Applying adaptive management and lessons learned from national assessments to address logistical challenges in the National Wetland Condition Assessment

The National Wetland Condition Assessment (NWCA) is one of a series of probability-based National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS) conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to provide a comprehensive assessment of the condition of the Nation's waters. Randomized design and standardized training and protocols allow USEPA to analyze data that are nationally consistent and regionally relevant. Each NARS assessment was preceded by careful consideration of key logistical elements that included pre-survey planning, training, sampling logistics, and laboratory analysis. Numerous state, tribal, and contractor crews were supported across the country for each assessment; sampling and sample analyses were tracked from initiation; laboratory analyses were completed at USEPA, state, regional, and contract laboratories; and the data analyses and reporting were completed by USEPA-led workgroups, states, and contractors. The complexity and difficulty of each step offered unique challenges and provided lessons learned for each of the NARS assessments. Major logistical elements for implementing large scale assessments that are constrained by sampling period and number and duration of visits are covered in this paper. These elements include sample transport, equipment and supplies, sampling and sample tracking, information management regional technical expertise, and a sound field training program. This paper describes how lessons from previous assessments were applied to the NWCA and how new challenges faced in the NWCA were addressed and carried forward into future surveys.

Prediction of chemical residues in aquatic organisms for a field discharge situation

A field study was performed which compared predicted and measured concentrations of chemicals in receiving water organisms from three sampling locations on Five Mile Creek, Birmingham, Al. Two point source discharges, both from coke manufacturing facilities, were included in the field site and five chemicals were studied, i.e., biphenyl, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, and pyrene. Composite samples of effluent, receiving water organisms, crayfish (Decapoda) and sunfish (Lepomis sp.), and stream and discharge flow data were collected in March and April 1990. For the crayfish and sunfish, the measured residues were within a factor of 5 for 80% (12 of 15) and 53% (8 of 15) of the residues predicted using EPA's draft procedure (US-EPA 199 lb), respectively, and were within a factor of 5 for 60% (9 of 15) and 40% (6 of 15) of the residues predicted using EPA's procedure with a BCF set equal to the chemical's Kow (after adjustment for lipid content of the organism), respectively. The predicted residues tended to be larger than the measured residues and with increasing Kow, greater disagreement between the predicted and measured values was observed.