(3) 
Implement a data management program to collect all 
available data bases in one system and make the results 
available to all Bay researchers; 
(4) Identify data gaps and conduct needed research to 
develop a comprehensive understanding of the estuary; 
and 
(5) Adopt a management plan for the restoration of the 
estuary. 
It is useful here to note that EPA can undertake this 
management role successfully with no new legislation; our 
current authority is sufficient. 
Under the leadership and guidance of OMEP, three programs 
have been started in the east -- Long Island Sound, Narragansett 
Bay, and Buzzards Bay, as many of you are aware. The program 
has moved westward in introducing a program on Puget Sound. If 
given the opportunity, EPA Region 9 stands ready to implement 
such a program for the San Francisco Bay and Delta Bay, and we 
would look to OMEP for guidance through their established track 
record on the five other estuaries. 
You have heard a good deal today on the research that has 
been done to understand specific aspects of the Bay system. 
Resarch has revealed problems in the Bay, symptoms that reflect 
complex interrelationships that have not been well defined. 
Nowhere is there an overview of the Bay system as a whole. The 
Bay needs a team effort and the commitment of agencies to work 
together in understanding their estuarine ecosystem and 
implementing a management plan to protect it. We at EPA are 
excited about being a central part of this effort, and we look 
forward to working with the many agencies and organizations that 
have played a critical role on the Bay and that have a stake in 
its future. 
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