Clean Coastal Waters Understanding and Reducing the Effects of Nutrient Pollution (2000) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Pages 1-10
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From page 1... ...
The problems are caused by a complex chain of events and vary from site to site, but the fundamental driving force is the accumulation of nitrogen and phosphorus in fresh water on its way to the sea. For instance, runoff from agricultural land, animal feeding operations, and urban areas plus discharge from wastewater treatment plants and atmospheric deposition of compounds released during fossil-fuel combustion all add nutrients to fresh water before it reaches the sea.
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From page 2... ...
Because rivers transport the vast majority of nutrients reaching coastal waters, the concentration of land-borne nutrients tends to be high near the mouths of rivers. These areas of mixed fresh and marine water, referred to as estuaries, tend to be relatively slow moving and biologically rich water bodies that are particularly susceptible to the effects of nutrient over-enrichment.
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From page 3... ...
Inorganic fertilizers account for more than half of the human alteration of the nitrogen cycle, and approximately half of the inorganic nitrogen fertilizer ever used on the planet has been used in the last 15 years. Although production of fertilizer is the most significant way human activity mobilizes nitrogen globally, other human-controlled processes contribute to the problem by converting atmospheric nitrogen into biologically available forms of nitrogen, such as combustion of fossil fuels and production of nitrogen-fixing crops (crops such as soybeans and other legumes that can make use of nitrogen taken directly from the atmosphere)
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From page 4... ...
Rather, it means the development of a national, coordinated effort to provide local decision-makers and those responsible for implementing management activities with the information they will need to determine appropriate source reduction goals and methods at the local level. Providing local decision-makers and managers with this information base will allow site-specific and, where necessary, regional or even federal implementation of policies designed to yield significant and measurable improvement in the environmental quality of impaired coastal systems.
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From page 5... ...
Targeting some subset of the impaired coastal areas (for instance, focusing on impaired water bodies associated with small watersheds or simpler ecosystems) in an effort to simply meet these numeric goals would be contrary to the national interest and the spirit of this report.
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From page 6... ...
The key to addressing coastal nutrient problems is understanding that nutrient inputs to coastal waters are affected directly and significantly by activities in the watersheds and airsheds that feed coastal streams and rivers, and building this recognition into planning as well as implementation of management solutions. Thus, people involved as scientists, technicians, and managers for local watershed and coastal programs will play a fundamental role in an effective national strategy to address the problems associated with nutrient over-enrichment.
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From page 7... ...
Together, these federal agencies have the potential to offer significant resources to help local, state, and regional decision-makers address nutrient pollution problems. RECOMMENDED FEDERAL ACTIONS Implementation of an effective National Coastal Nutrient Management Strategy will require coordinated effort, and federal agencies will play an important role.
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From page 8... ...
For instance, the federal government should continue to move toward setting clear guidelines for nutrient loads, which are essential to successful nutrient management strategies. EPA efforts to develop nutrient criteria and standards on a regional and watershed basis should continue, and should incorporate complexities such as the interaction among physical, chemical, and biological factors; seasonality and timing of inputs; and the random nature of hydrologic forcing functions.
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From page 9... ...
Implementation of the Clean Water Action Plan would go a long way toward improving the federal effort. Given the widespread impacts of nutrient overenrichment, nutrient management should be an important consideration during reauthorization of the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and Coastal Zone Management Act.
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From page 10... ...
Better understanding is needed of the role of specific nutrients and conditions in causing harmful algal blooms and the implications for all levels of the food web, from fish to humans. Finally, research is needed that increases our understanding of the effects of nutrient inputs on economically valuable resources (e.g., oysters, fish stocks, etc.)
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