The National Association of Conservation Districts is a nongovernemnt association that represents the nation's 3,000 conservation districts and more than 16,000 men and women who serve on their governing boards. Established under state law, conservation districts are local subdivisions of state government charged with carrying out community-based programs for the protection and management of natural resources. Conservation districts work with a number of local, state and federal natural resource agencies in carrying out a wide variety of conservation and environmental protection programs. Partnering with state water quality agencies, state conservation agencies and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, districts are key players in implementing federal and state water quality protection and enhancement programs.
Pollution prevention remains the key to effectively dealing with nonpoint source pollution.
When Congress enacted Section 319 in the 1987 amendments to the Act, it recognized that nonpoint source pollution control is best addressed through state and locally driven cooperative, incentive-based management programs. With federal assistance and state matching efforts, Section 319 state management programs have resulted in considerable progress in controlling nonpoint source pollution. Some 38 states have also established companion agricultural nonpoint programs that provide technical and financial assistance to farmers and ranchers to help them implement conservation practices that stem runoff. Although progress has been made, lack of adequate funding is still the primary obstacle to addressing the nation's nonpoint source pollution control problems. Section 319 of the Clean Water, which provides grants to states for nonpoint source pollution control, has proven to be a popular and successful tool for addressing nonpoint source water quality concerns.