Agriculture 



Evidence of pesticide contamination in reservoir sediments has caused considerable 

 concern. Very low levels of pesticides were found in sediment samples in a 1984 survey. 

 Although the water column showed no evidence of pesticide contamination, the long term 

 effect of low level contamination due to slow release is unknown. Twenty of the 49 

 pesticides reponed to have been used in agriculttuie on Aquidneck during recent years 

 become bound to soil particles following application, and move into receiving waters 

 complexed with sediment. The remaining 29 remain in solution and can enter receiving 

 waters with runoff. 



CURRENT RESPONSE TO WATER QUALITY PROBLEMS 



In accordance widi provisions of Section 208 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

 of 1972, the State of Rhode Island developed an Areawide Water Quality Management Plan 

 (AWQMP) which identified 53 priority agriculture-related water quality problem areas of 

 particular concern. Although erosion and sedimentation was found to be the state's most 

 critical non-point source problem, the best management practices developed for the 53 

 priority areas were designed to address all related nutrient and contaminant loadings. 



The Division of Planning, which prepared the AWQMP, designated the state's 

 Conservation Districts as the management agency responsible for implementing the 

 recommendations of the agricultural portion of the 208 plan. The three Conservation 

 Districts, which have carried out programs for conservation of soil and water since 1945, 

 were considered well suited to the task because of dieir experience with federal cost-share 

 programs, their accountability to the State Conservation Committee (including 

 representatives of DEM and state legislators) and their sax)ng local contacts with the 

 farming community. 



Many of the AWQMP recommendations anticipated the availability of federal funding 

 under the Rural Qean Water Program (RCWP), a joint EPA -SCS assistance prograno. 

 The RCWP application was to have been based on priorities established in the 208 plan, 

 and was to have involved coordinated action among several related agencies and 

 administrative groups, including the ASCS, SCS, the Conservation Districts, DEM, and 

 the Division of Planning. The AWQMP examined a range of issues important to 

 implementation of the RCWP, and prepared a set of alternative RCWP approaches 

 involving a range of program strategies and funding levels. While the RCWP funding 

 program was discontinued, many of the 208 plan recommendations remain applicable. 



Although federal funding available for agriculture-related non-point source management 

 has decreased significantiy since the beginning of the 1980s, a number of inter-related 

 programs are operating in the basin, emphasizing proper animal waste management and 

 erosion control on cropland. Five SCS field offices in the basin have 7.2 total staff years 

 devoted to provision of technical assistance (3.8 years in Rhode Island; 3.4 years in 

 Massachusetts), which is provided in cooperation with Conservation Districts. The 

 following sections summarize the roles and responsibilities of agencies and organizations 

 involved. 



Conservation Districts 



Conservation Districts are local units of government organized by local residents under 

 state law. The Rhode Island Conservation Districts follow county boundaries. Under the 

 Rhode Island State Conservation Law, each District is responsible for soil and water 



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