Nonpoint Pollution | Success Stories | CCA and AMM
Critical Coastal Areas & Additional Management Measures Success Stories
Note: Highlighted projects are not necessarily funded by the Coastal Nonpoint Program nor do they necessarily represent projects that have been approved by NOAA and EPA to remove remaining conditions on state programs.
PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS
California Launches Critical Coastal Areas Program: The California Critical Coastal Area Committee (CCAC) has completed the State's Critical Coastal Areas Strategic Plan and updated the State's list of critical coastal areas (CCAs). The CCAC is currently developing outreach materials and a series of regional workshops to kick-off the program in June and July 2003. From information collected during the workshops, the CCAC will create a "State of the CCAs" report and prioritize the first pilot CCA projects.
The interagency CCAC was established in 2000 in accordance with the California Coastal Commission and the State Water Resources Control Board's Plan for California's Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program (NPS Plan) to identify Critical Coastal Areas (CCAs), develop a strategy for prioritizing CCAs, and create additional management measures necessary to protect these areas. The CCAC designated 101 critical coastal areas along California's coast and within the San Francisco Bay. Areas of the coastal zone were designated as CCAs where (1) portions of watersheds drain to threatened or impaired coastal waters, (2) portions of 303(d) listed waters flow into areas with known coastal resource value, and/or (3) the area was adjacent to state designated Areas of Biological Significance (a surrogate for high quality coastal waters). CCAs will be added and removed to the list based on water quality improvements. For all CCAs, the State will work to ensure the goals (management measures) and practices (BMPs) of the NPS Plan are fully implemented and develop action plans for CCA pilot projects.
The CCA Strategic Plan calls for creating four regional CCA implementation committees made up of local representatives of state agencies, local and regional municipalities, regional organizations, and local stakeholders. California realizes it is not possible to coordinate and implement management plans within all listed CCAs simultaneously given the State's limited resources. Therefore, the regional committees will select one pilot CCA in each region to focus on every two years. Some of the criteria pilot CCA selection will be based on include: (1) potential for measurable water quality improvement/protection; (2) evidence of existing or potential water quality impairment or evidence of high quality water that is threatened by nonpoint source pollution; (3) degree of agency and public support for protection; and (4) nonpoint source pollution identified as the dominant source of impairment.
For additional information, contact Al Wanger or Ross Clark.