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April 5, 2000 U.S. Urged to Help States Fight Coastal Pollution From Runoff
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, April 4 (AP) -- States need federal help in dealing with coastal pollution from nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers, which are killing fish and other marine life and damaging marshlands in more than a third of the nation's coastal areas, the National Academy of Sciences said today.
A panel of scientists concluded that the problem would worsen if immediate action was not taken to curb the runoff of excess nutrients. The fertilizers often travel hundreds of miles along rivers before they create problems.
"Excess nitrogen in our coastal waters starts a dangerous chain of ecological events that is exacerbating harmful algae blooms such as red tides, contaminating shellfish, killing coastal wildlife, reducing biodiversity, destroying sea grass and contributing to a host of other environmental problems," said the panel's chairman, Robert Howarth, a professor of ecology and environmental biology at Cornell University.
While nitrogen and phosphorus occur in nature and are critical to supporting plant life in marine environments, too much of the nutrients causes an excessive growth of phytoplankton and other organisms, which deprive fish and other marine life, including plants, of oxygen. That causes marine life to die or be driven away.
For years, algae blooms have been blamed for the so-called dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico along the Louisiana and Texas coast.
Algae blooms have also been linked to a microbe called Pfiesteria that has killed fish in tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay and off the coast of North Carolina.
But the report by the Academy's National Research Council said nitrogen and phosphorous pollution were causing environmental damage along almost all the nation's estuaries, with severe problems identified in 44 of the 139 coastal areas examined.
Severe problem areas, where there were symptoms of low oxygen levels, toxic algae blooms and loss of submerged aquatic vegetation, were found along the coasts of nine states: Washington, California, Louisiana, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Maryland, New York and Massachusetts.
Nitrogen compounds in the air, usually from smokestacks, also contribute to the high nutrient levels in some estuaries, especially along the East Coast, the panel said. It estimated that the tougher pollution controls on soot imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency could cut such water deposits by as much as 17 percent.
Runoff Damages Coastal Areas
April 4, 2000
By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fish and other marine life are being killed and marshlands damaged in more than a third of the nation's coastal areas from algae blooms caused by the runoff of excess nutrients, the National Academy of Sciences said Tuesday.
The scientists concluded that the problem of coastal pollution from nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers is so severe and widespread that states require federal help. The nutrients often travel hundreds of miles along rivers before they create problems.
"Conditions in many coastal areas are expected to worsen unless action is taken now to reduce nutrient pollution," said Robert Howarth, a professor of ecology and environmental biology at Cornell University, and the panel's chairman.
While nitrogen and phosphorous occur in nature and are critical to support plant life in marine environments, too much of the nutrients causes an excessive growth of phytoplankton and other organisms, which deprive fish and other marine life, including plants, of oxygen. That causes marine life to die or be driven away.
Algae blooms caused by an overabundance of nutrients -- specifically, excessive nitrogen from agricultural fertilizers or poultry waste -- have been linked to a decline of fisheries, the death of manatees along the Florida coast, and the loss of coral reefs and sea grasses, the panel said.
Algae blooms have been blamed for years for the so-called "dead zone'" in the Gulf of Mexico along the Louisiana and Texas coast. Large amounts of nutrients flowing from the Farm Belt into and down the Mississippi River have cause the massive "dead zone" -- the size of New Jersey -- each spring in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists estimated the amount of nitrogen pouring from the river into the Gulf has tripled, and the amount of phosphorous doubled, in the past 40 years.
Algae blooms also have been linked to a microbial called Pfiesteria that has killed fish in tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay and off the North Carolinas.
But the report by the Academy's National Research Council said that nitrogen and phosphorous pollution is causing environmental damage along almost all of the nation's estuaries, with severe problems identified in 44 of the 139 coastal areas examined.
"Excess nitrogen in our coastal waters starts a dangerous chain of ecological events that is exacerbating harmful algae blooms such as red tides, contaminating shellfish, killing coastal wildlife, reducing biodiversity, destroying sea grass, and contributing to a host of other environmental problems," warned Howarth.
Because rivers often transport chemical nutrients hundreds of miles from inland farmland and urban centers, the most severe problems are, according to the report, where rivers and bays feed water into the ocean.
Severe problem areas, where there were symptoms of low oxygen levels, toxic algae blooms and loss of submerged aquatic vegetation, were found along the coasts of nine states: Washington, California, Louisiana, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Maryland, New York, and Massachusetts.
The most severe problems were reported in the mid-Atlantic states and the Gulf of Mexico, the report said.
Worldwide, human activity -- from excessive use of fertilizers to the burning of fossil fuels -- have caused the amount of nitrogen in the environment to more than double since the 1960s. The wide use of synthetic fertilizers account for much of the growth, but other sources are animal waste, including chicken and hog manure, discharges from wastewater treatment plants, and the burning of fossil fuels.
Nitrogen compounds in the air, usually from smokestacks, also contribute to the high nutrient levels in some estuaries, especially along the East Coast, the panel said. It estimated that tougher pollution controls on soot being imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency could cut such water deposits by as much as 17 percent.
There are no federal laws or regulations that limit general runoff from agricultural lands, although the EPA is beginning to regulate nutrient releases from large factory farms and poultry plants.