other existing monitoring programs to enhance its 

 assessment capabilities. 



Samples have been collected since 1984 at about 50 

 Benthic Surveillance sites and since 1986 at about 150 

 Mussel Watch sites. Sediment samples are collected at 

 all sites. At Benthic Surveillance sites, benthic 

 fishes are collected and their lives excised and stored 

 for subsequent chemical analysis. At Mussel Watch 

 sites bivalve molluscs are collected for analysis. The 

 first NS&T report (NOAA, 1987a) , based on data from 

 analyses of sediments and fish livers collected in 

 1984, was issued in January 1987. The second report 

 (NOAA, 1987b) was issued in December of 1987 and was a 

 summary of tissue contaminant data for fish collected 

 in 1984 and 1985 and bivalves collected in 1986. 



Information from the NS&T Program will provide a basis 

 for setting priorities for management action and for 

 documenting changes that may occur because of such 

 actions. One objective of the program is to quantify 

 general, depositional areas of contamination and not to 

 define "hot spots." Sites are selected deliberately 

 away from major point sources of contamination. 

 Management action taken on any individual point source 

 will probably not be seen in the NS&T data unless that 

 source exerts a dominant influence on environmental 

 quality over a relatively large area. On the other 

 hand, the NS&T Program will identify the combined 

 influence of many point and non-point sources of 

 contamination to an area. 



EPA 



In response to concerns about the degradation 

 of water quality and marine resources, the 

 U. S. Congress passed legislation in December 

 1987 requiring the U. S. Environmental 

 Protection Agency (EPA) to prepare a 

 Restoration Plan for the New York Bight . 

 This plan is to be completed by December 

 1990. Congress required that the restoration 

 plan undertake the following tasks: 



(1) identify and assess the impacts of 

 pollutants affecting water quality and marine 

 resources ; 



(2) identify uses being adversely 

 affected; 



(3) determine what is happening to the contaminants and 

 their effect on human health and the marine 

 environment; 



