Excerpt
In reaction to increased public awareness of nonpoint source nutrient pollution, state governments are creating laws to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loadings. In Pennsylvania, for example, the Commonwealth enacted legislation in 1993 and, in 1997, created implementation regulations for state wide nutrient management by owners of animal agricultural operations.
Nonpoint source nutrient pollution has specific physical and social characteristics that set parameters for public policies. Pennsylvania's nutrient management law illustrates how one state adapted to those characteristics, demonstrates the importance of the details of implementation, and provides ideas for policy-makers elsewhere.
The characteristics of nonpoint source nutrient pollution
Nonpoint source nutrient water pollution is an inherently complex public issue. This is so primarily because of: site variability; private property rights; high monitoring costs; lag times; high exclusion costs; and jurisdictional boundaries.
First, the sites from which nutrients flow are variable. Site variability is, in part, physical. Topography, soil qualities, surface and groundwater flows, flooding potential, and climate all differ from place to place. But site variability is also social. Land owners and managers differ among themselves by occupation, awareness of and attitudes about nutrient pollution, resources available to change behavior, and other circumstances. Site variability—both physical …
Footnotes
Philip Favero is with the University of Maryland and Charles Abdalla is with Penn State University.
- Copyright 1997 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.