Abstract
The Texas National Coastal Assessment (NCA) program began with the immediate challenge of integrating the NCA effort with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Coastal Fisheries Division and its existing probabilistic Fishery Independent Monitoring Program. Close coordination and detailed planning along with a novel two boat sampling operation helped to make this alliance work. Partnerships with National Estuary Programs and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) greatly improved coverage of the Texas coast over the initial fifty station design. Airboats, biobags, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) corers were instrumental in overcoming numerous technical challenges. NCA data provide a more complete assessment of water and sediment quality than the traditional 305(b) report, with better spatial coverage and a measure of validity. There were differing patterns of PCBs, PAHs, DDTs and chlorinated pesticides, and metals such as mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) along the Texas coast. A confederation of Texas state agencies is considering ways to take advantage of probabilistic sampling designs to monitor the Texas coast. The TCEQ and TPWD are working on a joint project to redesign sediment and water quality monitoring that may serve as a springboard to a continuous monitoring program and opportunities for further improvement of ecosystem health assessment of the Texas coast.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Busch, W.-D. N., Brown, B. L., & Mayer, G. F. (Eds.) (2003). Strategic guidance for implementing an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management (62p.). United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NMFS, Silver Spring, MD.
Carr, R. S., & Nipper, M. (2007). Sediment profile imaging and micro-sampling system (SPIMS). In B. A. Munson, J. M. W. Froese, J.-M. Ferone, & L. E. Burridge (Eds.). Proceeding of the 33rd annual aquatic toxicity workshop: October 1 to 4, 2006, Jasper, Alberta. Canadian technical report for fisheries and aquatic sciences 2746: xiv + 114 p (p. 99). St. Andrews, NB: Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Holland, A. F. (1990). Near Coastal Program Plan for 1990: Estuaries. EPA/600/4-90/033. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Narragansett, RI.
Hyland, J. L., Snoots, T. R., & Balthis, L. (1998). Sediment quality of estuaries in southwestern US. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 51, 331–343.
Kiddon, J. A., Paul, J. F., Buffum, H. W., Strobel, C. S., Hale, S. S., Cobb, D., et al. (2003). Ecological condition of the US Mid-Atlantic estuaries, 1997–1998. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 46, 1224–1244.
Kolpin, D. W., Furlong, E. T., Meyer, M. T., Thurman, E. M., Zaugg, S. D., Barber, L. B., et al. (2002). Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants in U.S. streams, 1999–2000: A national reconnaissance. Environmental Science and Technology, 36, 1202–1211.
Long, E. R., & Morgan, L. G. (1990). The potential for biological effects of sediment-sorbed contaminants tested in the national status and trends program. NOAA Tech. Memo. NOS OMA 52, NOAA, Silver Spring, MD.
Long, E. R., MacDonald, D. D., Smith, S. L., & Calder, F. D. (1995). Incidence of adverse biological effects within ranges of chemical concentrations in marine and estuarine sediments. Environmental Management, 19(1), 81–97.
MacDonald, D. D., Carr, R. S., Calder, F. D., & Long, E. R. (1996). Development and evaluation of sediment quality guidelines for Florida coastal waters. Ecotoxicology, 5, 253–278.
Messer, J. J., Linthurst, R. A., & Overton, W. S. (1991). An EPA program for monitoring ecological status and trends. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 17(1), 67–78.
National Research Council (NRC) (1995). Review of EPA’s environmental monitoring and assessment program: Overall evaluation. Washington, DC: National Academies.
Nipper, M., Carr, R. S., Biedenbach, J., MacFarlane, J., & Gschwend, P. (2007). Passive samplers as sediment surrogates in toxicity tests. In ICES annual science conference, proceedings (p. 3). Copenhagen, Denmark: International Council for Exploration of the Sea, ICES CM 2007/J:09.
Overton, W. S., White, D., & Stevens, D. L. (1991). Design report of the environmental monitoring and assessment program. Corvallis, OR: EPA/60 0/3-91/053.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Research Laboratory.
Paul, J. F., Gentile, J. H., Scott, K. J., Schimmel, S. C., Campbell, D. E., & Latimer, R. W. (1999). EMAP-Virginian province four-year assessment (1990–1993). Washington, DC: EPA/620/R-99/004.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development.
Sandifer, P. A., Holland, A. F., Rowles, T. K., & Scott, G. I. (2004). The oceans and human health. Environmental Health Perspectives, 112(8), 454–455.
Strobel, C. J., Buffum, H. W., Benyi, S. J., & Paul, J. F. (1999). Environmental monitoring and assessment program: Current status of Virginian Province (US) estuaries. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 56, 1–25.
Summers, J. K., Paul, J. F., & Robertson, A. (1995). Monitoring the ecological condition of estuaries in the United States. Toxicological and Environmental Chemistry, 49, 93–108.
Summers, J. K., Steyer, G., Decker, E., Crocker, P., Hill, F., McRae, G., et al. (2001). A framework for an integrated and comprehensive monitoring plan for the estuaries of the Gulf of Mexico. 620/R-00/006. Gulf Breeze, FL. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2001. GED-01-2187.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) (2002). 2002 Texas water quality inventory and 303(d) list. http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/compliance/monitoring/water/quality/data/02twqi/twqi02.htm. Retrieved 6 February 2007.
U.S. EPA (1990). Environmental monitoring and assessment program overview. Washington, DC: EPA/600/9-90/001. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development.
U.S. EPA (2001a). Environmental monitoring and assessment program (EMAP): National coastal assessment quality assurance project plan 2001–2004. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division, Gulf Breeze, FL. EPA/602/R-01/002.
U.S. EPA (2001b). National coastal assessment: Field operations manual (72p.). U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division, Gulf Breeze, FL. EPA/620/R-01/003.
U.S. EPA (2001c). National coastal condition report. Office of Research and Development and Office of Water, Washington, DC. EPA-620/R-01/005.
U.S. EPA (2004). National coastal condition report II. U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development and Office of Water, Washington, DC. EPA-620/R-03/002.
Walters, C. J. (1997). Challenges in adaptive management of riparian and coastal ecosystems. Ecology and Society, 1(2), 1–21.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Simons, J.D., Smith, C.R. Texas National Coastal Assessment (2000–2004): challenges, solutions, lessons learned and future directions. Environ Monit Assess 150, 167–179 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0684-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0684-9