The Gulf Protecting the Gulf of Mexico ------- CPA °foHA The Gulf is a large water body and a great source of abundance. But it is not without limit in its capacity to absorb the increasing pressures to which it is being subjected. Clearly, the ecological integrity of the Gulf of Mexico is at risk. Lee M. Thomas, Administrator Environmental Protection Agency Why Is the Gulf of Mexico Important? Two-Thirds of Contiguous U.S. Drains Into the Gulf The Gulf Produces Approximately 40% of U.S. Commercial Fish Yield Gulf Shrimp Fishery is the Most Valuable Fishery in U.S. Gulf Provides Critical Habitat for 75% of Migratory Waterfowl Traversing U.S. Gulf Coastal Wetlands Comprise About Half of the National Total One-Sixth of U.S. Population Now Lives in Gulf Coastal States 90% of U.S. Offshore Oil and Gas Comes From Gulf Approximately 45% of U.S. Shipping Tonnage Passes Through Gulf Ports The Navy Has Proposed Eight Strategic Homeporting Sites in Gulf Why Concern About the Gulf of Mexico? Nutrient Over-Enrichment Toxics and Pesticides Contamination Extensive Losses of Habitats Such as Marshes, Mangroves, and Seagrass Beds Shellfish Bed Closures Human Alteration of Freshwater Flow to Gulf Estuaries ------- Why a Gulf-Wide initiative? Important Resource to the Region and the Nation Problems Are National and International as Well as Regional States Along the Gulf Share Similar Problems With the Same Underlying Causes and Solutions Research and Management Assessments Translate Across the Gulf, Increasing Cost-Effectiveness Treating as a Whole Would Allow Crossing Jurisdictional Boundaries in Solving Problems A Coherent Inventory of Issues and Impact Severity Will Allow Focus On Most Serious Problems and the Most Effective Action Generate Broader Support With the Public Success Rate High For Regional Programs, Such As the Great Lakes Program and Chesapeake Bay Program What Is the Gulf Initiative? The Gulf Initiative is an Institutional Solution Implementing the Following Management Themes Risk Reduction Negotiation and Consultation Shellfish Contamination Wetlands and Habitat Destruction Balance Environmental Gains Against Other Goals Energy, Environment, and Economics Balanced Application of EPA Authorities Environmental Federalism Federal, State, Local Partnership Reduce Jurisdictional Conflicts Better Environmental Science Improve Environmental Decisions Improve Environmental Protection Technology Mechanics for Environmental Cooperation Enhance Uses and Reduce Use Conflicts Enforcement Consistent and Equitable Enforcement of Environmental Laws Federal and State Cooperation in Enforcement Good Communication Among Resource Managers What 1$ the Purpose of the Gulf Initiative? To develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for managing and protecting the resources of the Gulf that will achieve a balance between the needs and demands of man-related activi- ties and the preservation and enhancement of living marine resources in the Gulf. ------- The Gulf Initiative The Gulf of Mexico: The American Sea The Gulf of Mexico is an especially important resource to the Nation. The United States encloses the Gulf of Mexico on three of its sides, with a generalized coastline of 1,631 miles. The Gulf coastline is longer than the entire Pacific coast of California, Oregon, and Washington, and is equivalent to the distance from Providence to Miami along the Atlantic coast. The U.S. actively exploits the remark- able marine resources of the Gulf, including both biological and mineral resources. Thus the U.S. derives a major benefit from and has the major responsibility for the management of the Gulf. The Gulf of Mexico is an exceptionally pro- ductive sea; it annually yields over 2.5 billion pounds of fish and shellfish, representing ap- proximately 40 percent of the total domestic commercial fishery landings. Four of the top five commercial fishery ports in the Nation by weight and six of the top 10 ports by value are located on the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf is one of the few areas of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone that harbors large quantities of unexploited fishery resources. The Gulf supports over one-third of the marine recrea- tional fishing activities in the continental United States, hosting 4 million fishermen who made 24.6 million fishing trips in 1985. The coastal estuaries, wetlands, and barrier islands provide important habitat for large populations of wildlife, including waterfowl, shorebirds, and colonial nesting seabirds. For example, the Gulf provides critical habitat for (6335) Great Ches. Pacific Gulf of U.S. Lakes Bay Coast Mer'.o Total 1983 Fishery Catch 75 percent of the migratory waterfowl tra- versing the U.S.-These abundant living resources are coupled, in large measure, to the extensive coastal wetlands of the Gulf, which comprise about half of the national total. The Gulf of Mexico has been and will con- tinue to be critical to the Nation's energy supply. More than 72 percent of the oil and 97 percent of the gas produced offshore has come from the Gulf. More than $76 billion in Federal revenues were generated as a result of Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas development in the Gulf between 1956 and 1984. OCS leasing is second only to the Federal Income Tax as a revenue source for the U.S. Treasury. Furthermore, the Depart- ment of the Interior estimates that 78 per- cent of the domestic supply of offshore oil and gas potentially available will be found in the Gulf of Mexico. ------- The Gulf is also vital to the Nation's trade interests. Approximately 45 per- cent of U.S. export/import tonnage passes through Gulf ports. Recently, the policy of homeporting portions of the Atlantic naval fleet throughout the Gulf has increased pressures on ports and waterways. The need to develop and maintain Gulf ports that are strategically critical to the Nation's trade and defense inter- ests requires extensive harbor and naviga- tion dredging. Nationwide, this vital maintenance activity produced 60 million cubic yards of ocean-dumped material in 1986. Seventy percent of this was deposited in the waters and coastal areas of the Gulf. Homeporting could easily double this amount in the Gulf. While the human population of the Gulf coast has been historically very sparse in com- parison to the northeastern and southwestern coast of the U.S., this is rapidly changing. Now, one-sixth of the U.S. population lives in Gulf coastal states. Furthermore, these states accounted for 35 percent of the U.S. popula- tion growth between 1980 and 1985. From 1970 to 1980, the population in coastal coun- ties along the Gulf increased by 35 percent. Additionally, most of the Gulf coast is influenced greatly by the seasonal influx of tourists and part-time residents enjoying the popular beaches. The Gulf of Mexico is also affected by activi- ties throughout much of the Nation. Over 66 percent of the area of the contiguous U.S. drains into the Gulf. Thus, society's nutrients, wastes, and soils that are washed from Helena In short, the Gulf of Mexico provides an impressive wealth of resources to the U.S. and confers comparably great responsibilities to the Nation. Therefore, the continued health and productivity of the Gulf must become a national priority. Problems Around the Gulf. The Gulf of Mexico has usually been viewed as one of the least altered and most healthy and productive of our coastal marine environments. However, during the past few decades the Gulf has begun to show signs of deteriorating environ- mental quality. Serious deterioration is already apparent in some cases. Interestingly, although the nature of the environments and societal pressures vary greatly, similar problems are becoming manifest throughout the Gulf. These are summarized briefly below. Natural Wetlands WtSSOURl 6.7B3" upfta _ Mississe^ - 3.113. COLORADO AHK»N3ji5-i»Hmr-nED { _. : 5°g&0 GptanOe ;vsoviTKlRt*»,lC TEXAS - Gulf ' "2.745 to Atlanta, from Albuquerque to Pittsburgh, and from Chicago to Tampa eventually end up in the Gulf. Distribution of Natural Wetlands in the U.S. ------- Gulf of Mexico Nutrient Over-Enrichment. Gulf estuaries, Drainage Basm anc| even t^e jtse|f are becoming enrich- ed with plant nutrients in the form of nitro- gen and phosphorus. This enrichment results from agricultural runoff and waste inputs into the vast drainage network feeding the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the direct inputs from coastal population centers. Although nutrient discharges from wastewater treatment plants and industrial sources are significant through- out the Gulf, nearly 10 times more nutrients come from upstream riverine sources. While the contribution of river-borne nutrients is a part of the Gulf's exceptionally high produc- tivity, excess nutrients cause blooms of micro- scopic plant life that decompose and deplete the dissolved oxygen supply. Kills of marine organisms may occur if dissolved oxygen levels become too low as a result of these blooms. In addition, nutrient enrichment may also cause blooms of noxious phytoplankton that have toxic effects on other marine organisms or humans consuming tainted seafood. Oxygen depletion is an increasing problem for many Gulf estuaries, including Sarasota Bay, Tampa Bay, Pensacola Bay, Mobile Bay, Lake Pontchartrain, Barataria Bay, Calcasieu Lake, Galveston Bay, and Corpus Christi Bay. In addition, an apparent two-fold increase in nitrogen concentrations in the Mississippi River, probably the result of the runoff of fertilizers from the Nation's farm belt, has been observed. This increase may be respon- sible for the severe oxygen depletion recently observed in bottom waters over a large area of continental shelf (over 3,000 square miles) off Louisiana and Texas. Although possibly due to many different causes, the noxious blooms of "red tide" organisms common along the Florida coast, and strikingly prevalent along the Texas coast during late 1986, may also be stimulated by nutrient enrichment. An esti- mated 22 million fish were killed in the recent Texas red tide outbreak that covered over 200 miles of coastline. Toxics and Pesticides. The economy of the Gulf coast states is heavily dependent on the petroleum and chemical industries and agricul- ture. With these activities comes a prolifera- tion of toxic materials. The extraction and transport of oil from the coastal and offshore regions of Louisiana and Texas introduces large quantities of petroleum hydrocarbons and other organic and inorganic contaminants to the environment. The petro- chemical industries centered around Corpus Christi Bay, Galveston Bay, Sabine Lake, Calcasieu Lake, the lower Mississippi River, and Pensacola Bay release an even more exotic array of manufactured organic com- ------- pounds and by-products. Approximately 68 percent of the total industrial wastewater discharged in the Gulf coast region from point sources is from chemical and allied products manufacturing facilities. Ninety percent of U.S. offshore oil and gas produc- tion occurs in the Gulf. Fees levied on this industry, combined with fees levied on the chemical and allied products manufacturing industries concentrated in the Gulf region, generate about 90 percent of revenues to the Superfund. The legacy of this production of toxic substances is found in numerous waste pits and hazardous waste storage sites scat- tered throughout the coastal zone. The use of pesticides in agriculture also pro- duces lingering contamination in the coastal waters of the Gulf. Twenty-two million pounds of pesticides were applied in Gulf coastal counties in 1978. A dramatic effect of previous careless release of large quantities of pesticides was the local extinction of the brown pelicanthe symbol of Louisianafrom the northern Gulf coast as a result of pesticide-related reproductive failures. Despite the abolition or stringent control of the more persistent pesticides, inputs of agricultural biocides from riverine transport from inland areas of the American heartland as well as from the rich agricultural areas of Florida and the Rio Grande valley continue to reach the Gulf. Even as residential communities replace agricultural land use, biocide input wilt con- tinue from applications for mosquito and lawn pest control. Habitat Degradation. There have been rapid losses of marshes, mangroves, and seagrass beds all along the Gulf coast. In Louisiana, coastal wetlands are being lost at a rate of approximately 50 square miles per year as a result of canal dredging and reduction of the sediment supply to the wetlands from the Mississippi River. Although the lack of com- parable statistics makes estimation difficult, it has been suggested that Louisiana's losses con- stitute about 80 percent of the national coastal wetland loss rate. In Florida, which has 96 percent of the Nation's mangroves, approximately 22,000 acres have been lost to urban and residential development. In both Florida and Texas, extensive areas of seagrasses have been lost due to dredging, filling, and increased turbid- ity. Industrialized and urbanized estuaries have lost the most seagrass. Tampa Bay, for example, has only about 20 percent of its original 76,500 acres of seagrass remaining. The Texas Laguna Madre has suffered a 15 percent reduction in seagrass beds over the last 20 years as a result of developments, channel dredging, and increased agricultural and industrial runoff. Over 75,000 acres of wetlands have been impacted by dredge and fill activities in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. These vegetated and shallow water habitats are of unusual importance to the production of living resources. Because of the high plant productivity and the protection from preda- tors these habitats offer, they provide critical nursery grounds for shrimp, crabs, and finfish, such as redfish, speckled trout, snook, and menhaden. The Gulf produces approximately 55 percent of the national total of these ------- of wetland and seagrass habitats threatens the continued productivity of these stocks by limiting the success of recruitment into adult populations. Freshwater Diversion. The Gulf of Mexico receives about one-half of the Nation's fresh water runoff. However, most of this runoff is concentrated at the Mississippi River delta. Other regions of the Gulf, for example the south Texas coast, receive very little fresh water. Furthermore, there is a great upstream demand for the limited fresh water for agri- culture and other consumptive uses. With the burgeoning population of the coastal Gulf, the demand for fresh water can only be expected to increase. Freshwater flows are essential to maintaining salinity distribution and natural flushing in the receiving estuaries along the coast. Even in the freshwater-rich Mississippi Delta area, human intervention to stem flooding has con- fined the river within artificial levees. This confinement of the river has resulted in saltwater intrusion into flanking estuaries. As another example, freshwater flows into the Everglades of southwestern Florida have been diverted to meet the needs of the population growth in the southeastern part of the state. Similar to the Mississippi Delta, saltwater intrusion and interference with natural seasonal flooding processes have occurred. The effects of human alterations of fresh- water flow on estuarine environments have been pervasive. The flushing of pollutants out of the estuaries is reduced. Many shellfish predators and diseases are normally limited in their distribution by intolerance to low salini- ty. Saltwater intrusion has resulted in their attack and decimation of shellfish beds. Salt- intolerant wetland vegetation, including tidal freshwater marshes and cypress swamps, suc- cumb dramatically to saltwater intrusion. In some cases, even drinking water supplies have been adversely affected. Public Health. The Gulf of Mexico produces over one-half of the U.S. oyster harvest. With this bounty, though, comes the risk of disease: gastroenteritis, hepatitis, and cholera can be contracted by consuming raw or poorly cooked shellfish. Precautions taken to mini- mize the risk of these diseases have resulted in the permanent, conditional, or voluntary closure of over 3 million acres of shellfish growing areas along the Gulf coast. This area represents more than 50 percent of the clas- sified shellfish growing areas. These closure areas are growing as a result of increases in the human population along the coast, particularly as the limited ability of soils to handle the effluent from individual septic systems in low density housing areas is overwhelmed. Compounding this risk is the nature of the Gulf estuaries where oysters are produced. Typically, these estuaries are confined shallow waters with both small tidal ranges and warm temperatures. Consequently, human pathogens from sewage treatment plants or malfunc- tioning septic systems are retained in the estuary because of the low flushing rates and survive because of the warm temperatures. ------- Why a Gulf Initiative? For a long time, the Gulf of Mexico has been perceived as having boundless resourcesas much for the taking as wanted. However, the increases in population, the demand for recreational access and development, increased seafood consumption, and the startling statistics concerning the rate of loss of natural habitats have com- bined to produce the stark realization that what the Gulf can supply us is indeed finite. Now, serious conflicts are emerging among the users of the Gulf, its coastal envi- ronments, and its resources. A notable example is the conflict over the fish and shellfish resources between recrea- tional and commercial fishermen. These con- flicts began to develop in Texas and Florida a decade ago and now have converged in Louisi- ana where the philosophy of the boundless- ness of resources was perhaps most prevalent. The commercial harvest of redfish (or red drum), which exploded as the nation- wide craze for Cajun blackened redfish greatly increased demand, is symptomatic of such conflicts. Many other conflicts among users of the Gulf are now apparent between land developers and conservationists; between oil and gas extractors and fishermen; and between those who use coastal waters to disperse wastes and those downstream or lower in the estuary who use those waters for other purposes, such as drinking water or oyster production. Perhaps eclipsing all of these conflicts is the one between the users within the drainage system (two-thirds of the contiguous United States) and those who are directly impacted by these upstream contributions as they reach the estuarine systems of the Gulf and the Gulf itself. Clearly, the health and ecological integrity of the Gulf of Mexico is threatened. Now is the time for concerted action to stop the deter- ioration of the Gulf and its coastal areas, and where possible, to restore damaged environ- ments and enhance existing resources. But why a Gulf-wide initiative? As mentioned above, the area is extremely large. Five states are directly involved, not to mention Mexico and the inland states drained by rivers feeding into the Gulf. There are several reasons why it is logical and necessary to assess, understand, manage, and redress the environmental problems of the Gulf at a regional level: The Gulf of Mexico is an important resource and maintaining its productivity will maximize its utility, not only to the region but to the Nation. Although the problems in the Gulf are regional in nature, their origins are na- tional and international as well. The states of the Gulf coast share many similar problems that, although different in their exact manifestation, have similar underlying causes and solutions. The translation of results of research and management assessments among the regions of the Gulf increases their effi- ------- Looking at the Gulf as a whole will allow us to deal with problems that cross state or federal regional jurisdictional lines. The coherent inventory of issues and assessment of severity of problems on a Gulf-wide basis will allow us to focus attention first on the most serious prob- lems and most effective actions. A Gulf-wide approach will develop a greater and broader support base among the public and within Congress than an unorganized collection of local initiatives. Padre Island Texas National Seashore T ------- Objectives of the Gulf Initiative. The problems of the Gulf require institutional solution. The effects of environmental prob- lems in the Gulf have local manifestations, but these problems are regional in their sources. Therefore, the solutions must be regional in scope. However, there are no effective regionally focused institutions to address them. Currently, there are a number of state, local, and Federal agencies all working on their part of the problem. Each has its own legislative directives that are generally inde- pendent of each other, and in some cases conflict with each other. Therefore, a regionally focused institutional structure is needed to promote "solutions" that are of the same scale as the problems that individual institutions are trying to solve by themselves. The Gulf Initiative would not result in another layer of management structure; rather it would improve communication among current participants in order to achieve more effective protection of our coastal resources through consultative decisionmaking and coalition building. Because of the complexity of the institutional structures that exist, anything less than a systematically constructed approach cannot be expected to succeed. 10 Therefore, the objective of the Gulf Initia- tive is to establish an institutional structure that will: Provide a mechanism for addressing com- plex problems in the Gulf of Mexico that will cross state, federal, or international jurisdictional lines. Provide better coordination among Federal, state, and local programs affecting the Gulf which will increase the effec- tiveness and efficiency of the long-term effort to manage and protect the resources of the Gulf. Provide a regional perspective to address- ing research needs for the Gulf which will result in improved information and meth- ods for supporting effective management decisions. Provide a forum for affected user groups, public and private educational institutions, and the general public to participate in the ------- Management Approach The Gulf Initiative will result in the development of a program plan which will focus technical and management activities including, but not limited to, the following elements: A. Develop Effective Management Organization and Implementation Strategies 1. Use Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay, and the National Estuary Program experience as guidance. 2. Concentrate on issues with area-wide impacts. B. Resource Characterization and Assessment 1. Develop baseline inventories for wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), and shellfish. To the extent pos- sible use satellite imagery and aerial photography in establishing this baseline and in subsequent updating/assess- ment activities. Explore the emerging satellite-imagery trend assessment techniques available through NASA/NOAA/DOD for quantification and resolution. 2. Identify nationally and regionally significant areas for special protective measures/management. Distinguish between areas at risk and areas already impacted. Determine protective measures and management strategies for these areas. 3. Identify marine species of national or regional significance that require special protective measures/management. An example is the Spanish mackeral and King mackeral whose spawning grounds and nursery areas in Florida Bay have been overfished. Determine sustained yield that can be achieved without decimating those fisheries. 4. Analyze significant riverine inputs to the Gulf of Mexico. Determine significance of loadings from these sources and establish trends. Propose remedial action where necessary; sediment, nutrient, and toxics inputs should be quantified. C. Problem Identification and Study Design 1. Determine rate/cause of wetland losses. 2. Determine methodologies/strategies to reduce wetland losses. 3. Investigate remedial action/management options to reduce wetland loss in Louisiana due to leveeing the Mississippi River, specifically loss of sediment to maintain wetlands. Determine impacts of subsidence and salinity intrusion on wetlands and wetland-dependent fisheries. 4. Determine cause and effect of historic seagrass bed loss. 5. Determine remedies for seagrass bed loss, including feasibility of restoring damaged areas. 6. Identify priority pollutants for the Gulf of Mexico. 7. Develop marine water quality standards. 8. Determine impacts of historical loadings versus impacts of existing loadings in major estuaries. ------- 9. Determine methodologies and funding mechanisms for cleanup of contaminated sediments. 10. Assess impacts of hydrologic modifications on water quality in bays and estuaries of the Gulf. Focus on the Texas coast and also monitor impacts on water quality resulting from channel alterations in Destin, Florida. Determine universal applicability of results. 11. Determine impacts of canal and channel dredging related to oil and gas exploration and development. Conduct pilot projects to quantify improvement in salinity intrusion patterns that can be achieved. 12. Determine frequency and extent of nuisance algal blooms along the Gulf coast. Determine conditions required to reduce magnitude of the blooms. Analyze impact of blooms on the tourist industry. Propose actions for control- ling the problem. 13. Determine the effectiveness of General Permits issued to control dumping of trash in territorial seas. Identify alternatives for controls in additional geographic areas. D. Communication and Education 1. Establish citizen advisory committees in each Gulf Coast state. 2. Hold public meetings in the major coastal towns to explain the Gulf Initiative and receive citizen input and ideas. 3. Establish a quarterly Gulf Initiative newsletter. 4. Coordinate communication and education efforts with environmental groups. E. Integration With Ongoing Programs in the Gulf 1. Perform cross-program overview of intra-agency activities that impact the Gulf. Devise and implement mechanism for activity coordination. 2. Participate in developing funding of and information transfer between ongoing management programs for Gulf estuaries. Examples include: Tampa Bay. Determine impact of circulation modification on seagrass bed and shellfish losses. St. Andrew Bay. Determine impacts on estuarine resources from changes in point source locations and increase to same. Evaluate need/potential for Gulf outfall. Escambia Bay. Determine cause of anoxic conditions in the bay and propose remedial action for same. Terrebonne Bay. Determine impacts of organics discharged from oil and gas operations on shellfish. Calcasieu Lake. Determine impacts of contaminated sediment on estuarine resources. Corpus Christi Bay.Determine impacts of toxics in water and sediment on estuarine resources. ------- EPA Library Region 4 lllllllll 1024212 For further information, please contact: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Gulf of Mexico Program Office John C. Stennis Space Center SSC, MS 39529 (60I) 688-3726 FTS 494-3726 Region IV 345 Courtland Street, NE Atlanta, Georgia 30365 (404) 347-2I26 FTS 257-2I26 Region VI 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200 Dallas, Texas 75202 (2I4) 655-7I45 FTS 255-7I45 ------- |