Require permits for non-pointsource discharges

The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently interpreted the Clean Water Act as establishing a ``comprehensive and all-compassing'' framework for water pollution regulation, irrespective of whether a discharge is pointsource or non-pointsource. EPA agrees that total maximum daily load (TMDL) permits are necessary to reduce the impact of non-pointsource pollution. Additionally, EPA has performed a cost analysis which suggests that the costs of implementing non-pointsource permitting and monitoring will largely be offset by the economic advantages of limiting and managing TMDL pollution loads within watersheds (Fox, 2000). Besides limiting pollutant levels and leading to the positive effects associated with reduced nutrient loads, such a program would facilitate integrated basin-level management, a method of water quality planning that is recommended by numerous studies. The program will require implementation of BMPs, along with the cost assistance and education that is necessary to effect proper BMP introduction (Gale et al., 1993). The establishment of TMDLs is likely to be contentious, as the requirements will fall more heavily on some kinds of farms than others (EPA, 1999).