The Ecological Assessment of Storm Impacts
on Marine Resources is a part of the Coastal Storms Program
(CSP), which is a nationwide effort led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) to lessen the impacts to coastal communities from storms.
For more information on the projects within the Coastal Storms Program, please view
http://csc.noaa.gov/csp.
Project Description
The Ecological Assessment of Storm Impacts on Marine Resources is designed to assess
potential effects on fish and shellfish from non-point source pollution. Pesticides
used on farms, lawns and golf courses, petroleum hydrocarbons found in roadway runoff,
and other contaminants in storm water runoff can cause illness or death to fish
and shellfish.
Currently, the project provides information that can be used in preliminary land
use-based risk assessments for pesticides potentially used in the St. Johns
River watershed, and for a broad suite of contaminant types in the lower Columbia
River watershed of Oregon and Washington states, U.S.A.
As part of NOAA's Coastal Storms Program, the National Ocean Service (NOS),
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the Office of Response
and Restoration (ORR) are conducting research on the transport of contaminants, estimation
of the risks to aquatic organisms, and mitigation approaches to reduce those
risks. The project provides users with ecological assessment tools to identify
areas of risks, and to mitigate impacts from coastal storms.
Geographic Locations
There are currently two geographic areas being studied.
- The Florida Pilot
- The Pacific-Northwest Pilot
The Florida Pilot
The Florida pilot region is located along the northeast coast of Florida within the
St. Johns River watershed. If you are interested in learning more about the St.
Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD), please visit their official website
at http://www.sjrwmd.org. This region includes all or
a portion of the following counties:
- Alachua
- Baker
- Brevard
- Clay
|
- Duval
- Flagler
- Indian River
- Lake
|
- Marion
- Nassau
- Orange
- Osceola
|
- Putnam
- Seminole
- St. Johns
- Volusia
|
The Pacific-Northwest Pilot
The second pilot program is in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. This pilot
region focused on part of the Lower Columbia River, the northwest Oregon coast,
and the southwest Washington coast.
Chemical contaminants, in additions to pesticides include many polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs) and inorganics. This region includes all or a portion of the following
counties:
Washington
- Clark
- Cowlitz
- Grays Harbor
- Lewis
- Mason
- Pacific
- Pierce
- Thurston
- Wahkiakum
|
Oregon
- Clackamas
- Clatsop
- Columbia
- Marion
- Multnomah
- Tillamook
- Washington
- Yamhill
|
Project Status
A land use-based preliminary risk assessment was conducted to identify potential
effects from toxic contaminants. Data on 516 chemicals that are expected to
occur in either the St. Johns RIver or lower Columbia River watershed are provided.
More than 170 pesticides are approved for use in agricultural, residential, and
commercial applications within the St. Johns River watershed.
The database provides information on potential loadings and locations, known toxicology,
and chemical characteristics that affect transport, fate, and toxicity.
This database of information is available for query through our basic search and our
detailed search.
Data Research and Collection
Several steps were taken to compile the list of contaminants to be included in each
pilot area risk assessment and this database. For the Florida’s
SJRWMD and the Pacific Northwest pilot areas, we used the Pesticide
Product Information System (PPIS) from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP). From the files in this system, we were able
to obtain a list of pesticides registered for use on the landcovers found in our
pilot areas. The landcovers for each pilot area were based upon the most recent
and most detailed landcover data available to us.
The agricultural pesticides for SJWMD were derived from Florida’s Department of Agriculture
and Consumer Services: Bureau of Pesticides provided the “Summary of Agriculture
Pesticide Usage in Florida: 1995-1998.” This document lists pesticide application
rates according to crop and county for the state of Florida. A document such as
this was not available for the Pacific Northwest pilot area, so the agricultural
pesticides were determined using the PPIS system described above.
For the Pacific Northwest pilot, our risk assessment also included polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons and inorganic contaminants that were selected for inclusion based upon
available scientific literature suggesting the potential for risk to aquatic resources.
A panel of scientific experts was convened to review and revise the list of contaminants.
If you would like to learn more about the development of the project database, view
the database development
process.
Please view our contact information,
if you would like to learn more about the Ecological Assessment project.