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Quality Management Plans or Corrective Action Plans are referred to the State Water Quality 

 Regulatory Agency for enforcement action. 



A Local, Micro-watershed Approach 



Loczl participation in problem identification and resolution is the essence of the American 

 democratic process. Due to the problems inherent in identifying and controlling nonpoint 

 sources of pollution, local action at the watershed level becomes imperative. Micro-watershed 

 Consortia in Targeted Watersheds provide a vehicle through which all Micro-watershed 

 Stakeholders can meet to develop collective, innovative strategies which take into account local 

 constraints. The Act calls for a broad interpretation of the term Micro-watershed Stakeholder 

 to include "all land holders within a Micro-watershed, as well as other parties having a direct 

 interest in issues affecting water quality within the Micro- watershed." Local conservation 

 districts organize and facilitate Micro-watershed Consortia meetings. 



Micro-watershed Consortia will likely be faced with many difficult issues. For example, 

 available cost-sharing may prove insufficient to cover all agricultural producers required to 

 develop and implement site-specific plans. In those cases, Consortia members must collectively 

 provide recommendations to local, state and federal conservation agencies concerning the 

 allocation of limited financial assistance. Consortia members are most knowledgeable about 

 local strengths and constraints, and thus best situated to assume that role. Similarly, Consortia 

 members are well suited to identify recalcitrant polluters and apply peer pressure to remedy 

 inappropriate land-use activities. 



The Micro-watershed Consortium also is an appropriate group to conduct water quality 

 monitoring at the mouth of a Micro-watershed to gauge the success of pollution prevention and 

 abatement efforts. Physical process modeling can provide an initial indication of the pollutant 

 loading expected subsequent to the implementation of Water Quality Management Plans by 

 Micro-watershed Stakeholders. If water quality fails to approach modeling predictions over an 

 extended period of time. Stakeholders must reassess the management practices employed and 

 identify areas for additional improvement. In the event conflict arises within the Micro- 

 watershed concerning the source of pollutant loadings. Consortium members can install 

 additional automatic water quality sampling equipment to isolate specific areas for more careful 

 analysis. 



Micro-watershed Consortia can function effectively in watersheds targeted for both agricultural 

 and non-agricultural pollution abatement. Although agriculturally oriented local conservation 

 districts provide a pre-existing local institution around which to form Micro-watershed 

 Consortia, all landholders within the watershed, agricultural and non-agricultural, are included 

 under the definition of Micro-watershed Stakeholder. In mixed Targeted Watersheds, operators 

 of industrial and urban point sources and non-agricultural nonpoint sources of pollution must 

 actively participate in Consortia meetings to develop comprehensive water quality strategies. 

 While local conservation districts and the Lead Agricultural Agency are charged with 

 coordinating assistance only for agricultural producers, the State Nonpoint Source Pollution 

 Action Committee provided in the Act is designated to "coordinate the activities of the 



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