a difference in solving coastal polluted runoff problems.

From the national perspective, we see three common areas of investment across all of the states:

• Clean or green marinas programs - supporting the implementation of programs designed to improve the management of marina and recreational boating facilities through practices such as environmentally sound vessel maintenance, prevention of spills, and proper disposal of sewage.

• Improved management of septic systems - working with state health agencies and local governments to ensure proper design, installation and maintenance of onsite sewage disposal systems (septic systems) to better protect water quality, public health, and coastal shellfisheries.

• Capacity building for state and local government - improving the available tools and decision-making capabilities of state and local institutions to plan for and manage expanding growth and development in the coastal zone.

The $10 million in funding over the past two years is helping to accelerate the implementation of on-the-ground management measures and leverage other state and local resources working to control the flow of polluted runoff into coastal waters. NOAA views these resources as critical for state coastal management programs to participate in the efforts necessary to control coastal nonpoint pollution.

Mr. Chairman, thank you again for inviting NOAA to participate in today's hearing. At this time, I would be pleased to respond to any questions.