Almost 11 million acres, representing 20 percent of the total acres in the SFI program, and 4,286 miles of stream have been enrolled in these agreements. As you can tell from these commitments, this effort represents the industry's own Clean Water Action Plan and it has the full backing and support from an Independent Expert Review Panel that monitors our progress. The Panel consists of members from the conservation, environmental and academic communities, federal and state representatives and includes the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service and an EPA official. As the federal agencies involved in water quality and forest management issues work with state agencies in implementing programs to protect water quality from the impacts of land-based activities, we would hope that they work with the private sector in identifying areas that will compliment our commitments. Although these results are encouraging, we can do better through promotion of BMP training and monitoring effectiveness.
Numerous studies show that when BMPs are implemented, water quality is maintained.
The more recent studies conducted in Florida, South Carolina and Idaho illustrate that when BMPs are implemented, the biological, physical and chemical integrity of the nation's waters are protected. We can provide copies of these studies and others that document our claims. As we move forward, we would encourage federal and state officials to establish a dialogue with the SFI state implementation committees and support ongoing efforts in the forestry community to reach out to forest landowners, loggers, consultants and practicing foresters on promoting BMP implementation to protect water quality. At this point, I'd like to shift your attention briefly to two issues that many in the forestry and other nonpoint source communities believe have the possibility of imposing onerous and incompatible requirements on land management practices. The TMDL program is designed to assure attainment of water quality standards by requiring the establishment of loading targets and allocations for waters that are not in attainment with those standards.