Clean Estuaries Act of 2010

The Clean Estuaries Act of 2010 was first introduced to the House of Representatives by Timothy Bishop (D-NY) and cosponsored by Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) on March 2, 2010. The House authorized legislation on the amendment to the Clean Water Act today by a bipartisan majority of 278 to 128. The act seeks to "[protect] and [enhance] America's estuaries, [and improve] the environment and [promote] economic development in coastal areas."

The act reauthorizes Section 320 of the CWA, known as the National Estuaries Program (NEP), which named 28 estuaries nationwide that were being threatened by pollution, overuse or land development. The EPA awarded grants to the states these estuaries are in to develop comprehensive management plans for protection and restoration of the estuaries. The new act requires these plans to be periodically updated.

Two of the 28 named estuaries are in New York, specifically on Long Island: the Long Island Sound and the Peconic Bay. These estuaries are a major part of the health of the beaches in them, and are vital for the majority of fish populations.

The Peconic Bay is classified as a tidal estuary, meaning that it is partially enclosed by land and has at least one river or stream flowing into it. They are an important buffer between ocean and river environments. They also account for about 60% of the world's population.

The Long Island Sound has 11 rivers draining into it, only one in New York, the rest from Connecticut. The Sound is currently facing a lot of pollution. Hypoxia is a problem that involves dissolved oxygen becoming reduced because of phytoplankton blooms from excess plant nutrients. Industrial pollution, mainly a mercury influx is a major contributor also. Debris and overpopulation are also an obvious problem in the area. New York City and other municipalities have been dumping waste through their sewer systems for a long time, adding to the hypoxia. NYC dumping nitrogen into the Sound is still a pollution problem that hasn't been resolved.

Although creating comprehensive management plans for 28 of the nations estuaries is a great step to protecting and fixing the environment, it seems like there should be a lot more than 28 on the list. Maybe the classification system is very detailed so it makes it hard to list an estuary, much like the process for getting a species listed as threatened or endangered. If the system was "loosened" a little, more estuaries could be added to the list and then more would be protected and bettered.