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• Programs would be developed to address complete watersheds, so that interacting 

 components of surface and ground water systems would be comprehensively protected. 



• The severity of the demands placed on producers to implement practices would be 

 appropriately linked to the severity of the water quality problem to be addressed. It 

 creates a fair allocation of responsibility, while providing assistance to those that 

 happen to be situated in more environmentally sensitive areas. This approach would 

 enhance the credibility of federal agency programs. 



• Some agrichemicals may cause problems in some environments, but may be safe and 

 preferred tools in others. Regulation of agrichemicals would be targeted to those 

 specific environments where they have been proven to pose a hazard. 



• 



A rational structure would be provided for integrating and phasing in voluntary and 

 regulatory efforts, based on the severity of the problems that need to be addressed. 



• Agricultural producers that are effectively protecting their watersheds would not be 

 penalized by sweeping regulatory requirements that are not relevant to the environment 

 within which they operate. 



• Scarce financial resources would be targeted to those areas with the greatest immediate 

 risks, while continuing basic education and assistance for producers resulting in 

 protection of other areas from becoming polluted in the fumre. 



• Areas subject to level III programs could move progressively back through level II to 

 level I as BMP practice effectiveness reduces pollution in the area to lower and lower 

 levels and thus would establish community goals and provide a positive focus for 

 efforts. 



• The approach in this program is complementary to sustainable agriculture and other 

 programs of USDA that focus, at least in part, on environmental quality and sustainable 

 production systems. Those efforts and current water quality initiatives contribute 

 directly to the establishment of a foundation for a successful tiered and targeted 

 program. 



• This approach would also involve a logical extension of the USGS National Water 

 Quality Assessment Program as a principal component of the water monitoring 

 necessary to allow for informed targeting of efforts. 



Implementation Requirements for Tiered and Targete d Programs 



• Decisions must be made regarding the exact pollution amounts and trend data which 

 characterize each of the levels. For example, in relation to individual chemicals which 

 have been proven to pose the greatest threats to human health "trigger" levels could be 

 set such as: level I -- < 0.5 MCL with certain trends in pollution data, level II -- 0.5 - 

 0.75 MCL with certain trends, and level III -- 0.75 MCL and up. Alternative or 



March 23. 1994 



