33 USC 2803 - Comprehensive Coastal Water Quality Monitoring Program

U.S Code last checked for updates: May 02, 2024

§ 2803.

Comprehensive Coastal Water Quality Monitoring Program

(a)

Authority; joint implementation

(1)

The Administrator and the Under Secretary, in conjunction with other Federal, State, and local authorities, shall jointly develop and implement a program for the long-term collection, assimilation, and analysis of scientific data designed to measure the environmental quality of the Nation’s coastal ecosystems pursuant to this section. Monitoring conducted pursuant to this section shall be coordinated with relevant monitoring programs conducted by the Administrator, Under Secretary, and other Federal, State, and local authorities.

(2)

Primary leadership for the monitoring program activities conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to this section shall be located at the Environmental Research Laboratory in Narragansett, Rhode Island.

(b)

Program elements

The Comprehensive Coastal Water Quality Monitoring Program shall include, but not be limited to—

(1)

identification and analysis of the status of environmental quality in the Nation’s coastal ecosystems, including but not limited to, assessment of—

(A)

ambient water quality, including contaminant levels in relation to criteria and standards issued pursuant to title III or 1

 So in original. Probably should be “of”.

the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1311 et seq.);

(B)

benthic environmental quality, including analysis of contaminant levels in sediments in relation to criteria and standards issued pursuant to title III of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1311 et seq.); and

(C)

health and quality of living resources.2

 So in original. The period probably should be a semicolon.

(2)

identification of sources of environmental degradation affecting the Nation’s coastal ecosystems;

(3)

assessment of the impact of governmental programs and management strategies and measures designed to abate or prevent the environmental degradation of the Nation’s coastal ecosystems;

(4)

assessment of the accumulation of floatables along coastal shorelines;

(5)

analysis of expected short-term and long-term trends in the environmental quality of the Nation’s coastal ecosystems; and

(6)

the development and implementation of intensive coastal water quality monitoring programs in accordance with subsection (d).

(c)

Monitoring guidelines and protocols

(1)

Guidelines

Not later than 18 months after October 29, 1992, the Administrator and the Under Secretary shall jointly issue coastal water quality monitoring guidelines to assist in the development and implementation of coastal water quality monitoring programs. The guidelines shall—

(A)

provide an appropriate degree of uniformity among the coastal water quality monitoring methods and data while preserving the flexibility of monitoring programs to address specific needs;

(B)

establish scientifically valid monitoring methods that will—

(i)

provide simplified methods to survey and assess the water quality and ecological health of coastal waters;

(ii)

identify and quantify through more intensive efforts the severity of existing or anticipated problems in selected coastal waters;

(iii)

identify and quantify sources of pollution that cause or contribute to those problems, including point and nonpoint sources; and

(iv)

evaluate over time the effectiveness of efforts to reduce or eliminate pollution from those sources;

(C)

provide for data compatibility to enable data to be efficiently stored and shared by various users; and

(D)

identify appropriate physical, chemical, and biological indicators of the health and quality of coastal ecosystems.

(2)

Technical protocols

Guidelines issued under paragraph (1) shall include protocols for—

(A)

designing statistically valid coastal water quality monitoring networks and monitoring surveys, including assessment of the accumulation of floatables.²

(B)

sampling and analysis, including appropriate physical and chemical parameters, living resource parameters, and sediment analysis techniques; and

(C)

quality control, quality assessment, and data consistency and management.

(3)

Periodic review

(4)

Discharge permit data

(d)

Intensive coastal water quality monitoring programs

(1)

In general

(2)

Designation of intensive monitoring areas

(3)

Identification of suitable coastal areas

(A)

The Administrator and the Under Secretary shall contract with the National Research Council to conduct a study to identify coastal areas suitable for the establishment of intensive coastal monitoring programs. In identifying these coastal areas, the National Research Council shall consider areas that—

(i)

are representatives of coastal ecosystems throughout the United States;

(ii)

will provide information to assess the status and trends of coastal water quality nation-wide; and

(iii)

would benefit from intensive water quality monitoring because of local management needs.

(B)

In making recommendations under this paragraph, the National Research Council shall consult with Regional Research Boards established pursuant to title IV of this Act [16 U.S.C. 1447 et seq.].

(C)

The National Research Council shall, within 18 months of October 29, 1992, submit a report to the Administrator and the Under Secretary listing areas suitable for intensive monitoring.

(D)

The Administrator and the Under Secretary, in conjunction with other Federal, State, and local authorities, shall develop and implement multi-year programs of intensive monitoring for Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays, the Gulf of Maine, the Chesapeake Bay, the Hudson-Raritan Estuary, and each area jointly designated by the Administrator and the Under Secretary pursuant to paragraph (2).

(4)

Intensive coastal water quality monitoring programs

Each intensive coastal water quality monitoring program developed pursuant to this subsection shall—

(A)

identify water quality conditions and problems and provide information to assist in improving coastal water quality;

(B)

clearly state the goals and objectives of the monitoring program and their relationship to the water quality objectives for coastal waters covered by the program;

(C)

identify the water quality and biological parameters of the monitoring program and their relationship to these goals and objectives;

(D)

describe the types of monitoring networks, surveys and other activities to be used to achieve these goals and objectives, using where appropriate the guidelines issued under subsection (c);

(E)

survey existing Federal, State, and local coastal monitoring activities and private compliance monitoring activities in or on the coastal waters covered by the program, describe the relationship of the program to those other monitoring activities, and integrate them, as appropriate, into the intensive monitoring program;

(F)

describe the data management and quality control components of the program;

(G)

specify the implementation requirements for the program, including—

(i)

the lead Federal, State, or regional authority that will administer the program;

(ii)

the public and private parties that will implement the program;

(iii)

a detailed schedule for program implementation;

(iv)

all Federal and State responsibilities for implementing the program; and

(v)

the changes in Federal, State, and local monitoring programs necessary to implement the program;

(H)

estimate the costs to Federal and State governments, and other participants, of implementing the monitoring program; and

(I)

describe the methods to assess periodically the success of the monitoring program in meeting its goals and objectives, and the manner in which the program may be modified from time-to-time.

(5)

Criteria for monitoring Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays

(6)

Memorandum of Understanding

(7)

Implementation

(A)

The Administrator, the Under Secretary, and the Governor of each State having waters subject to an intensive coastal water quality monitoring program developed pursuant to this subsection shall ensure compliance with that program.

(B)

The Administrator and the Under Secretary are authorized to enter into cooperative agreements to provide financial assistance to non-Federal agencies and institutions to support implementation of intensive monitoring programs under this subsection. Federal financial assistance may only be provided on the condition that not less than fifty percent of the costs of the monitoring to be conducted by a non-Federal agency or institution is provided from non-Federal funds.

(e)

Comprehensive Implementation Strategy

(1)

In general

(2)

Consultation

(3)

Public comment

(4)

Memorandum of Understanding

(Pub. L. 92–532, title V, § 503, as added Pub. L. 102–567, title V, § 501, Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4294.)

cite as: 33 USC 2803