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Water Quality Standards — Some bills before Congress modify the water quality standard goals of the 

 CWA. As opposed to the current "fishable and swimmable" standard of the Act, they add a "wildlife" 

 and "social development" criteria to the standard. NASDA cautions Congress against going too far in 

 creating the new standard which becomes the bright line measurement for the watershed management 

 plans in the out years. Bio-assessments tend to be acceptable indicators of potential problems, but they 

 are not appropriate for regulatory purposes. We must not overburden economic production with costly 

 practices simply for an arbitrary "social" standard, and we must remember that the Endangered Species 

 Act is designed to protect such species. While wildlife habitat provides some indication of water quality, 

 Congress should not move too far in that direction. 



Conclusion 



Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to participate in this very important hearing on nonpoint 

 source pollution, wetlands and reauthorization of the Clean Water Act. In order to reduce complex and 

 diverse nonpoint source pollution, a commitment of time and resources is necessary, similar to the 20-year 

 commitment our country has made to eliminating point source pollution. However, management of this 

 problem will require a different approach than that of point source pollution because, unlike point source 

 pollution, NFS pollution is primarily a weather-related phenomenon that can be managed, but not feasibly 

 eliminated. NFS pollution is caused by the inadvertent discharge of pollutants from a wide variety of 

 society's most essential activities. Agricultural operations, along with urban, construction, septic and 

 natural sources, require a comprehensive and coordinated management strategy, much of which is already 

 in place, but in many cases ir^adequately funded. The NFS management programs in the CWA should 

 be reasonable, voluntary, and based on incentives, education and technical assistance. 



I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. 



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