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PRINCIPLES STATEMENT OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT WORKING GROUP 

 CLEAN WATER ACT REAUTHORIZATION 



In the reauthorization of the Clean Water Act, Congress should adhere to the following 

 principles: 



1. The Clean Water Act (CWA) does not stand alone in protecting America's waters from 

 nonpoint source (NPS) pollution. Other ongoing programs at the federal, state and 

 local level must be funded fully, coordinated with and not superseded by the CWA. 

 This includes, in particular, the soil conservation and water quality provisions of the 

 1985 and 1990 farm acts and the state groundwater and surface water protection 

 programs of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). 



2. Recognizing the 20-year commitment our country has had to eliminating point-source 

 pollution, success in reducing the more complex and diverse NPS pollution v/ill 

 require similar time and resource commitments. However, management of this problem 

 will require a different approach than that of point source pollution elimination 

 because, unlike point source pollution, NPS pollution is primarily a weather-related 

 phenomenon that can be managed, but not feasibly eliminated. NPS pollution is 

 caused by the inadvertent discharge of pollutants from a wide variety of society's most 

 essential activities. 



3. The central focus on NPS management solutions should be a reasonable and voluntary 

 approach based on incentives, education and technical assistance as the primary means 

 of managing NPS pollution. 



NPS pollution management program should (a) emphasize the protection of 

 water resources and state-designated water uses, including state-designated 

 agricultural uses, and (b) recognize the importance and needs of individual 

 agricultural producers and other landowners affected by the CWA. 



• This approach emphasizes the use of locally designed and applied, 



economically feasible, site-specific best management practices which do not 

 infnnge on private property rights. Implementation of these farm management 

 options over a realistic time frame will further the goal of reaching or 

 maintaining designated uses of water bodies. 



It is inappropriate to link USDA commodity, conservation or disaster program 

 payments to the success or failure of management programs for NPS pollution 

 I authorized under the CWA. 



