In addition, EPA currently works in a joint research venture 
with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to map the Bay's wet¬ 
lands. Results from this project will help us to monitor 
changes in Bay wetlands over time, providing better control and 
protection over that fragile 5 percent of the Bay's marshes and 
seasonal wetlands that still remain. 
Other agencies have carried out research on the hydrology, 
chemistry, and biology of the Bay. Dominant among these, the 
U.S. Geologic Survey has played a most significant role in 
fleshing out our understanding of the Bay. 
In summary, however, the primary responsibility for the 
management of the Bay has been delegated to the State of 
California, subject to EPA review under the four Clean Water Act 
programs just described. Water guality standards, compliance 
and monitoring, and construction grants are the primary lines of 
defense for maintaining beneficial uses. As with the EPA, so 
too must the state respond case-by-case, project-by-project. As 
the EPA considers a management program for the Bay, it is clear 
that success will depend on good coordination with state 
agencies. 
At the national level, the Environmental Protection Agency 
has made a formal commitment to the protection of estuaries and 
bays through the establishment of the Office of Marine and Estu¬ 
arine Protection, or OMEP, headed by Tudor Davies. Unlike many 
other natural features which readily fit together under a single 
national program, estuaries reguire a more holistic approach 
involving the expertise, resources, and commitment of many 
agencies. 
We have all learned a lot today about particular characteris¬ 
tics of the Bay. Any program claiming to address the health 
problems of this Bay must be carefully designed to meet its 
unigue mix of problems. By creating OMEP, EPA has recognized 
the multi-disciplinary nature of estuaries, and developed a 
flexible organizational structure which can be altered to meet 
the unigue needs of each estuary. 
Using the Chesapeake Bay Program as a model, OMEP has de¬ 
signed an overall strategy for the implementation of estuarine 
management programs which may be used for all significant bays. 
There are five steps in their strategy: 
(1) Set up a committee structure to bring in all of the 
vested interested in the Bay; 
(2) Identify and reach consensus on the problems and goals 
of the program; 
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