A descriptive model of statutory authority to regulate agricultural nonpoint sources of water pollution in the States

Nonpoint sources of water pollution, i.e. those which enter public waters by some means other than a pipe or other discrete conveyance, cause the majority of remaining water quality problems in the United States. Agricultural runoff and contamination of groundwater through percolation are the largest and most pervasive nonpoint sources and are largely unregulated. A questionnaire survey of all 54 state and territorial lead agencies for nonpoint source control and interviews with several EPA and State of Tennessee environmental regulatory officials explored the barriers to more effective control of agricultural nonpoint sources. The participants were asked for their perceptions and opinions on the policy issues of feasibility, fairness, social acceptability, and effectiveness in the context of voluntarism versus regulation of agricultural nonpoint sources. The research results sugggest that 1) most states have statutory authority to regulate nonpoint sources, including those from agriculture; 2) some regulatory component is necessary to ensure adequate participation for significant water quality improvement; 3) regulation would be feasible, but monitoring for compliance would require a different approach from point source regulation; 4) positive economic incentives, an aggressive public information and education campaign, and "special treatment" for small, family farms would improve the acceptability of a regulatory approach; and 5) the remaining barriers to regulation appear to be the political power of agricultural interest groups, public ignorance and IV apathy, and the economic costs of control both at the farm and government levels. A model policy is proposed for reconciling the range of opinions on the various policy issues.