[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 18 (Thursday, January 28, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 4910]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01561]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9941-00-OW]


National Coastal Condition Assessment 2010

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the final National 
Coastal Condition Assessment (NCCA) 2010. The NCCA describes the 
results of a nationwide coastal probabilistic survey that was conducted 
in the summer of 2010 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and 
its state, tribal, and federal partners. Results include estimates of 
coastal area with good, fair, and poor biological quality, water 
quality, sediment quality, and ecological fish tissue quality. Results 
are presented nationally and regionally for the Northeast, Southeast, 
Gulf of Mexico, West, and Great Lakes coasts. The NCCA 2010 also 
includes information on how the survey was implemented, and future 
actions and challenges.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hugh Sullivan, Office of Wetlands, 
Oceans and Watersheds, Office of Water, Washington DC Phone: 202-564-
1763; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

    To better answer questions about the condition of waters across the 
country, EPA and its state and tribal partners have embarked on a 
series of surveys under the National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS) 
program. The NCCA 2010 is the most recent in this series of surveys. 
The key goals of the NCCA 2010 are to describe the ecological condition 
of the nation's coastal and Great Lakes nearshore waters, how those 
conditions are changing, and the key stressors affecting those waters. 
An important component of the NCCA is collaboration with state, tribal, 
and federal partners in developing new monitoring tools and analytical 
approaches and in advancing the science of coastal monitoring. The 
survey uses a statistical design to sample 1,104 randomly-selected 
sites that represent the condition of the larger population of coastal 
waters in the conterminous United States. This is the first time the 
nearshore waters of the Great Lakes have been included in a national 
statistically-based survey.
    The report finds that more than half of the nation's coastal and 
Great Lakes nearshore waters are rated in good condition for biological 
and sediment quality, while about one third are rated in good condition 
for water quality and less than one percent are rated in good condition 
based on the potential harm that fish tissue contaminants pose to 
predator fish, birds, and wildlife. Excessive phosphorus is the 
greatest contributor to the poor water quality rating. Selenium is the 
greatest contributor to the poor rating for potential harm to predator 
fish, birds and wildlife from fish tissue contaminants. The draft 
report has undergone peer, state and EPA review.

A. How can I get copies of the NCCA 2010 and other related information?

    You may access the NCCA 2010 from EPA's Web site at http://www.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys/ncca.

    Dated: January 13, 2016.
Joel Beauvais,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2016-01561 Filed 1-27-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P