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manure polluted runoff. Progress is being made in establishing 

 substantial polluted runoff prevention measures in the watershed 

 which supplies the drinking water for New York City. Wisconsin has 

 been a leader in implementing a watershed-based polluted runoff 

 program. Yet even in these instances, progress has been slow and 

 weak. For example, a recent report from the Wisconsin legislature's 

 investigative branch found that water quality improvements have 

 not been significant despite considerable investment by the state. 



The result is that polluted runoff is now responsible for impairment 

 (failure to meet water quality standards or designated uses) for more 

 than half of the nation's impaired waters. Specifically, agricultural 

 runoff accounts for more than 50% of polluted runoff pollution. No 

 wonder, then, that the President highlighted prevention of this 

 problem has one of the highest priorities of his Clean Water 

 Initiative. 



The bottom line is that, with the exception of the Coastal Zone 

 Reauthorization Amendments (CZARA) polluted runoff program. 

 Congress has failed to make mandatory requirments of the states, or 

 provide adequate funding, and the states have not gotten the job 

 done on their own. 



The Solution 



The emerging consensus on how to fix this major water quality 

 problem is for the Congress to amend the Clean Water Act to require 

 states to implement targeted, flexible, yet mandatory polluted runoff 

 programs that dovetail effectively with Farm Bill and other state 

 programs, and provide substantial additional funding through CWA 

 and the Farm Bill programs. These concepts were agreed to by a 

 diverse group of interests in the Water Quality 2000 Report and are 

 common features of the Clinton Administration's CWA position, S. 

 1114, and the H.R. 2543 and H.R. 3948. Although conceptually 

 similar, the details vary widely. The following summarizes our 

 positions on key points of the proposals. 



1. Amend section 319 to establish targeted, flexible, 



mandatory polluted runoff program. The three bills 

 (S. 1114, H.R. 3948, H.R. 2543) and the Administration's proposal all 

 embody this approach. This is the guts of Section 319 reform, and 

 we strongly support it. The key elements include EPA requirements 



