National EPA Program Celebrates 20 Years of Protecting Coastal Watersheds
By Dave Kellam, Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership
January 31, 2007
On February 4, striped bass, ospreys, horseshoe crabs, oysters, and other
estuarine creatures have a reason to celebrate because it is the 20th anniversary
of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) National
Estuary Program which has supported water quality protection efforts through
28 watershed-based programs nationwide, including the New Hampshire Estuaries
Project (NHEP).
The National Estuary Program was established through the Water Quality Act
of 1987 in response to increasing beach closures, fish kills, contaminated
shellfish beds, and a general deterioration of coastal environments. The National
Estuary Program was intended to identify nationally significant estuaries in
need of restoration and protection. Congress charged EPA to provide technical
and financial assistance, management guidance, and the organizational vehicle
to foster local stakeholder partnerships to address estuarine health. EPA has
designated 28 different estuary programs as part of the national program.
The NHEP was accepted into the National Estuary Program in 1995 and spent
its early years developing its comprehensive Management Plan. Through an agreement
with UNH, the EPA awards the NHEP approximately $500,000 per year to implement
its Management Plan that is designed to protect, enhance, and monitor the environmental
quality of the state’s estuaries.
NHEP Director Jennifer Hunter is impressed with EPA’s commitment to
local control of resource management decisions. “We have a 27-member
Management Committee and four advisory teams, who represent the interests of
federal, state, and local governments, as well as non-profit environmental
groups, business interests, and citizens concerned with the environmental health
of New Hampshire’s two primary estuaries: Hampton-Seabrook Harbor and
Great Bay. This large group of local stakeholders sets program priorities and
ensures that resources are put to the best use to meet our management goals.” Some
programs supported by the NHEP include shellfish restoration, land protection,
stormwater management, and perhaps most importantly, a comprehensive monitoring
program for New Hampshire’s coastal watershed. Hunter notes, “Without
a long-term monitoring program in place, no one can know if water quality protection
efforts are actually working.”
Recently, the NHEP published its State of the Estuaries report that summarizes
twelve key indicators that report on the health and environmental quality of
New Hampshire’s estuaries. The report’s findings suggest that the
environmental quality of the state’s estuaries is good compared with
estuaries across the country. However, there are areas of concern such as historically
low oyster population levels, increasing nitrogen concentrations in Great Bay,
and sprawling development patterns that each year add an additional 1,185 acres
of impervious surfaces, such as parking lots, buildings, and roads, to the
coastal watershed. Impervious surfaces result in more stormwater runoff, less
rainwater filtering into the ground, and more pollutants entering waterways.
By providing technical resources and assistance to communities, the NHEP and
its many partners hope to reverse this trend and to minimize the impacts of
development on water quality.
Suzanne Schwartz, EPA’s Oceans and Coastal Protection Division Director,
notes that “EPA is excited to be celebrating the 20th anniversary of
its coastal partnership program, the National Estuary Program. It is a leading
model for watershed-based management nationwide. It has served as an effective
catalyst for producing environmental results at the local level, helping community
stakeholders identify, develop, and carry out solutions to local environmental
problems. Nationwide, this has meant protecting or restoring over 1 million
acres of estuarine habitat.”
For information on the NHEP, go to www.nhep.unh.edu.
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