Water Quality Initiatives and Agriculture (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Dec. 20, 2000 |
| Report Number |
RL30437 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Claudia Copeland, Resources, Science, and Industry Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Congress most recently enacted amendments to the nation's water quality law, the Clean Water
Act
(CWA), in 1987. But national water quality policy has evolved in the intervening years, as a result
of implementation of the 1987 amendments and related Administration initiatives intended to fulfill
the requirements and meet the goals and objectives of the Act. Agriculture, which has been a
relatively minor component of national water quality policies and programs, especially regulatory
policies, is now involved in several aspects of three recent initiatives.
In the Clean Water Action Plan, a Clinton Administration initiative intended to address the
nation's remaining water quality challenges, several key actions focus on agriculture, federal lands,
and forestry as part of the overall goal of the Plan to more effectively control nonpoint source
pollution. Specific outcomes, requirements affecting agriculture, if any, and any possible deadlines
will be evident as the key actions are set in motion.
One of the first Administration actions to carry out the Clean Water Action Plan was a national
strategy for addressing waste management by one segment of agriculture, animal feeding operations
(AFOs). Under the AFO strategy, all operators of animal feedings operations are expected to
develop and implement site-specific comprehensive nutrient management plans, while an estimated
15,000 to 20,000 large AFOs and those contributing to water quality impairments will be priorities
for regulatory programs and enforcement.
A third policy development, separate from the Clean Water Action Plan, is implementation of
existing CWA requirements which concern measures to improve the quality of waters that remain
pollutant-impaired even after application of traditional pollution controls by industrial and municipal
"point sources." Most of agriculture is classified as a "nonpoint source" and is not subject to CWA
controls. These requirements are the Act's Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program. As states
implement the TMDL program, where agricultural sources are identified as responsible for water
quality impairments, they may be required to adopt control actions and/or management measures.
Determinations of impairments and required actions will be site-specific and variable. However,
there is controversy over whether nonpoint sources of pollution (diffuse runoff that does not come
from a pipe, ditch, or similar conveyance) are lawfully covered by the TMDL program. If only point
sources are covered, impacts on agriculture would be considerably fewer. Regulatory changes
proposed in 1999 to strengthen the TMDL program were widely criticized by agriculture and forestry
groups, other industry groups, states and localities, and environmental groups. Final changes, issued
in July 2000, dropped provisions that could have directly affected some in agriculture and forestry,
but the new rules remain controversial.
This report provides background on the Clean Water Action Plan, the Unified National AFO
Strategy, and implementation of the TMDL provisions of the Clean Water Act. It includes a glossary
of terms and a chronology of key dates and deadlines related to the initiatives.
