EPA Office of Water and 

Agriculture

Mike Shapiro

Deputy Assistant Administrator

Office of Water

March 13, 2008
Outline

 Agriculture impacts on water quality

 Office of Water roles

 Clean Water Act

 Safe Drinking Water Act

 Biofuels and water quality

 Livestock

 Communicating across the agriculture 

sector
2002 National Water Quality Inventory

“§305(b) Report”

 Agriculture is leading known source of 

pollution to lakes and rivers nationwide.

 37% of impaired rivers and streams

 30% of impaired lakes and reservoirs

 Pollutants

Sediment Habitat alterations

Nutrients Pathogens

Low dissolved oxygen Metals (mercury)
Good

28%

Fair

25%

Poor

42%

Not Assessed

5%

Good

Fair

Poor

Not Assessed

2006 Wadeable Streams 

Assessment

•The WSA found 28% of 

streams in good condition, 

compared to least-disturbed 

reference condition.

•Across the US 25-30% of 

streams have high levels of 

nutrients or excess 

sedimentation. These 

streams are twice as likely

to have poor biology.

Biological Condition of Streams

(Index of Biotic Condition)
Clean Water Act Goal

“to restore and maintain 

the chemical, physical, 

and biological integrity of 

the Nation’s waters”
Clean Water Act Framework

Technology-Based 

Approach

 Effluent limitation guidelines 

for industry and secondary 

treatment for POTWs

Water Quality-Based 

Approach

•EPA develops water quality 

criteria information

•States and Tribes develop water 

quality standards and criteria

NPDES Permits

Nonpoint Source Program

Restoring Polluted Waters - TMDLs

Funding & Technical Assistance

Wetlands Protection

Watershed Approaches

Set Standards

Implement 

Programs
Point Source Permit Program

 All point sources need a permit to discharge to 

waters of the U.S.

 Point sources: discrete conveyances (e.g. pipe, 

ditch, or CAFOs) 

 Exempted

 agricultural stormwater discharges

 irrigation return flows.

 Technology-based limits

 Water quality-based limits 
Water Quality Standards

 Goals and targets for each waterbody 

 Three parts

 designated uses (i.e. recreation, drinking water, cold 

water fishery, irrigation)

 numeric or narrative water quality criteria 

 antidegradation policy

 Numeric water quality standards 

 quantitative targets to support trading 

 objective baselines to measure progress

 easier and faster development of water quality-based 

permits, nutrient TMDLs.
Total Maximum Daily Loads

 Maximum amount of any pollutant from all 

sources that a waterbody can receive and still 

meet the water quality standards.

 States must develop TMDLs for all waterbodies 

that are “impaired”. 

 Basis for strategies to improve and protect water 

quality.
Nonpoint Source Program (§319)

 Applies to non-regulated diffuse sources of pollution

 States, tribes administer NPS management programs 

 EPA provides grants to states and tribes to:

 Identify waters impaired or threatened by NPS, key 

categories of NPS, loadings

 Implement programs to promote Best Management 

Practices– e.g.,streambank fencing, buffer strips.

 Monitor and evaluate - update program every 5 years
Safe Drinking Water Act

 National, enforceable standards for public 

drinking water supplies 

 Prevention of drinking water contamination 

 Source Water Protection Program

 States assess threats to drinking water supplies

 delineate areas that could contribute water and 

pollutants 

 conduct an inventory of potential sources of 

contamination

 determine the susceptibility of the water supply to 

contamination.
Water Quality Concerns from 

Biofuels

 Increased use of nutrients, pesticides 

 Increased erosion

 Loss of habitat, soil carbon

 Loss of corn/soybean rotations

 Use of distillers’ grain for animal feed -- high P content

 Increase runoff from marginal lands converted to corn 

production 

 USDA voluntary programs

 Higher per acre costs and/or fewer participants.

 EPA relies on USDA conservation programs to help 

agricultural producers address water quality.
Livestock

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) Rule 

 Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking 

 Voluntary CAFO certification that it does not discharge

 Nutrient management plans: framework for incorporating rates 

of land applied manure

 Plan implementation date remains: 2/27/09.

 As many as 75% of CAFOs may still need NPDES 

permits.

Other Livestock

 CAFO rule = majority of the livestock manure, but 

minority of livestock operations

 How do we work with the numerous smaller confined 

livestock and grazing operations that contribute to water 

quality problems?
EPA Partnerships with USDA

 Bimonthly meetings 

 CAFO rule development

 Conservation Effects Assessment 

Program (CEAP)

 Chesapeake Bay

 USDA State Technical Committees

 Watershed level
Role of the Committee

 What are the best ways to communicate with the diverse parts of the 

agriculture community? 

 How successful has EPA been in getting our message and 

information out to those disparate groups? 

 How can we encourage agricultural producers to become engaged 

in local watershed activities -- watershed plans, TMDL 

implementation, source water protection?

 How can we work with producers to curtail the water quality impacts 

of corn production for biofuels in this era of high corn prices?

 How can we provide farmers with science and information on the 

impacts of agricultural production on water quality? 

 What is needed to get producers to implement practices on the most 

vulnerable areas of their operations?

 How can the agriculture community demonstrate progress in 

meeting water quality goals?