As the International Year of the Ocean draws to a close, News-Notes is looking at that portion of the ocean impacted by nonpoint source pollution. Ever since the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990 instructed state and federal governments to address coastal nonpoint pollution, we have recognized the wider swath cut by NPS both inland and offshore. We now know that human activities hundreds of miles inland along the Mississippi River have serious implications for the ecology of the Gulf of Mexico. And coral reefs many miles from shore appear to be suffering from an array of ills, with nonpoint source pollution implicated as one cause.
Many questions remain about the relationship of land activities to coastal water quality.
More uncertainty surrounds atmospheric deposition of pollutants and their effects on coastal water quality and habitat.