Data Report: Assessment Framework for Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain Streams Using Benthic Macroinvertebrates

A cooperative study was initiated in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain region of the United States between the USEPA (Regions II, III, IV) and state water resource agencies (New Jersey DEP, Delaware DNREC, Maryland DNR, Virginia DEQ, North Carolina DEHNR, and South Carolina DHEC) in order to evaluate the usefulness of composited reference conditions for bioassessment. This unique example of interagency collaboration provided the impetus for a rigorous design and testing of standard biological survey protocols and selection of sites for conducting biological surveys throughout the 6-state region of the coastal plains. The results of this study were prepared as a scientific publication for the Journal of the North American Benthological Society. Presented here is the data report, which provides the supporting data to the published manuscript.This project was prepared for the USEPA, Region 3, Mid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment Programs, 701 Mapes Road, Fort Meade, MD 20755-5350 under contract number 68-W5-0054.NHEERL-NAR-X-25