Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) management and coordination of water quality activities.
GAO found that: (1) USDA developed a water quality initiative for fiscal year 1990 to expand its ongoing water quality programs and establish new programs; (2) 10 USDA agencies are involved in water quality activities and plan to spend $155 million this year; (3) USDA expects the initiative to be more comprehensive and better coordinated than its previous water quality activities; (4) groundwater contamination is a critical issue, since groundwater is the major source of water for many Americans; (5) the agricultural sector is the largest user of pesticides and fertilizers, and these chemicals are increasingly being found in surface water and groundwater supplies; (6) the public increasingly perceives that farm chemicals found in groundwater threaten human health and that limiting their use is warranted; (7) the USDA Low-Input Sustainable Agriculture Program (LISA) offers research grants to promote agricultural production methods that reduce the use of agricultural chemicals and protect the environment; and (8) USDA has not developed a comprehensive departmental policy on water quality.
