Report No. 14
Idaho Water Quality Policy for Nonpoint Source Pollution: A Manual for Decision-Makers
Executive Summary
(Part 6)

Analysis of Key Issues

The intent of the Idaho Legislature with regard to water resources and the federal Clean Water Act is clear:

The legislature declares that it is the purpose of this act to enhance and preserve the quality and value of the surface water resources of the state ... [and] it is hereby declared to be the policy of the state of Idaho to protect this natural resource by monitoring and controlling water pollution. ... It is the intent of the legislature that the state of Idaho fully meet the goals and requirements of the federal clean water act (Idaho Code 39-3601; emphasis added).

The state policy to monitor and control water pollution raises two key questions: [1] what is a cost-effective approach for monitoring nonpoint source pollution, and [2] what is a cost-effective approach for controlling nonpoint source pollution? Summary replies and analysis follow.

Key issue # 1: What is a cost-effective approach for monitoring nonpoint source pollution?

Two types of monitoring are necessary to determine BMP effectiveness: on-land qualitative compliance monitoring of BMP installation, and at the watershed scale, periodic quantitative instream monitoring of the overall effectiveness of BMPs at keeping pollution out of the water. Under the CWA, this means determining if water quality standards are met.

It is not efficient to monitor everything, everywhere, all the time (Ice et al. 1996). Before large sums of money are spent on water quality monitoring, the public, as represented by the Idaho Legislature, should know what kind of information the state's monitoring program will produce, and what will be done with it (Ward 1996).

To meet CWA goals, the EPA's views on water quality monitoring have evolved to an ecological approach, including monitoring habitat condition (Dissmeyer 1994). Idaho's monitoring program has evolved similarly into the Beneficial Use Reconnaissance Project (BURP) process. BURPs are one source of information for the water body assessment process (see IDEQ 1996) used to designate aquatic life beneficial uses in water quality standards and determine the level of support of those uses (Figure 3). For waters that are impaired--that is, beneficial uses are not fully supported--TMDLs are required (Figure 3). A TMDL can cost from $4,000 to $1 million or more, depending on the complexity of the pollution problem and the availability of existing data and models (EPA 1996a). Information produced by the TMDL process is useful for identifying where pollution control actions should be targeted, including the implementation of BMPs. The development of TMDLs in Idaho is currently evolving as the EPA and IDEQ respond to the court ruling in the Idaho TMDL lawsuit.

Key issue # 2: What is a cost-effective approach for controlling nonpoint source pollution?

The technology for controlling polluted runoff is a process termed "best management practices" (BMPs) under the CWA. The process of implementing BMPs is the recognized approach to controlling nonpoint source pollution (CWA 319(b)(2)(A)). Sediment is a byproduct of land-use activities and affects 90% of the impaired waters in Idaho; sediment is the only pollutant affecting 46% of these waters (Table 7). The latest count has 960 water quality-limited segments or waters on Idaho's "303(d) list"; included are 10.1% of the stream and river miles in the state, which is approximately the same percentage as other areas in the Interior Columbia River Basin (Table 8).

BMPs can be effective at reducing pollution at its source, but under a voluntary program approach there is no assurance BMPs will be applied. The issue involves how "cost-effective and reasonable BMPs" (40 CFR 131.12(a)(2)) will be implemented. The two basic choices are regulatory or nonregulatory programs for enforcement, technical assistance, financial assistance, education, training, technology, and demonstration projects (CWA 319(b)(2)(B)).

In Idaho, the implementation of BMPs for forestry and mining is regulated and enforced. Audits reveal that forestry BMPs are installed 92% of the time when they should be, and are 99% effective at keeping sediment and other pollution from streams (IDEQ 1993). Sediment pollution from forestry activities nevertheless impacted 17% of the stream miles surveyed in Idaho in 1988 (IDEQ 1989, see Figure 2). Improvements in BMPs will continue to be

Source: Idaho Division of Environmental Quality, compiled from "The 1996 303(d) list for the state of Idaho."

* Portions of states in the ICBEMP assessment area are all of Idaho, Montana west of the continental divide, and the portions of Oregon and Washington east of the Cascade Range.
Source: Status of the Interior Columbia Basin: Summary of Scientific Findings (USDA Forest Service 1996). Idaho and Montana data are from the states' "303(d) list"; Washington data are from the "305(b) report"; the source of Oregon data was unspecified.

made, requiring landowners, foresters, and loggers to modify their practices and undertake additional costs to install revised BMPs.

In Idaho, the implementation of agricultural and grazing BMPs is voluntary, as it is in most other states. The technology to control polluted runoff from farms and ranches is available through an assortment of BMPs, all involving some costs. Voluntary water quality management programs cannot be effective if farms and ranches do not use BMPs. Idaho Code 39-3610(1) states that "nothing in this section shall be interpreted as requiring best management practices for agricultural operations which are not adopted on a voluntary basis." According to Novotny and Olem (1994), the main weakness of the CWA is its lack of enforceable programs for the implementation of BMPs.

Agricultural nonpoint source pollution has not been adequately controlled for a number of reasons (Novotny and Olem 1994). Before change will occur, individuals and institutions--that is, government, business, interest groups, etc.--must know that a problem exists, understand the significance of the problem, and have some type of incentive to change (Novotny and Olem 1994).

A combination of incentives and public information and education is a cost-effective nonregulatory approach to encouraging compliance with BMPs, but without a regulatory enforcement program, some operators will choose to ignore BMPs. Some states have "bad actor" laws that serve as a backup approach for enforcing BMP implementation through penalties if the voluntary approach proves to be ineffective.

Agricultural pollution and its prevention and control is and will continue to be a challenge (Novotny and Olem 1994). Current programs for agricultural and other nonpoint source pollution control are only the beginning of a lengthy process that will require a long-term commitment of time, resources, and funds from every sector. A number of experimental programs have documented varying degrees of success, and much can be accomplished once commitments have been made, including working together with diverse groups (Novotny and Olem 1994).