Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge Air Quality Information
Overview
Cape Romain has a rich diversity of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, and crustaceans. This diversity is especially evident in birds, with over 337 species present. There are eight Federally-listed and eight State-listed endangered or threatened species occurring in Cape Romain, including the American alligator, arctic peregrine falcon, bald eagle, Cooper's hawk, eastern brown pelican, glossy ibis, ground dove, least tern, loggerhead sea turtle, osprey, piping plover, red wolf, swallow-tailed kite, and wood stork. Leatherback sea turtles and red cockaded woodpeckers are also known to use the area on occasion.
Congress designated a portion of Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge as a wilderness area in 1975, declaring that the area should remain undeveloped and "unimpaired" for future generations. The wilderness now includes 29,000 acres. In 1977, Congress further acknowledged the uniqueness of the Cape Romain Wilderness by naming it a Class I air quality area and giving it special protection under the Clean Air Act. Congress gave the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), as the Federal Land Manager of the Cape Romain Wilderness, the responsibility to protect the air quality and air quality related values (AQRVs) of the area from manmade air pollution. AQRVs include vegetation, wildlife, soils, water quality, visibility, odors, and cultural and archeological resources.
Despite this protection, air pollution is impacting Cape Romain. The air pollution comes from many sources, including industry, power plants, and automobiles. Surveys conducted from 1996 to 1998 in Cape Romain indicated that certain plant species exhibited typical symptoms of ozone injury (i.e., stippling and chlorosis). In addition to these documented effects, there is concern that other effects may be occurring. For instance, rainfall to the area is sometimes acidic. And, as in most of the eastern U.S., visibility in the wilderness area is affected by regional haze. Also, inshore waters of the wilderness area may be at risk from atmospheric nitrogen pollution. Research along the Atlantic Coast has demonstrated that atmospheric nitrogen (primarily from power plants, automobiles, and agriculture) has contributed to fertilization of inshore waters, with subsequent algae blooms, loss of seagrass beds, and deterioration of fish and wildlife habitat (“eutrophication”).
The FWS has begun a program to better understand air pollution causes and effects at Cape Romain. FWS monitors air quality in Cape Romain in partnership with two national programs. Atmospheric pollutants in rain are analyzed as part of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP - the "acid rain" program). And, fine particles responsible for visibility impairment are measured as part of the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) program. In addition, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) monitors concentrations of ozone in the air at Cape Romain.
The FWS and the State of South Carolina are working cooperatively with industry and regional utilities to control air pollutant emissions in order to protect Cape Romain. If Cape Romain is not protected, unique wildlife and scenic values will be threatened or even lost, as has happened along much of the Atlantic Coast. The FWS hopes to preserve and protect this special area of wilderness for future generations.