# Presentation: 063885

## Aquatic Monitoring & Bioassessment BranchFocus:  Indicators and Designs for Aquatic Resource Monitoring13 PhD Scientists2 MS Scientists

## Dedicated Investigators

- Progress Forged Through Dedicated Investigators with a Passion for Extending Their Research to Real-world Applications

## The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program

- ORD and Regional/State Partnerships
- Other Federal Agencies
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

- The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program

## Information

- How can it be used?
- How do we get it?

## Powerful Information Can Shape History...

## ...but it has to be representative!

## Impetus for EMAP

***“******What do you mean you don’t know how many acid lakes there are?”***
- William Ruckelshaus - EPA Administrator - early 1980s
***“******Good News - Based on my years in the environmental movement, I think the Agency does an exemplary job of protecting the nation’s  public health and quality of the environment.”***
***“******Bad News - I can’t prove it.”***
- William Reilly - EPA Administrator - 1989

## “GAO found that the Water Quality Inventory does not accurately portray water quality conditions nationwide. Consequently, the information in the Inventory cannot be meaningfully compared nationwide. “

**Water Quality: Key EPA and State Decisions Limited by Inconsistent and Incomplete Data **
- GAO/RCED-00-54
-  March, 2000

- Old Questions Continue to Plague EPA and its Promulgation of the CWA

## EPA’s Mission

## EMAP Objectives

- Estimate current status of and trends in selected indicators of condition ...on a regional basis with known confidence
- Estimate geographic coverage and extent
- Seek associations between indicators and stresses
- Provide (the tools to allow) annual statistical summaries and periodic assessments

## Status & Associations Questions

- (Status)

**Extent**

**of**

**Resource**

**(number,**

**length,**

**area)**

- Acceptable

- Unknown Cause

- Acidity

- Toxicity

- Eutrophication

- Habitat

**Acceptable**
**Condition (%)**

**Unacceptable**
**Condition (%)**
**(Cause/Source)**

## Regional Trend Questions

## Increase Use of Direct MeasuresIndicator Strategy

## Importance of Survey DesignDelaware Stream Reporting

## Regional Demonstration: Example EMAP Assessment

**Regional Demonstration:****Example EMAP Assessment:****Answering OW 305(b) Questions**

- Fish Index of Biotic Integrity
- example from Mid-Atlantic
- (90% CI = ± 15%)

## Regional Demonstration:Example EMAP Assessment

- Fish Index of Biotic Integrity
- example from Mid-Atlantic
- (90% CI = ± 15%)

- Valleys

- No.-Central Appalachians

- Ridge and Blue Ridge

- Western Appalachians

- (Insufficient
- Data)

## Regional Demonstration:Example EMAP Assessment

## Science behind the Scenes

- Index Construction

- Index Calibration

- Index Regionalization

- Reference Condition

- Ecoregion Framework

- Population Identification

- Frame Development

- Spatial Balance

- Variable Density Approaches

- Panel Rotation

- Variance Estimation

## Where Do $Above Infra Go?

## Client Uses

- Current Uses
- 305(b) reporting
- Indicators of aquatic life use
- Indicators of cause
- Designs for special studies
- Ecoregions for various application

- Future Uses and Activities
- 303(d) listing
- State of Environment Reports
- Great Rivers initiative
- Wetlands

- Primary Clients:
- Office of Water, EPA Regions, States & Tribes

## Where are Impaired Waters? 303(d) List/TMDLs

- Survey for 305(b) provides:

## Tiered Aquatic Life Uses:  Conceptual Framework

**   **

**Biological**
**Condition**

**Tiered Aquatic Life Uses: Conceptual Framework**

**Human Disturbance**

**natural**

**2.  Articulate scientifically defensible**
**benchmarks**
**            **

**1.  Encompass range of  possible conditions**

***Low***

***High***

- Tiered Aquatic Life Uses:  Conceptual Framework

**Objective: Identify common pattern of biological response to human disturbance**

**Notes:**
The framework is a conceptual model predicting biological response to increasing human disturbance.  Y axis - biological condition(natural - departure from natural); X axis - human disturbance (increasing).

Workgroup Tasks:

First,  identify common patterns of biological response to increasing human disturbance.  The word “common” is important -  the conceptual model will have to be applicable across the country and to different waterbody types.  Building on first principles of ecology and the practical expertise of field biologists.
This biological condition gradient should  (1) encompass entire range of possible conditions (natural and departure from natural all the way to “dead”); (2) include scientifically defensible (and ecologically meaningful) increments of change, or benchmarks, along the gradient.  This conceptual framework will be used to support establishment of thresholds for different levels of protection for aquatic life.

Second, the workgroup has been asked to recommend levels of protection consistent with CWA goals and objectives.

Third, the workgroup will make recommendations how to apply this  framework  to refine designated aquatic life uses in existing State and Tribal water quality standards programs - NEXT SLIDE.

## EMAP in ORD

## EMAP-West Reporting Units

- After 4 years of sampling, condition estimates will be possible for each state, for each special study area, and for all of the West

## Western EMAP Perennial Sample

## Scope

**Area**
- EPA Regions 8, 9, and 10
- States of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, Idaho and Washington** **
**Resources**
- Coastal waters
- Surface waters
- Landscapes

## Activities Every Year

- Training
- Field Sampling
- Data

- Effort Behind the Results:

## Trainingor“How Do I Get There From Here?”

## Training

## Training

- 125 people trained
- 12 States, 4 Tribes, 3 EPA Regions, 1 Fed. Agency

## Field Sampling

- ----
- What it’s all about

## Field Sampling

- 11 States Collecting Samples
- Over 400 Sites Sampled
- Little Access Denial (expected large problem)

## EMAP West Stream & River Survey

## Surveying

## Houston Creek

**Houston Creek**

- Houston Creek

## No Name Creek

**No Name Creek, WAZP99-0627**

## Wyoming

## Blue River

**Blue River,**
**WAZP99-0605**

## Sampling

## Sampling

## Sampling

## Sampling

## Sampling

## Leaving Behind

- Leaving Behind:

- Monitoring & Assessment Tools

- Enhanced State Monitoring & Assessment Capacity