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Week Ending July. 9, 2004

HR 1856 authorizing the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 and for other purposes.

BRIEF

   The bill authorizes the level of spending allowed for the HABHRCA programs of research, development and demonstration regarding the increasing proliferation of harmful algae blooms along most of the US coastline and now including some river areas and the Great Lakes.

    The bill also repeals an element in the bill that gives the president the authority to disassemble the Interagency taskforce responsible for managing the research and development and reporting the conclusions to Congress.

Sponsor: Rep. Vernon J Ehlers (R-MI-3^rd)

Vote:   Passed House by voice vote (July 7, 2004)

Cost to the taxpayers:  $193 million 2004 through 2008. CBO concludes that the bill would ‘authorize the appropriation of $29 million in 2004 and $91 million over the 2004-2006 period for various efforts by an interagency task force to control aquatic problems related to algal blooms and hypoxia. Such efforts would include research, education, and management activities related to preventing, reducing, and controlling algal blooms, local and regional assessments of harmful algal blooms and hypoxia, and the development of a prediction and response plan to protect the environment and public health from harmful algal blooms.’

  ‘In addition, H.R. 1856 would authorize the appropriation of $34 million in 2004 and $108 million over the 2004-2006 period for the Coastal Ocean Science Program.’ ## All Rights Reserved. No reproduction or distribution without written permission from TheWeekInCongress.com.

MORE INFORMATION

Research and background considered by the committee and previous efforts by Congress on the matter.

  ‘Algae are microscopic, single-celled organisms present in aquatic environments. Under normal conditions, these organisms are benign and serve a critical role as energy producers at the base of aquatic food webs, supporting the growth of higher organisms. Under certain circumstances, however, the population of a single algal species or several related species can rapidly increase in abundance, creating what is referred to as an `algal bloom.' Algal blooms have many adverse effects on ecosystems and human health. `Harmful algal blooms' (HABs) are blooms that produce toxins dangerous to humans and aquatic animals. `Hypoxia,' caused by the decomposition of algal blooms, is a condition where oxygen levels in the water become depleted to levels unable to support aquatic life.

Harmful Algal Blooms

   HABs have occurred throughout recorded history, however in the past 30 years the rate of occurrence and the duration of HABs have increased substantially. In the past year alone, HABs were implicated in the death of 72 manatees in Florida and 57 dolphins and 319 sea lions in Southern California. Warnings for people to avoid swimming because of HABs were posted in parts of the Chesapeake Bay and Lake Erie for much of the summer of 2003. HABs present a major threat to aquatic environments and to human health because of the toxins released during the events. These compounds can kill or injure large quantities of aquatic animals that come in direct contact with them. Also, the toxins can accumulate in animals that are not susceptible and cause illness when they are later consumed by humans, who are susceptible to the toxins. Some toxins are so potent that consumption of a single contaminated clam or mussel can be enough to cause illness. Humans may also be harmed directly by skin contact or inhalation of spray from toxin-contaminated water. To protect the public when harmful algae are detected, state and local governments must close beaches to swimmers and shellfish beds to commercial and recreational harvesting, and seafood distributors may need to recall already harvested shellfish.

   Average economic impacts from HABs total $50 million per year in the United States, although severe single events have cost that amount alone to localities. The economic impacts of HABs include costs associated with conducting research and monitoring programs; short-term and permanent closures of harvestable shellfish and fish stocks; reductions in seafood sales; mortalities of wild and farmed fish, shellfish, submerged aquatic vegetation, and coral reefs; declines in tourism; and treatment of human illness.

Hypoxia

   Hypoxia occurs when an algal bloom dies and is decomposed by bacteria in the water. The decomposition process consumes oxygen, creating an environment in which plants and animals cannot survive. Concern about hypoxia has focused primarily on the Gulf of Mexico, where a hypoxic zone the size of New Jersey appears each summer and persists for much of the season. This renders the affected area, which normally contains some of the most valuable fisheries in the United States, essentially lifeless. Other areas of the country that experience chronic hypoxia include the Chesapeake Bay, Long Island Sound, and Sarasota Bay. In 2003, the hypoxia in the Chesapeake Bay has been the worst ever observed, with reports of crabs leaping out of the water gasping for oxygen. The most recent analysis by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) indicates that over half of the country's estuaries experience hypoxia at some time each year.

   Most experts agree that the major cause of hypoxia is nutrient pollution in the watersheds of coastal areas. The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico illustrates the regional and national scale of this problem. The Mississippi River Basin includes drainage from 31 states and carries farm chemicals, treated sewage discharge, storm water runoff, and pollutants from factories and refineries to the Gulf. Given the economic importance and large geographic distribution of the pollutant sources, this presents a challenging, national management problem.

Hypoxia can be caused by any type of algal bloom, not only by blooms of toxin-producing algae. Macroalgal, or seaweed, blooms also can lead to hypoxia. Numerous factors, including nutrient pollution and introduction of invasive species from ballast water, cause macroalgal blooms. The result of these seaweed blooms can be shading or smothering of other organisms that need sunlight to survive, habitat degradation, and hypoxia as the seaweeds decompose.

Congressional Action

   In 1997, an outbreak of Pfiesteria piscicida focused public and Congressional attention on harmful algal blooms in the Chesapeake Bay and was partly responsible for prompting the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (HABHRCA). The legislation was referred to the Committee on Science, in addition to the Committee on Resources, and became Title VI of Public Law 105-383, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1998. HABHRCA established an Interagency Task Force on HABs and Hypoxia and required four reports from that task force: the National Harmful Algal Bloom Assessment, the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Assessment, the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Action Plan, and the National Hypoxia Assessment. The first three were published; the last is finished and awaiting publication. Additionally, a Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force was established to implement the Gulf of Mexico Action Plan. This watershed task force consists of Federal, state and local stakeholders and meets regularly to discuss the implementation process.

HABHRCA authorized funding for HAB and hypoxia research through NOAA. In particular, the Act supported the Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) program that the Clinton Administration had launched in 1996. This program supports basic research necessary to understand HABs and to produce models to forecast bloom development, persistence and toxicity. Grant applications are solicited from universities, private research institutions, and Federal agencies and are awarded through a merit-reviewed system. NOAA coordinates ECOHAB with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of the Interior, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Office of Naval Research (ONR). HABHRCA also supports the Monitoring and Event Response for Harmful Algal

Blooms (MERHAB) program, in which local resource managers and scientific institutions form partnerships to enhance existing water and shellfish monitoring programs with new technology, with the ultimate goal of building sustainable regional partnerships that provide managers with crucial information in time for critical decisions needed to mitigate HAB impacts.

   The authorizations in HABHRCA expired in fiscal year (FY) 2000, however NOAA has continued to receive around $17 million annually for HAB and hypoxia research. HABs and hypoxia continue to affect communities throughout the United States and there remains much to learn about what can be done to control these events. The research performed under these programs can help local resource managers develop tools for quickly detecting HABs, providing them longer lead time in warning the public about swimming and seafood consumption. Additionally, while research under the 1998 Act provided insights into many marine HAB events, the area of freshwater HABs has not received as much attention. Freshwater HABs are increasing in occurrence, especially in the Great Lakes, and are not as well understood. ##All Rights Reserved. No reproduction or distribution without written permission from TheWeekInCongress.com.