Developing a new regulatory paradigm to address the impacts of diffuse pollution attributable to agriculture

Abstract

To control pollution attributable to livestock operations, the statutory and regulatory scheme of the US Clean Water Act focuses on implementing structural controls to contain animal waste. While the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is empowered only to regulate point sources, existing authority may be extended to regulate diffuse runoff associated with certain livestock facilities. Current water pollution abatement programs, however, have not responded to the differences inherent in diffuse pollution and the land management strategies necessary to control and abate its impacts. The Planned Intervention Micro-watershed Approach (PIMA) recognizes this distinction, offering a method of refining land management strategies while keeping existing point source pollution regulation and enforcement mechanisms in place. Within a limited time frame, producers have fiexibility to develop and implement cost-effective management practices that achieve environmental goals. Planned intervention is integrated with a micro-watershed approach to watershed management which uses small, hydrologically discrete areas to target diffuse pollution sources and direct intervention efforts. This approach utilizes local stakeholder input and participation to create a bottom-up, community-based institutional framework for addressing diffuse pollution from agricultural sources that satisfies water quality objectives.