"Ocean acidification, a problem usually associated with global greenhouse gas emissions, is also caused by coastal pollution and other local sources that can be managed under existing laws, according to a research team led by the Center for Ocean Solutions at Stanford University. In a report published in the May 27 edition of the journal Science, a team of marine scientists and legal experts provided the first roadmap for local communities to combat ocean acidification by applying federal and state laws and policies – from the U.S. Clean Water Act to municipal zoning regulations. "Coastal communities don't need to wait for a global solution to fix a local problem that is compromising their marine environment," said co-author Meg Caldwell, executive director of the Center for Ocean Solutions and senior lecturer at the Stanford Law School and at Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment." - Lit

"To address the problem in the United States, the researchers recommended that coastal communities first turn to the federal Clean Water Act, which directs state governments "to ensure that precipitation runoff and associated pollutants [which can increase acidification] are monitored, limited and consistent with the sustainable functioning of aquatic ecosystems." To comply with the act, seaside communities can reduce runoff by implementing stormwater surge prevention and coastal buffer zones, maintaining intact wetlands and improving water treatment, the authors said. "In many cases, federal funding is available to help local governments complete these kinds of projects," they wrote. The authors also recommended controlling coastal erosion – "a classic function of local and state governments and one that could markedly benefit coastal ecosystems by reducing nutrient and sediment loading of water," they wrote. "Such coastal inputs may be enriched with fertilizers and, if unchecked, can further increase acidification in estuaries and coastal waterways." Other recommendations included the adoption of local zoning policies that reduce runoff and carbon dioxide emissions, along with enforcement of existing federal emissions limits on pollutants such as nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide, which can contribute to local acidification." - Lit