From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the United States, the
National Estuary Program
(NEP) provides grants to states where
governors
have identified nationally significant
estuaries
that are threatened by
pollution
,
land development
, or overuse. Governors have identified a total of 28 estuaries, and the
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) awards grants to these states to develop comprehensive management plans to restore and protect the estuaries.
Congress
created the NEP in the 1987 amendments to the
Clean Water Act
.
[1]
Program organization
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]
The National Estuary Program is made up of 28 smaller organizations set up regionally by estuary. Each of the estuary organizations is managed by local community leaders and staff. Participating organizations may include universities, local non-profit organizations, and state and local government agencies. It is the job of the NEP to help communities better protect, restore and maintain their estuaries. Unlike traditional
environmental governance
approaches, the NEP targets a broader range of issues and participates more effectively in local communities.
Before establishment of the national program, some small local grassroots organizations pursued environmental improvement efforts in various regions of the country, with limited effect
[
dubious
–
discuss
]
. The programs now focus not just on improving
water quality
in an estuary, but on maintaining the integrity of the system as a whole. If all parts of the estuary are not addressed it will be unable to balance the changes and may ecologically collapse, doing more harm than good.
[
citation needed
]
That includes chemical, physical, and biological properties, as well as its economic, recreational, and aesthetic public values. This allows communities that live in watersheds to have local as well as national protection.
[2]
EPA provides annual funding and technical assistance to the local estuary programs.
[2]
Common challenges addressed by local programs
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]
Each of the participating coastal areas has suffered varying degrees of impacts with regard to water quality and
habitat decline
. Many of the local estuary programs have initiated projects in one or more of the following problem categories.
Local programs
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- Albemarle
-
Pamlico
National Estuary Program, Virginia/North Carolina
- Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program,
[4]
Louisiana
- Barnegat Bay
Partnership, New Jersey
- Buzzards Bay
National Estuary Program, Massachusetts
- Casco Bay
Estuary Partnership, Maine
- Charlotte Harbor
National Estuary Program, Florida
- Coastal Bend
Bays and Estuaries Program, Texas
- Delaware
Center for the Inland Bays, Delaware
- Galveston Bay
Estuary Program, Texas
- Indian River Lagoon
National Estuary Program,
[5]
Florida
- Long Island Sound
Study, New York
- Lower Columbia
Estuary Partnership, Oregon/Washington
- Maryland Coastal Bays Program
, Maryland
- Massachusetts Bays
National Estuary Program, Massachusetts
- Mobile Bay
National Estuary Program, Alabama
- Morro Bay
National Estuary Program, California
- Narragansett Bay
Estuary Program, Rhode Island
- New York-New Jersey Harbor
Estuary Program, New York
- Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
, Delaware
- Peconic
Estuary Program, New York
- Piscataqua
Region Estuaries Partnership, Maine/New Hampshire
- Puget Sound
Partnership, Washington
- San Francisco Estuary Partnership
, California
- San Juan Bay
Estuary Partnership, Puerto Rico
- Santa Monica Bay
Restoration Foundation (now Bay Foundation), California
- Sarasota Bay
Estuary Program, Florida
- Tampa Bay
Estuary Program, Florida
- Tillamook
Estuaries Partnership, Oregon
Transparency concerns
[
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]
In 2016 a
Los Angeles County Superior Court
judge found that the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission violated the
California Public Records Act
by failing to disclose records about a wetlands restoration project.
[6]
See also
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References
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]
External links
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