ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT

MANAGEMENT OF NONPOINT SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION

WHEREAS, 1997 marked the 25th anniversary of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, or the Clean Water Act, and due to the programs established by the Act, and the cooperative efforts of Federal, state and local governments and private industry to implement and comply with these programs, the quality of the nation's water has improved dramatically; and

WHEREAS, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nonpoint sources of pollution or polluted runoff, now represent the single largest cause of water pollution and agricultural nonpoint sources are, by far, the most significant category of nonpoint source water pollution; and

WHEREAS, during the past 25 years, the focus of nation’s clean water programs has been on identifying distinct or point sources of pollution, establishing effluent criteria for major categories of discharges and using permitting programs to ensure compliance with these standards; and

WHEREAS, most of these point sources of pollution are located in urban areas and the most comprehensive and the only regulatory nonpoint source control program is designed to control urban stormwater; and

WHEREAS, future improvements in water quality will be dependent on evaluating the entire watershed to determine the interaction of all pollution sources (urban, suburban, rural and agricultural point and nonpoint sources) and developing management approaches that: 1) determine why a watershed or waterbody does not meet water quality standards; 2) identifies the specific pollution sources that require additional controls; and 3) include governmental responsibility for ensuring compliance with such controls so that water quality goals can actually be achieved; and

WHEREAS, watershed management plans should be designed to integrate and coordinate efforts to control both point and nonpoint sources of pollution, and to take into account such issues as: wildlife habitat (e.g. wetlands); protection of surface and groundwater sources of drinking water; open space and farmland preservation; urban and suburban development; and economic development; and

WHEREAS, the control of nonpoint sources of pollution will require a management system which allows Federal, state, regional and local governments to address the full range of interrelationships of various land uses and pollution sources within a watershed, including the flexibility and latitude to implement a mix of traditional (point source controls) and non-traditional (best land-use management practices) controls that can best resolve water quality problems unique to each watershed; and

WHEREAS, The U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Urban Water Council presented a Mayors’ Action Plan for Sustainable Watershed Management at the Urban Water Summit in New Orleans in September 1997 and to the Energy and Environment Committee at the Winter Meeting of the Conference of Mayors in Washington, DC in January, 1998,

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors supports the development of a flexible national program for the sustainable management of watersheds and their resources, as outlined in the Mayors’ Action Plan for Sustainable Watershed Management, which recognizes that the protection, preservation and enhancement of water resources is critical to the continued revitalization of the nations' cities and that clean water is necessary to maintain the quality of life in cities, supporting recreational, historical, cultural and economic development activities across the country; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that watershed management provides for the comprehensive and integrated management of all water resources within natural drainage areas, regardless of political boundaries and that watershed management strategies represent the only workable framework through which the total resource and all the factors that impact water quality and uses can be addressed; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the impacts on ground waters and surface waters, and associated threats to drinking water supplies from urban, suburban, rural, agricultural and other activities be addressed in an equitable manner ensuring that all sectors of society are equally responsible and equally accountable for maintaining and improving the quality of the nations waters; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that regulatory requirements for urban nonpoint sources (such as municipal stormwater runoff) must be made consistent with management concepts and regulatory requirements for rural and agricultural nonpoint source control programs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that existing programs must be integrated and coordinated to avoid duplication of efforts, that there must be processes for resolving inter-jurisdictional issues, and that adequate technical, scientific and financial resources must be made available to support what must be a long-term commitment to achieving the water quality goals; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that state and Federal clean water programs must provide for flexibility to establish watershed specific goals and priorities and to develop and implement innovative approaches (voluntary or regulatory, financial incentives, technical assistance, educational etc.) to solving water quality problems and include clear authority for necessary regulation of all sources of polluted runoff; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that states have a role in ensuring that nonpoint source pollution is properly managed, including application of state enforcement powers to ensure compliance with a comprehensive nonpoint source management strategy and decoupling urban stormwater management from Federal permitting requirements; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors calls upon Congress and the Administration to incorporate these recommendations into legislation reauthorizing the Clean Water Act.