WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT
AND OCEAN ADVANCEMENT
FEDERAL WATER QUALITY ADMINISTRATION
NORTHWEST REGION
ALASKA WATER LABORATORY
College, Alaska
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WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND OCEAN ADVANCEMENT
by
Richard W. Latimer
Presented at the
Commission for Ocean Advancement
through Science and Technology meeting
Barrow, Alaska, May 1, 1970
for the
FEDERAL WATER QUALITY ADMINISTRATION
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
ALASKA WATER LABORATORY
COLLEGE, ALASKA
Working Paper No. 3
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A Working Paper presents results of investigations
which are to some extent limited or incomplete.
Therefore, conclusions or recommendations—expressed
or implied—are tentative.
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WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND OCEAN ADVANCEMENT
Gentlemen, I appreciate the opportunity to meet with you here today to
explain and discuss the interest the Federal Water Quality Administration
has in the coastal waters of Alaska and throughout the United States, and
to share with you some of the current activities that we are carrying out
in the various programs under our direction.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Administration became an agency
on December 21, 1965, when the President signed the Water Quality Act of
1965. It created this new agency within the Department of Health, Educa-
tion and Welfare. In February 1966, the President directed that the FWPCA
be transferred from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to the
Department of the Interior. This reorganization took place on May 10, 1966.
The agency has grown and prospered within the Department of the Interior in
the past 4 years and has received additional authority and responsibilities
by several amendments to the original Water Quality Act of 1965. The latest
of these important pieces of legislation was just signed by the President
early this month and is entitled the "Water Quality Improvement Act of 1970."
Among other things, this act did change our name from the Federal Water
Pollution Control Administration to the Federal Water Quality Administra-
tion. And, I expect, as much as anything else, this change indicates our
broadening of interest from pollution control to all of the aspects of water
quality management. This phrase, Water Quality Management, is perhaps the key
to multiple use development and conservation of Alaska's coastal resources.
I would like to just briefly outline the various programs that the
Federal Water Quality Administration carries out and then we can talk more
specifically about those aspects that deal with the problems and challenges
at hand here in Alaska.
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First of all, I think the keystone of the massive clean water program
is the provision of the Water Quality Act of 1965, which calls for all
states to establish water quality standards for their interstate and
coastal waters. This provision required states to make some crucial de-
cisions involving the uses of their water resources, the quality of water
to support these uses, and specific plans to achieve such levels of quality.
Alaska's standards were approved by the Secretary of the Interior in February
1968.
A second major area of responsibility is the water quality monitoring
and enforcement program of the agency which goes hand in hand with the
Water Quality Standards themselves. Today, the Federal Water Quality Ad-
ministration, through authorization by the Secretary of the Interior, can
initiate an enforcement action when: (1) the water quality standards adopted
for interstate and coastal waters are violated; (2) the health and welfare
of persons in a state, other than the one in which the pollution originated,
are endangered; (3) pollution causes damage to the health and welfare of
persons within the state i-n which it originates and the Governor of that
state requests such action; (4) the pollution has damaged shellfish so
that substantial economic injury has resulted from the inability to mar-
ket shellfish products in interstate commerce, and; (5) where international
pollution is involved.
Another area of major responsibility is the building of waste treat-
ment plants. Since most of Alaska's population is in the coastal areas,
this is a particularly important program. A community can get financial
help in the construction of municipal waste treatment works with a Federal
grant of at least 30 percent of construction costs and, under certain condi-
tions, the Federal share may be as much as 55 percent. The Federal Con-
struction Grants Program is not intended to be a substitute for State
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and local activity. Rather, the purpose of this assistance is to encour-
age and support such activity. The financial incentives and the benefits
are sizeable. After many years of subauthorization approprations by Con-
gress in this area of Construction Grants, it now appears that we will
have rather sizeable portions of money for this purpose. In fact, this
year, some 800 million dollars will be spent in the Construction Grants
Program.
Another area of responsiblity is technical assistance to local com-
munities, states and other Federal agencies. We found that many states
have municipal and industrial waste problems of an unusual nature. For
help in solving them, they frequently turn to the Federal Water Quality
Administration. Technical assistance covers a wide range of activities
from short-term consultation on specific problems, to assistance in conduc-
ting comprehensive investigations and surveys. Tehcnical experts from FWQA's
Regional offices and field laboratories and research facilities throughout
the country play dual roles as troubleshooters in dealing with particular
problems and as consultants on short-range control measures.
Basin-wide planning and action is an important aspect of any water
quality program. To encourage basin-wide action by state, interstate, and
local agencies, the Federal Water Quality Administration has launched a
comprehensive planning grants program for river basins which often include
the estuaries. Comprehensive programming makes it possible to develop basin-
wide programs, to provide technical guidance to basin planning agencies, to
relate state-local planning efforts to Federal planning. This approach
spurs creation of mutually supporting plans and links the actions of Federal,
interstate, state, municipal agencies, and industry. It provides a blue-
print for building water quality management in each river basin system and
it serves as a springboard for enlightened actions by citizen groups.
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From the very start of the National Water Quality Program, Congress
has made it quite clear that the responsibilities for preventing and con-
trolling water pollution rests mainly with the States and, although the
Federal government has been given a greater role, it is still up to the
States to bear the major share of the responsibility. To handle their job
adequately, the states need money and manpower. Federal program grants are
available to states and interstate agencies to help them bear the cost of
needed preventive and control measures. These grants are intended as realis-
tic incentives for the states to spend more money to expand and improve their
water quality control programs.
The problems of water pollution are so complex, so varied, and so
numerous, that existing weapons are not adequate to deal with all of them.
This is particularly true here in Alaska, where the environmental conditions
are sufficiently unique and different that we are often left without even
the most meager tools and knowledge to understand and manage our water re-
sources. Problems have multiplied faster than solutions in this age of sky-
rocketing technology. For example, approximately every 20 minutes, a new
chemical is added to the market which will eventually find its way into our
water supplies. This poses a serious threat to the full success of any ef-
fort to enhance our water quality and protect it for a variety of multiple
uses.
The FWQA's research activities are carried on in two ways—directly
through work in its own laboratories, such as the Alaska Water Laboratory at
College, and indirectly through sizeable grants and contracts for research in
colleges, universities and other public and private institutions and agencies,
Specific research projects are being pursued by industrial firms under
contract with the Federal government. Research is such a broad activity and
is of such importance to us here in Alaska, that I will, in a few moments,
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outline those areas of research that most closely pertains to the problems
of water quality management and resource development in our coastal and
estuarine waters.
The Federal responsibility fpr pollution control does not begin or end
with requiring others to act. Government installations scattered throughout
Alaska and located in almost every city, also have a responsibility in con-
trolling pollution themselves. Recognizing this, the President issued an
Executive Order, dated July 2, 1966, to insure that the Federal government
provide leadership in preventing and abating water pollution in the United
States by controlling the pollution from all of its installations and acti-
vities. In addition to this earlier order, a new Executive Order issued
February 5, 1970, strengthens this responsibility. This order has a far
reaching impact since it involves a diversity of installations such as mili-
tary bases, hospitals, national parks, forests, Federal dams, and post offices.
The Federal Water Quality Administration, through a program of review, appro-
val, and technical assistance, cooperates with all other Federal agencies in
developing water pollution control plans for Federal installations.
Oil pollution is the most current and one of the most vital areas of
concern and discussion in Alaska today. The responsibility for administering
the Oil Pollution Act of 1924 was transferred from the Secretary of the Army
to the Secretary of the Interior by the Clean Water Restoration Act of 1966.
It is now administered by the Federal Water Quality Administration.
The whole question of preventing and controlling damage caused by oil
pollution has been, very recently and dramatically, raised by such oil spills
as Santa Barbara, the run-away well offshore of Louisiana, and of course, our
two recent Kodiak spills and the current ecological disaster that is under
investigation off the Alaska peninsula. These disasters have highlighted
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our technical inability to cope with such problems and indicate the inef-
fectiveness of the Oil Pollution Act of 1924. Since the Act applies only
to discharges which are grossly negligent, or which result from willful
spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, or emitting of oil. The Act also
does not apply to spills from fixed installations such as pipelines, oil
deposits, refineries, or manufacturing plants using large quantities of
oil.
I'm happy to say that Congress has recognized this deficiency and has
included a strong section in the new Water Quality Act of 1970 which will
greatly increase our enforcement and control measures for handling oil
pollution.
Alaska's huge coastline and corresponding estuarine areas are one of
the most important resources we have. Estuaries must rank with forests and
rivers as vital natural resources. Neither of the latter two can match the
fertility and versatility of the estuary. A wide variety of fish and shell-
fish spend all or part of their lives in estuarine waters. For a large group
of marine life, they serve as nurseries, as spawning grounds and feeding
grounds, and as passageways between river spawning areas and the pastures of
open ocean waters. It is estimated that three-quarters of the commercial
seafoods—fish, clams, oysters, shrimp, crabs, and lobsters—are nutured in
the estuaries. Estuaries also provide shelter and food life for birds and
other wildlife. The estuarine zones act as buffers against the ravages of
violent storms. They provide the harbors and transportation routes for com-
merce, and some of the best sites for industrial plants. Too, estuarine
waters offer a wide array of recreational opportunities for fishermen,
swimmers, boaters, water skiers, birdwatchers, and hunters. It is thus
clear that estuaries are rich, distinctive, aquatic centers which man can
little afford to use carelessly and destructively.
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Perhaps the most significant of the Federal actions taken to insure
proper utilization of estuaries is the Comprehensive Study authorized by
Congress in the Clean Water Restoration Act of 1966. This legislation has
specifically directed the Department of the Interior to study estuarine pol-
lution and to prepare a report to Congress which will document and analyze
various aspects of estuarine pollution, make recommendations for a compre-
hensive national program for the preservation, study, use and development
of estuaries, and recommend the respective roles of Federal, State, and
local governments and public and private interests.
Conducted by the Federal Water Quality Administration, the study in-
volves the gathering and review of data information relating to a number of
areas among which are: social, economic, and ecological trends; the effects
of pollution, including sedimentation, on many beneficial uses of the estu-
aries; and the effects of demographic trends, industrial development, and
other activities on the quality of estuarine waters.
Hearings were held in Juneau and Anchorage in June of 1968, to secure
the information necessary to complete the national study. The study was
submitted to Congress in November 1969, and a copy was sent to the State
of Alaska. The recommendations were, in general, that there is a national
interest in the estuarine and coastal areas of this country; that the
multiple use concept should prevail; and that some system should be de-
vised and set up by the states to plan and zone for the wise management of
the estuaries. This study has served as the basis for two bills now pending
in Congress that would allow for Federal support'and financing of state
plans that would create coastal management authorities to carry out the
findings of this act.
Another important piece of legislation passed in August 1968, which
was known as the National Estuary Protection Act. This legislation calls
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for the Department of the Interior to study and inventory the nation's
estuaries with a view to determining whether it would be feasible and
desirable to develop and administer a nation-wide system of estuarine
areas, protected and supported through Government management. The study
was carried out by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries within the Department of
the Interior, and was closely coordinated with the National Estuarine Pol-
lution Study by the Federal Water Quality Administration. The study is
complete and the copies will soon be available.
Now let me turn back to the question of research. The Federal Water
Quality Administration does carry out a comprehensive research program
based upon in-house research through one of its eight research labora-
tories throughout the country and a number of associated field sites.
Secondly, contract projects, primarily with industry, and third, grant
projects with universities, industries, states, and municipalities. The
funding level for all FWQA research will be about $45 million in FY 1971.
Our in-house program is predicated on the assignment of specific
areas of technical responsibility to each of our laboratories. For example,
the National Coastal Pollution Research Program is headquartered at the
Pacific Northwest Water Laboratory in Corvallis, Oregon, and is concerned
with defining the fate of pollutants in coastal waters, estuaries, the
Continental Shelf, and deep ocean areas, and to improve programs for pol-
lution control in these waters. Research projects include the study of
the transport and diffusion of various wastes and the physical, chemical,
and biological interactions of pollutants in the marine environment. Re-
search results will be used in improved discharge or disposal designs, lo-
cations, and operating practices at existing or planned sources to coastal
waters. Lessening the pollutional impacts of coastal engineering projects
such as marinas, breakwater construction, and dredging activities is also
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a program objective. The program includes the development of scientific
equipment and analytical'methods for pollution studies to provide a more
precise marine water quality standards.
National marine water quality criteria and standards are being con-
tinually developed and reviewed by our laboratory in West Kingston, Rhode
Island. This is a big research effort which is geared to developing suit-
able water quality requirements for industrial and recreational use as well
as requirements for important marine organisms. These requirements include
such parameters as dissolved oxygen, temperature, and salinity for marine
organisms and toxicity levels of a variety of substances and compounds. The
third major area of research within the organization, which has direct appli-
cation to Alaskan coastal waters, is industrial pollution control technology.
Techniques and processes must be developed and demonstrated to achieve effec-
tive and economical control of pollution from such industries as petroleum,
chemical products, pulp and paper and industrial wastes from seafood pro-
cessing. These are all important industries in the economic and social
fabric of Alaska.
The Alaska Water Laboratory has the research mission to develop waste
treatment and pollution evaluation techniques which apply to cold climate
water pollution control. I will outline some of the studies and investiga-
tions that have been conducted here in Alaska that are relative to the coast
and estuarine areas. First of all, we have conducted studies on the effects
of pulp mill effluent wastes on the waters of Ward Cove and Silver Bay.
This study is now complete and reports are in final preparation. In general,
we have found a rather serious degradation of water quality due to the in-
adequately treated wastes that come from these two industrial operations in
Southeast Alaska. If these estuarine areas are to serve other important
uses, water quality will have to be improved.
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Preliminary studies have also been made on another important industrial
waste here in Alaska—the seafood processing waste. Alaska ranks as one of
the leaders in the United States on the tonage of seafood landed and processed.
A large percentage of the shellfish processing is done in one location, Kodiak.
The discharge of raw wastes into Kodiak Harbor has resulted in degradation of
the water quality and impeded the various other important and economic uses
of that body of water. The Federal Water Quality Administration has, in
March of this year, awarded a demonstration grant to the City of Kodiak for
"Pollutional Abatement and By-Product Recovery in Shellfish Processing."
This project will, hopefully, provide the technology to efficiently use the
huge quantities of valuable seafood that are presently being wasted and, in
the process, protect our valuable estuaries.
One of the vast areas where good information is minimal is that area of
the coastal environment which surrounds us here in the Arctic. The Insti-
tute of Marine Science has requested and has just received a grant offer
from the .Federal Water Quality Administration to carry out a baseline study
of the Alaskan arctic estuarine environment. This is-a'n important first
step in understanding the economic and ecological importance of this great
area of arctic coastline. A study that is currently underway by the Alaska
Water Laboratory ties in very closely with the Institute of Marine Science
grant project. This in-house effort is the study of the Sagavanirktok
River Basin. The study was initiated for the purpose of investigating the
basic physical, chemical and biological nature of this river system. To
more fully understand how the river system functions, we have just conducted
a winter field trip to the basin to sample and analyze those water quality
parameters that are important for the protection and proper utilization of
the Sagavanirktok River.
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Perhaps no area of water quality management and control is of more
v.^
importance to us now than the area of oil pollution. Surely, as we look
ahead in the future of Alaska and in the development of our coastal resources,
we must foresee and forestall the-great danger of pollution from oil and other
hazardous materials. The Federal Water Quality Administration has maintained,
for three years now, an office dealing with oil pollution control and techni-
cal assistance to the State and industry in the Cook Inlet area. Since the
great discoveries of oil on the North Slope, and the proposition of an 800-
mile pipeline to bring this oil out to an ice-free port in Central Alaska,
this operation has to be expanded if we are to protect, conserve, and fully
utilize the estuarine and coastal resources that we have here in Alaska.
The national responsibility for oil pollution control technology rests, with
our Edison Water Quality Laboratory in New Jersey. This laboratory is moving
ahead in research on a wide front of oil pollution control techniques. I
brought with me a few of their recent publications, as you see; "Chemical
Treatment of Oil Slicks," "Biological Effects of Oil Pollution," "Oil Samp-
ling Techniques," "Restoration of Oil Contaminated Beaches," and "The Santa
Barbara Oil Pollution Incident." The technology that is being investigated
and developed through the efforts of the Laboratory and with grants and con-
tracts needs to be applied to our specific problems here in Alaska. Some of
what is being developed will not apply; therefore, it is so important that
we here in Alaska seek out, with our own resources and our own devices, an
understanding of the problems that confront us and workable solutions to
solve these problems. Otherwise, the septer of ecological disaster will
always hang over our head. We must, through all our efforts, create a
policy to protect, improve and manage our estuaries and coastal areas through
research, planning, legislation, and operational programs.
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Today we must act with what we know, even while we learn more effective
water quality management. This requires a cooperative effort between Federal,
State and local governments, private and public bodies, professions of every
kind, and the public.
I commend you for your efforts and extend our resources and our coopera-
tion in the development and protection and conservation of our estuaries and
coastal areas of Alaska.
Thank you very much.
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