The Source of Water Pollution

That is be act pollutants appear not unaccompanied in surface weewee and sediments but also in subsurface aquatic environments, where leaching and buildup of nitrogen may conk (Poiani & Bedford, 1995; Ribaudo, 1998). Nonpoint start water befoulment has grown relative to water pollution that can be traced to a specific ca use of goods and services; moreover, an estimated 50% of all water pollution in the coupled States now comes from nonpoint sources.

Because nonpoint pollution sources are difficult to pin complicate by the time pollution events or mark offs put on been identified, the statutory and regulative approach to such pollution at the federal level has historically focused on attempting to control the condition of " gossip use and management practices" (Helfand & House, 1995, p. 1024). The technical difficulties of regulating nonpoint pollution help rationalize why, in 2000, the Environmental Protection way characterized such pollution as the most significant source of water pollution in the U.S. and the most difficult to enjoin (Hale, 2001).

While the theory behind attacking sources rather than consequences appears to be sound, problems of cost efficiency and fairness routinely come to the ahead where legal enforcement of clean-water mandates is concerned. To the degree sources of pollution can be identified, use of incentives on the part of input controllers of such pollution,

Greco, J. (2003, March). Wisconsin tackles water pollution: Groundbreaking legislation offers a model for dealing with nonpoint source pollution. State Government News, 46, 25-26.

Accordingly, regulatory incentives that are linked to inputs (origins of pollution) rather than effluents (the pollution itself) have been considered a fairer option, especially if regulators have a realistic picture of input substances and accompanying management practices. Helfand and House (1995) cite regulatory strategies that have been implemented in various locations around the country.

Yet federal mandates may not be equally forthcoming, depending on the statistical distribution of federal political power.

For example, in 2001, Congress blocked a federal mandate for local and relegate water-pollution budget analyses (Schneider, 2001). The substance was to federal CWA mandates, long unenforced, on permanent hold, and leave first to the states and municipalities. Without the incentive of federal mandates that are also funded, it is by no means clear that states would be encouraged to spend state monies on projects that do not have the "appeal" or clarity of, say, an oil spill off Santa Barbara's beaches. Indeed, in the theme of the Wisconsin state mandates of water cleanups, local governments were reportedly unenthusiastic round having to bear the administrative or financial burden of implementing the state's propose (Greco, 2003).

As far as possible, sources of pollution, rather than the given dirty waters, are considered more useful points of departure for regulation. Unfortunately, there is no uniform method of regulating sources--assuming they could be identified good or brought under control of a universally recognized authority. Still less are there uniform administrative guidelines for policy implementation. Those issues are themselves a challenge. As Larson, Helfand, and House explain (1996), "inputs," the euphemism for the actual contaminants at whatever source may be polluting
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