Giving Compass' Take:

• In this article, The Surfrider Foundation investigates how federal agency closures are impacting marine environments, including clean water management and enforcement against pollution.

• What can environmental advocates do to mitigate the damage being done to coasts and oceans?

• For more on the impact of the government shutdown, click here.

The partial shutdown of the federal government reached its 16th day on [Jan. 7] with no immediate resolution in sight. President Trump signaled a willingness to keep the government shutdown for months or even years. The upshot is that dozens of federal agencies remain closed or operating at minimum capacity until the gridlock in D.C. is resolved.

Among the government agencies impacted are those responsible for managing our nation's coastal and ocean resources. These include the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Parks Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and others.

Numerous EPA programs that protect clean water and public health are currently suspended. The shutdown is disrupting everything from wastewater permitting to enforcement actions against polluters. The result is that the Clean Water Act — the landmark law that protects our nation’s rivers, lakes, and ocean — is severely handicapped while the federal government is closed. Also affected is the BEACH grants program that monitors water quality at thousands of U.S. beaches and remains unfunded for 2019. Finally, only a single NOAA staff person is monitoring Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) like the Red Tide and Toxic Blue-Green Algae that have devastated marine life and coastal communities in Florida.

Because of the shutdown, NOAA has suspended its national estuaries, coastal resilience, marine debris, and Sea Grant programs. These programs not only protect beaches, rocky shores and wildlife, they also help communities plan for sea level rise and extreme weather events.

Read the full article about how the government shutdown affects our oceans by Pete Stauffer at The Surfrider Foundation.