Review of EPA's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program Overall Evaluation (1995) / Chapter Skim
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4 Resource Components
4 Resource Components
Pages 65-98
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From page 65... ...
To date the program has been largely concerned with research on biological indicators, establishment of relationships with the National Agricultural Sta 65
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From page 66... ...
Development of meaningful indicators that are relatively free of influence by agricultural managers is an extraordinary challenge, but it is necessary given the frequency of sample collection. The strategy of the Agroecosystem component involves monitoring of indicators that are clustered around three assessment questions and collection of samples and data by the National Agricultural Statistical Survey.
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From page 67... ...
Resource Components 67 A fourth and implied assessment question involves the impact of agroecosystems and their management on adjacent and downstream ecosystems. These assessment questions seem appropriate and comprehensive.
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From page 68... ...
EMAP should be commended for forging this partnership to increase the utility and cost effectiveness of the efforts of both agencies. The 1992 pilot program of the EMAP Agroecosystem group was conducted in North Carolina by a new partnership between EMAP and the Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS)
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From page 69... ...
However, it is essential to resolve these issues before implementing the EMAP monitoring program across a greater area. The pilot failed to establish the suitability of its indices and measures as indicators of ecological condition.
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From page 70... ...
Most problematic is the appropriateness of the EMAP approach, primarily intended for natural systems, for monitoring intensively managed agroecosystems. The Agroecosystem program is at an immature stage of development relative to other resource programs.
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From page 71... ...
must be developed to drive indicator development and set priorities. Continued work also is needed to develop meaningful indicators that assess basic ecological condi tion (status and functioning)
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From page 72... ...
As a result, it may take several decades for a 20 percent change to occur, therefore, it would take decades to be able to detect changes with the current EMAP sampling design. By contrast, changes in ecosystems can be quite sudden and catastrophic, perhaps too fast to be adequately captured by EMAP's sampling scheme.
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From page 73... ...
Inclusion of submerged aquatic vegetation in the sampling scheme for all estuaries demonstration projects should be considered.
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From page 74... ...
Continuing oversight and review by groups of scientists from outside of EPA, built into the program at the highest levels, should be implemented for EMAP Center planning, for indicator development strategy, for landscape characterization, and for all resource groups. Update There has been progress since the last report dealing with estuaries was written.
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From page 75... ...
For instance, excess nutrients would lead to hypoxia that could be measured by increases in the extent of areas with low dissolved oxygen. Thus far, it is not clear from EMAP's response to the previous report, which called for explicit conceptual models, that this is the type of mode!
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From page 76... ...
Step function should be included in these examinations. EMAP also has undertaken a fouryear assessment of the Virginian Province demonstration project.
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From page 77... ...
However, the logical basis by which these theories explain the responses of forests to stress, and the subsequent responses of surface waters to changes in forests and by which the theories for indicator development and sampling protocols is not clear. Heavy reliance appears to be placed on a purely epidemiological model.
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From page 78... ...
This is essentially the recommendation also reached by the statistical sampling design team. Information-Management System EMAP-Forests should develop a comprehensive informationmanagement plan that outlines user requirements, examines fongterm implementation of hardware and software, and fits in with the overall plan for the information-management system.
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From page 79... ...
This section briefly reviews the nature of the draft strategy document and ~ 992 pilot studies, comments on the merits and completeness of this work, and raises some questions about the overall Great Lakes program. The 1992 draft strategy document for EMAP-Great Lakes (EPA, 1992a)
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From page 80... ...
are biological integrity and trophic condition. (It should be noted that the Fiscal Year 1992 status report is not entirely consistent with regard to the former end point; the executive summary refers to "biotic integrity," but Section 1 of the text uses the term "biological integrity"; these are not necessarily exactly the same concepts.} The draft strategy document and 1992 status report mention several other end points that are acknowledged as important designated uses
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From page 81... ...
These cruises were designed to address the following issues: it (1} the adequacy of the base EMAP sampling grid to assess trophic conditions in offshore areas and comparability among trophic state data collected by EMAP (at grid sites and data coflected under other Great Lakes sampling programs)
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From page 82... ...
In brief, the ~ 992 pilot sampling program found that EMAP and GENPO-GLISP yield highly comparable results for major ions and trophic state parameters (nutrients, chlorophyll a) in Lake Michigan.
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From page 83... ...
A limited analysis of the appropriate index period for sampling trophic status was described using Environment Canada's data for spring and fall ~ 992 in Lake Superior and past data from GUNPOGLISP for Lake Michigan. It is unclear why EMAP did not collect trophic-state data seasonally on Lake Michigan in ~ 992 during the summer and fall cruises mentioned in the status report.
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From page 84... ...
The report also described EMAP's thinking with regard to diatom-based indicators for biological integrity and trophic condition. EMAP proposes to use a paleolimnological approach in which diatom stratigraphy in long sediment cores will be used to infer background conditions for various lake regions.
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From page 85... ...
With only a modest investment of funds and personnel, EMAP could serve an important role in stimulating these existing programs, with their inhouse expertise and physical facilities, to expand and coordinate their monitoring and assessment efforts. Based on the draft strategy document and the 1992 Great Lakes status report, it is not clear that EMAP's vision for a longterm monitoring and assessment program on the Great Lakes is sufficiently forward-Iooking and comprehensive to address the interests and concerns of policy and decision makers and managers of the Great Lakes ecosystems.
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From page 86... ...
Just as important, a large volume of previous studies, as well as basic land-use, demographic, and geographic data, is available to direct sampling efforts. For example, if EMAP wishes to know the extent to which the Milwaukee urban area influences nutrient concentrations and related biological response variables in the nearshore region of western Lake Michigan, it would be most inefficient to approach the problem as though it knew nothing about the direction of the sources of influence and therefore set up a random sampling program throughout the region.
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From page 87... ...
The EMAP-Surface Waters group should be commended for its investigation into the critical ways different sources of variation will affect EMAP's ability to detect status and trends. The EMAPSurface Waters Implementation pilot was reasonably organized, and logistical aspects of the operation were well planned.
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From page 88... ...
Not every issue can be addressed in a single pilot study, but there appears to be no overall plan to address these issues sequentially in subsequent pilot studies. In addition, oversight and involvement of senior scientists from a central management team at EMAP Center might have enhanced the scientific rigor of the pilot study, improved the design, analysis and reporting phases of the pilot study, and produced more useful models for the full program.
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From page 89... ...
Assessment End Points EMAP-Surface Waters has designated three assessment end points for the lakes portion of their program: biological integrity; trophic condition; fishability. The choice of assessment end points provides the foundation for the EMAP Lakes Program.
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From page 90... ...
In addition, although EMAP's financial resources will be limited, it is imprudent to exclude drinking water from consideration as a societal value in its surface water assessment program. The EPA and the revised Clean Water Act both express and affirm the concept of holistic watershed planning and management.
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From page 91... ...
In addition, appropriate new statistical methods should be incorporated as they become available. Sampling Design The design for the Surface Waters component follows the overall EMAP design.
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From page 92... ...
A watershed perspective is lacking in the sampling design. Because surface water systems are linked with their watersheds, the lack of a watershed perspective will severely limit the identification of likely causes of detected changes in the EMAP lakes.
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From page 93... ...
The regional assessment portion of the pilot study represents the first application of the general EMAP design to surface water ecosystems. The EMAP-Surface Waters implementation pilot was reasonably organized, and logistical aspects of the operation were well planned.
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From page 94... ...
Based on the limited information now available, it was premature to embark on a stream pilot study at this time. The currently conceived sampling strategy appears inadequate to characterize stream quality either chemically or biologically.
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From page 95... ...
Intra-Agency Cooperation Much routine water quality sampling done by state pollution control agencies on surface waters nationwide is funded through EPA's Office of Water under Section 305b of the Clean Water Act. Closer collaboration between the 305b program and EMAP has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of both programs while reducing the overall cost of federal monitoring programs for surface water quality.
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From page 96... ...
These questions are critically important, because they will drive the sampling strategies and clarify the goals of EMAP-Surface Waters and the other resource groups. A procedure should be developed to identify the most important assessment questions from a policy perspective, but at the same time ensure that it is scientifically feasible to address the questions.
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From page 97... ...
Resource Components 97 expertise. These panels should not duplicate the advisory and planning functions of the current peer-review panels or of EPA's Science Advisory Board.
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