While we have made great progress in cleaning our nation's waters, there is still much work to be done. The goal of the Clean Water Act is to ensure the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of our nations waters. Most of our progress relates to the chemical aspect of water quality. We must broaden our efforts and focus on health of the entire aquatic system.
We should be particularly concerned about our estuaries and other coastal resources. Estuaries are bays, gulfs, inlets, and sounds where freshwater meets and mixes with salt water from the ocean. Estuaries and their adjacent wetland habitat are some of the most biologically diverse and economically productive systems in the entire world. More than half of the neo-tropical migratory birds in the United States and a large number of endangered and threatened species depend on estuaries for their survival.
Birds are by no means the only ones that rely on coastal ecosystems. Each year, roughly 180 million tourists visit the coasts. In addition to recreation, a number of Americans depend on estuaries for their livelihoods. The commercial fishing industry contributes $40 billion annually to the national economy. 75 percent of the commercial fish and shellfish catch depend on estuaries for their survival and reproduction.
According to the National Academy of Sciences, un-managed growth and development are the principal causes of water quality degradation and of fish and wildlife declines in coastal areas. Roughly 75 percent of the country lives within a tidal watershed, and population densities along coastal areas are 4 times the national average. Population growth in coastal areas is three times that of non-coastal areas. Out of the 30,000 square miles of assessed estuaries, 38 percent are impaired. From colonial times to the present, over 55 million acres of coastal wetlands in the continental United States have been destroyed. The oyster harvest in Chesapeake Bay has declined from 133 million pounds in 1880 to today's annual catch of one million pounds. Narragansett Bay, in my home state of Rhode Island, has lost 70 percent of its eel grass beds. Unless action is taken to address our impacts on coastal ecosystems, we will lose some of our most important natural resources.
Today's bills seek to address the threat to our coastal ecosystems. S. 835, which I introduced in April of this year, sets an ambitious goal of restoring one million acres of estuarine habitat by the year 2010. The bill encourages partnerships between public and private sectors and among all levels of government. My bill also reauthorizes the National Estuary Program and allows federal grants to support the development and implementation of estuary conservation plans. S. 878, introduced by Senator Torricelli, also focuses on the importance of implementing conservation plans developed under the National Estuary Program.
The 1990 Comprehensive Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act allocates a percentage of revenue from the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund to be used for wetlands projects. The funding authorization for the program is set to expire in 1999. S. 1119, introduced by Senator Breaux, would re-authorize the program through 2009.
S. 492, introduced by Senator Sarbanes, would re-authorize the Environmental Protection Agency's Chesapeake Bay Program office. The Chesapeake Bay Program office helps to coordinate state and federal efforts to restore the Bay. S. 492 would authorize the EPA to provide technical assistance and grants to non-federal entities helping to restore and protect Chesapeake Bay.
We will also discuss two bills relating to beach monitoring and notification of the public; HR 999 by Representative Bilbray and S. 522 by Senator Lautenberg. Both bills would require states to update their water quality criteria and expand the role of the federal government in beach monitoring and public notification programs. The bills also would establish national standards for beach monitoring and public notification and provide federal funding to help states develop and implement their programs.