Nonpoint-source pollution control: A resource conservation perspective

Excerpt

THE Federal Water Pollution Control Acts Amendments of 1972 (P.L. 92–500) and the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977 (P.L. 95–192) have focused considerable attention on agriculture and forestry in the United States. Both statutes are rather specific in their goals and objectives. They should complement one another. But there are differences in the two laws that appear to be in conflict. Management practices are applied on farm fields for resource conservation, while nonpoint-source pollution control is often carried out on a much larger scale at some point in a major stream system. Inconsistencies result between soil and water resource conservation practices and nonpoint pollution control practices.

The approach to pollution control

Nonpoint sources of pollution are diffuse sources, such as agricultural land and forest land. Point sources of pollution discharge from pipes. Pollutants, of course, include any constituents that degrade water quality, such as sediment, plant nutrients, and pesticides.

P.L. 92-500 did not specify …