Agricultural Nonpoint Source Water Pollution Research Articles

Prediction Model of Agricultural Non-point Source Water Pollution Based on Grey Correlation Method

Prediction Model of Agricultural Non-point Source Water Pollution Based on Grey Correlation Method

The river chief system and agricultural non-point source water pollution control in China

As part of their efforts to control water pollution, local governments in China introduced the river chief system, whereby a named individual undertakes responsibility for protecting a specified waterway. As one of the most prominent sources of water pollution, agricultural non-point-source (NPS) pollution is becoming increasingly serious. Determining whether the river chief system, an institutional reform in China's decentralized environmental regulation regime, is effective in alleviating NPS pollution is important for the realization of green development. The effect of the river chief system on reducing agricultural NPS pollution is explored in this study using panel data from 308 Chinese counties during the period from 2004 to 2015. The results reveal that the negative impact of manure output from animal breeding operations on surface water quality is reduced with the implementation of the river chief system. However, the river chief system is ineffective in dealing with the water pollution caused by fertilizer use. Furthermore, in the current system, cooperation among river chiefs only occurs within a province. Local governments should increase their efforts in reducing fertilizer source loads and preventing fertilizer loads from entering surface waters. In addition, the central government should improve cooperation among the river chiefs in upstream and downstream provinces.

Validity of Chesapeake Bay total maximum daily load upheld

On February 29, 2016, the US Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of the American Farm Bureau Federation (Farm Bureau) from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals' decision approving the US Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA's) total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for the Chesapeake Bay (Farm Bureau v. EPA, 792 F.3d. 281 [3d Cir. 2015]; 136 S.Ct. 1247 [2016]). This decision means the ambitious Chesapeake Bay TMDL program can continue notwithstanding Farm Bureau legal claims that the program improperly forces states into implementing agricultural nonpoint pollution control requirements that USEPA cannot implement directly. The Court's decision also suggests that the USEPA strategy embedded in the Chesapeake Bay TMDL program can be implemented in other regions of the United States to address nonpoint agricultural pollution. This article explores the complexities of addressing agricultural nonpoint source water pollution under the Clean Water Act (CWA), how USEPA has developed an effective strategy to obtain cooperation in a multistate context to deal with agricultural nonpoint source pollution, and why the Chesapeake Bay TMDL was legally upheld in federal court.

Policy tools for agricultural nonpoint source water pollution control in the U.S. and E.U.

Purpose – In the USA and Europe, agricultural nonpoint source (NPS) pollution continues to be among the chief impediments to achieving water quality standards. While the implementation of technology-based water pollution control tools has resulted in evident point source pollution abatement, NPSs continue to threaten surface water and groundwater. The purpose of this paper is to draw from environmental policy literature to identify regulatory tools and management approaches that specifically target agricultural NPS pollution and the factors that drive or impede their implementation and enforcement. This paper utilizes the policy tool framework to help characterize the widespread policy problem, distinguishing its unique set of hurdles from other environmental problems. Design/methodology/approach – Discussion of agricultural NPS pollution management approaches is based on a thorough review of relevant environmental policy and environmental economic literature as well as case studies from the USA and Europe. Analysis is based on the policy tool framework. Findings – This study finds that controlling numerous diffuse sources of agricultural pollution requires an integrated approach that utilizes river basin management and a mix of policy instruments. Additionally, findings suggest that transitioning from voluntary mechanisms to more effective instruments based on measurable water quality performance relies predominantly on three factors: first, more robust quality monitoring data and models; second, local participation; and third, political will. Originality/value – This research provides important information for regional and national policymakers in areas where there is increasing pollution and regulatory mandates. Identifying conditions of effective water quality policy is applicable and will be of direct use to agencies charged with pollution control.

Reforming Agricultural Nonpoint Pollution Policy in an Increasingly Budget-Constrained Environment

Agricultural nonpoint source water pollution has long been recognized as an important contributor to U.S. water quality problems and the subject of an array of local, state, and federal initiatives to reduce the problem. A "pay-the-polluter" approach to getting farmers to adopt best management practices has not succeeded in improving water quality in many impaired watersheds. With the prospects of reduced funding for the types of financial and technical assistance programs that have been the mainstay of agricultural water quality policy, alternative approaches need to be considered. Some changes to the way current conservation programs are implemented could increase their efficiency, but there are limits to how effective a purely voluntary approach can be. An alternative paradigm is the "polluter pays" approach, which has been successfully employed to reduce point source pollution. A wholesale implementation of the polluter-pays approach to agriculture is likely infeasible, but elements of the polluter-pays approach could be incorporated into agricultural water quality policy.

Wildlife, Water Quality and the Public Trust Doctrine: A Means of Enforcing Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution Management Plans

Even though the Clean Water Act has proven successful in many respects, it has failed to properly address agricultural nonpoint source water pollution. This lack of sufficient legislation has left our nation’s waters polluted and has detrimentally affected much of the wildlife that depend on these waters for survival. In an effort to prevent further deterioration of our water systems, the public should consider using the public trust doctrine as a means of requiring state and local agencies to consider the public’s interests in wildlife and water quality when developing, regulating, and reevaluating nonpoint source pollution control plans.

Radial interval chance-constrained programming for agricultural non-point source water pollution control under uncertainty

Inherent uncertainties in agricultural non-point source water pollution control problems cause great difficulties in relevant modeling processes. A radial interval chance-constrained programming (RICCP) approach was developed in this study for supporting source-oriented non-point source pollution control under uncertainty. The proposed RICCP approach could tackle two-layer uncertainty resulting from temporal and spatial variability of many factors and their uncertain interactions. Based on the concept of radial intervals and chance-constrained programming, RICCP could reflect the randomness in the bounds of interval parameters, with or without known probability distributions. RICCP could also allow decision makers to adjust the conservativeness of solutions via protection and significance levels, helping satisfy environmental, economic and resource-conservation requirements in a holistic and interactive manner. The proposed methodology has been applied to an agricultural water pollution control case. The most-profit agricultural development strategies were explored while restricting environmental impacts to an acceptable level. A series of interval solutions for agricultural practices were generated corresponding to varied risk levels of constraint violations, which could help screen optimal alternatives according to decision makers’ profit and risk considerations as well as various system conditions. RICCP model was also compared to its alternatives. Significant differences in the solutions among the compared models further demonstrated the advantages of the proposed approach.

Agricultural nonpoint source water pollution policy: The case of California's Central Coast

Nonpoint sources of pollution, primarily from agricultural sources, are a major cause of water quality impairment. Yet policies to address this issue remain underexplored in the literature. This article first reviews the agricultural nonpoint source (NPS) pollution policy literature and categorizes its major findings. The North American literature, in particular, rarely analyses NPS policies already in force, and pays even less attention to overcoming implementation barriers to reaching desired environmental outcomes. Second, this paper evaluates a newly adopted policy approach that addresses nonpoint sources of nutrient contaminants in the surface waters of one of the United States’ most agriculturally productive and environmentally pristine areas, California's Central Coast. The article then reveals the political, budgetary and technical barriers faced by farmers, regulators, and other stakeholders. The article concludes by arguing that more analyses of implemented policies designed to address agricultural NPS pollution will better inform both local-level and federal policymakers towards the successful creation and implementation of policies that achieve environmental outcomes.

“Farmers' Attitudes Toward Government Involvement in Preventing Agricultural Nonpoint Source Water Pollution,” by F. Dale Parent and Stephen B. Lovejoy2

“Farmers' Attitudes Toward Government Involvement in Preventing Agricultural Nonpoint Source Water Pollution,” by F. Dale Parent and Stephen B. Lovejoy²

Reply to DISCUSSION by Ronald A. Chadderton1: “Farmers' Attitudes Toward Government Involvement in Preventing Agricultural Nonpoint Source Water Pollution”2

Reply to DISCUSSION by Ronald A. Chadderton¹: “Farmers' Attitudes Toward Government Involvement in Preventing Agricultural Nonpoint Source Water Pollution”²

Reply to DISCUSSION by Ronald A. Chadderton: "Farmers' Attitudes Toward Government Involvement in Preventing Agricultural Nonpoint Source Water Pollution"2

Reply to DISCUSSION by Ronald A. Chadderton: "Farmers' Attitudes Toward Government Involvement in Preventing Agricultural Nonpoint Source Water Pollution"²

FARMERS’ATTITUDES TOWARD GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT IN PREVENTING AGRICULTURAL NONPOINT SOURCE WATER POLLUTION1

ABSTRACT: Concern over the pollution of our lakes and streams has become a major issue in the United States. Sedimentation from sigricultural lands has been identified as a significant factor in water pollution. Some citizens suggest that government should force compliance with soil loss standards, while others suggest that we ask farmers to voluntarily comply. Related questions are “DO farmers think government should be involved in controlling erosion and protecting water quality?”“To what extent should government be involved?” What level of government should be involved? Federal? State? Local?“Why should pay for water quality projects?”Farmers from a small watershed in northeastern Indiana were interviewed before and after a major demonstration project. Their responses suggest that farmers feel that individual landowners should be responsible for controlling erosion and agricultural nonpoint source water pollution. However, over 60 percent of the study fanners indicated that the federal government should play an important role, in terms of both technical and financial assistance.