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Progress Update #11

Dr. Fred N. Swader, National Program Leader for Water Resources for the Extenson Service, was named Executive Secretary for the Working Group on Water Quality in October.
 * Swader is New WGWQ Executive Secretary

Recently returned from a detail as a Visiting Water Quality Specialist with the University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension program, Swader began his Extension career as a toils specialist for Cornell (University) Cooperative Extension in New York.

Dr. C.R. Amerman, who served as Executive Secretary since November 1989, returned to the National Program Staff of the Agricultural Research Service October 15.

Swader’s office is 324-A, telephone (202) 720-4751, FAX (202) 690-2842, and Email: fswader@esusda.gov.

In late September, program managers and scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Research Service, Cooperative State Research Service, [sic] (CSRS), Extension Service (ES), and Soil Conservation Service (SCS), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey, universities, and industry joined colleagues in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) at a workshop on agriculture related water quality needs of that area. The meeting was held in Poznan, Poland, under the leadership of Dr. Jerry Walker of USDA’s Office of International Cooperation and Development. Representation from CEE countries included delegations from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia. Hungary, Poland, Rumania, and Yugoslavia.
 * USDA Takes it’sIts [sic] Water Quality Initiative to Central and Eastern Europe

Workshop participants exchanged program technology/information and discussed regional water quality problems relating to, or affecting, agriculture. Several areas of possible technical assistance were identified including demonstration projects similar to the ongoing efforts of SCS and ES under the USDA Water Quality Initiative. These opportunities relate to both agricultural point and nonpoint source concerns identified by the CEE delegations. A list of opportunities for technical exchange was drafted for further consideration by USDA and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Contact Peter Patterson, telephone (202) 720-1867, FAX (202) 720-0630, for further information.

USDA’s Working Group on Water Quality recently issued a reference summary entitled “Nitrate Occurrence In U.S. Waters.” The report includes data from a wide array of surveys, reports, and studies by federal, state and private sources. Six USDA agencies, EPA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University assisted John Fedkiw, Associate Director, USDA Office of Budget and Program Analysis, in preparation of the 35-page report.
 * Nitrate Occurrence In U.S. Waters

The summary provides a broad perspective on the proportions of the problem of ground water, surface water, and estuary contamination associated with nitrate from agricultural sources. It is part of the USDA’s effort for helping farmers and rural residents understand water quality problems, where they occur, and their dimensions. The USDA is working with other federal agencies and the states to help farmers operate in a way that minimizes or prevents pollution formfrom [sic] agricultural sources.

Copies were distributed to various federal and state agencies, as well as organizations in the private sector. For additional information, contact John Fedkiw, OBPA, at (202) 720-7063.

By January 1992, the Extension Service and the Soil Conservation Service plan to prepare a comprehensive report on fiscal year 1991 progress in all 90 Nonpoint Source Hydrologic Unit Areas and Demonstration Projects. The report will include information on:
 * Progress Reporting for HUA’sHUAs [sic] and Demonstration Projects
 * Reduction in use or application of nutrients, pesticides, animal waste, sediment, and salt and toxic elements;
 * Load reduction below the root zone or beyond the edge of fields;
 * Monitored changes in the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of the water resource;
 * Type and extent of water quality education and technical assistance provided; and
 * Economic effects and producer acceptance of practices recommended.