Coastal Pollution Views
The Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program was established by Congress in 1990 to encourage better coordination between state coastal zone managers and water quality experts to reduce polluted runoff in the coastal zone. Poor water quality is not just a result of what we do to the water but what we do on the land as well. Therefore, establishing shared responsibilities for managing coastal water quality between state coastal zone management agencies, who make land use decisions, and water quality agencies, who deal directly with the quality of our coastal waters, is needed.
The Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program, which falls under Section 6217 of the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments (CZARA), is jointly administered by NOAA and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Program is unique in that it establishes a set of management measures for states to use in controlling polluted runoff. The measures are designed to control runoff from six main sources: forestry, agriculture, urban areas, marinas, hydromodification (shoreline and stream channel modification), and wetlands and vegetated shorelines, or riparian areas. These measures are backed by enforceable state policies and actions
The Coastal Nonpoint Program focuses on pollution prevention, minimizing the creation of polluted runoff rather than cleaning up already contaminated waterimdash;a very difficult and expensive process. The program encourages pollution prevention efforts at a local level, particularly improvements to land use planning and zoning practices to protect coastal water quality. Some of the land use practices NOAA recommends through the program include: preserving natural vegetation, avoiding development within sensitive habitats and erosion-prone areas, and limiting impervious surfaces such as pavement, decking, and roof tops, to the maximum extent practicable.
The Coastal Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program (Section 6217) addresses nonpoint pollution problems in coastal waters. Section 6217 requires the 29 states and territories with approved Coastal Zone Management Programs to develop Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Programs. In its program, a state or territory describes how it will implement nonpoint source pollution controls, known as management measures, that conform with those described in Guidance Specifying Management Measures for Sources of Nonpoint Pollution in Coastal Waters. This program is administered jointly with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Coastal Pollution Images
