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More Information

In Depth: Sources and Impairments

In Depth: A Closer Look

OCRM Activities

Case Studies

Coastal Issues | Water Quality | Activities

What Is OCRM Doing to Address Water Quality?

Through its coastal management efforts, the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) is helping to preserve and protect coastal water quality in a number of ways.

• Coastal Zone Management Program
• Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program
• Clean Marina Initiative
• National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS)
• The Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology
• EPA-NOAA Coastal Community Development Partnership
• Coral Reef Conservation Program
• Measuring Success

Coastal Zone Management Program

One of the main objectives of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) is "the management of coastal development to improve, safeguard, and restore the quality of coastal waters, and to protect natural resources and existing uses of those waters" (Section 303(2)(C)). As such OCRM's Coastal Zone Management Program, in partnership with state coastal management programs, provides technical assistance and funding to support many projects that address water quality concerns at the state and local level. Projects often involve developing and implementing watershed management plans, conducting beach monitoring programs, and assisting local governments pass ordinances to control storm water runoff.

Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program

OCRM administers the Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program under Section 6217 of the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990. This joint program between NOAA and EPA ensures that coastal states have the tools to address polluted runoff.

Specifically, the program:

• Establishes a consistent set of management measures for states to use to control polluted runoff. These management measures are designed to prevent and control polluted runoff resulting from a variety of sources, including urban runoff;
• Encourages states to have in place the authorities necessary to ensure implementation of management measures to control polluted runoff;
• Focuses on pollution prevention, rather than just dealing with existing water quality problems; and
• Encourages management measures at the local level that improve coastal water quality.

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Clean Marina Initiative

The Clean Marina Initiative is a voluntary, incentive-based program that encourages marina operators and recreational boaters to protect coastal water quality by engaging in environmentally sound operating and maintenance procedures. OCRM has encouraged many coastal states to develop Clean Marina Programs as a way to address polluted runoff from marina and boating activities required under the Coastal Nonpoint Program. OCRM continues to support state Clean Marina Programs through targeted Coastal Nonpoint Program grant funding.

National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS)

The National Estuarine Research Reserve System addresses coastal water quality through a variety of ways, including:

• A System-Wide Monitoring Program provides critically needed standardized information on national estuarine environmental trends, while allowing flexibility to assess coastal management issues of regional or local concern. Presently, the program monitors physical and chemical parameters to assess water quality over time and how it is influenced by weather conditions. As the program expands, plans include adding a biological monitoring component and tracking changes in land use through remote sensing.
• The Coastal Training Program provides current scientific information and skill-building opportunities to coastal decision-makers such as state and local government officials, land use planners, regulators, and engineers. Through this program, the NERRs can ensure that these decision-makers have the knowledge and tools they need to address critical resource management issues of concern to local communities. Recently many Coastal Training Programs have focused on stormwater management, land use planning, and other related topics to reduce nonpoint source pollution.

The Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology

The Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET) partners with the National Estuarine Research Reserve System to supports a number of projects that apply new and innovative technologies to improve coastal water quality. Projects include: enhancing marsh restoration to improve water quality; assessing the effectiveness of new technologies for treating effluent from septic systems; and investigating new water quality monitoring techniques. CICEET has also initiated a Stormwater Center to examine the effectiveness of various best management practices for controlling stormwater runoff.

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EPA-NOAA Coastal Community Development Partnership

In an effort to combine strengths that address the link between land use and coastal water quality, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NOAA are working together to address the impacts of growth and development on coastal communities, economies, and natural resources. OCRM is an active member of this partnership formed in 2005 to support state and local development innovations.

The EPA-NOAA Partnership seeks to provide:

• Training for local government staff and officials;
• Citizen workshops in cooperation with local governments;
• Program and policy advice; and
• Access to subject matter experts and other technical assistance to work on locally identified issues.

Coral Reef Conservation Program

OCRM is one of the NOAA offices that comprise the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. As part of this Program, OCRM works with seven U.S. jurisdictions, Florida, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marina Islands, to conserve and manage U.S. coral reef resources. Recent efforts have resulted in the development of three-year local action strategies in all seven coral jurisdictions to address specific threats to coral reefs, including land-based sources of pollution. In addition to technical assistance, the NOAA Coral Program provides funding to support the development and implementation of the local action strategies which were developed through collaborative processes in each jurisdiction.

Measuring Success

Because restoring and protecting water quality is a critical coastal management issue and the primary objective of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), OCRM has worked with our state coastal program partners to develop a suite of water quality performance indicators as part of the CZMA Performance Management System. The indicators will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the national coastal management program at addressing water quality concerns.

 

 

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