News Release 8-10-2000 |
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WVDA's Water Monitoring Defends Agriculture from Unfair Criticism CHARLESTON, W.VA. — As West Virginia's leader in the effective implementation of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) of rivers and streams, the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) continues to collect and analyze water samples from waterways that have received criticism for possible pollution. "Our main goal is to identify the problem first, then create a program to rehabilitate the polluter," said West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass. "We criticized TMDLs because of the lack of data collected prior to the determination of rivers and streams. To react without good analytical data unnecessarily harms our economy, while allowing the actual polluter to continue harming our rivers and streams." Water sampling has been an ongoing project involving rivers and streams that were identified in a lawsuit by environmental groups against the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Without any significant scientific sampling, the lawsuit alleges that the following streams and rivers are considered to have more than the acceptable level of bacteria and nutrients:
"We must be certain of where the waste is originating before we begin to destroy our family farms that are located along these waterways," said Commissioner Douglass. "We've had great success by working with farmers and implementing voluntary, incentive based programs. More than $9 million of USDA funding, combined with $2 million from the Governor and West Virginia Legislature, has been spent implementing Best Management Practices (BMPs) to ensure that agriculture protects water. By identifying the sources through analytical means, we can target our testing to keep rivers and streams within acceptable limits and maintain farming in these areas." Through the efforts of the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service and State Soil Conservation Committee, federal and state funding for BMPs in the five-county area of Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral and Pendleton are responsible for the creation of:
On June 23, 2000, the WVDA released a comprehensive report that explains the WVDA's work thus far in bacteria (such as E-coli) and nutrient identification (including nitrogen and metals that can be harmful in large amounts) from water testing. It includes:
Although scientific testing with quality controls will produce answers to waste origins, it is still necessary to create partnerships to share answers with state and federal agencies. "An example of the partnerships that our water testing has built is the Little Kanawha River," said Commissioner Douglass. "In February 2000, we began monitoring the Little Kanawha for iron and aluminum. This was conducted because the TMDL was under development and the EPA considered agriculture to be a component. After building 19 monitoring stations and collecting 300 samples, I am pleased to report that the EPA will factor our data into the TMDL modeling for the Little Kanawha. Simply put, this is validation of our methodology. Similar partnerships have been built with other waterways, and the W.Va. Division of Environmental Protection is taking advantage of our findings. While important, this type of research should have been conducted prior to the TMDLs for the Potomac River Watershed were set." -more- The DNA water testing of the WVDA is also generating interest in other State Departments of Agriculture. "Louisiana and Alabama have sent representatives to see the groundbreaking work we have developed here," said Deputy Commissioner Dave Miller. "Other states have also requested information in hopes of answering their questions with TMDLs. This program has been a lot of work, but West Virginia is leading the country in identifying waste sources in our water." "Farming depends on water and West Virginia's farmers want to keep our rivers and streams protected," said Commissioner Douglass. "When we identify a problem where agriculture is involved, we have the resources through the voluntary BMP programs to help bring the farmer to compliance. As good environmental stewards, we must begin to find positive solutions to other potential waste sources as well. To blame agriculture without proper validation is reckless and irresponsible. If agriculture is not at fault, we not only penalize our farmers, but allow the actual contaminators to continue harming our water resources." For more information, contact Bill Bissett, Communications Chief for the WVDA, 304-558-2201. |
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