Page:Update on water quality- Progress update (IA CAT10556197012).pdf/2

 Atrazine was first registered for United States use in 1958. More than 80 percent of the annual usage (53.3 million pounds) is on corn. It also is used on sorghum, sugar cane, macadamia nut and guava trees, Christmas tree plantations, and on non-cropped industrial lands.

More than 70 percent of the atrazine usuageusage [sic] is concentrated in 10 Midwest states. Nearly 25 percent of the atrazine used in those 10 states is applied by farmers in Illinois and Nebraska, with another 25 percent applied by farmers in Indiana, Iowa, and Kansas.

The Safe Drinking Water Act, administered by EPA, requires that maximum contaminant levels (MCL) be established for drinking water. The MCL for atrazine, promulgated on January 30, 1991, is 3 parts per billion. EPA regulations require public drinking water suppliers to begin monitoring for atrazine in January 1993. For additional information, contact Fred Swader, WGWQ, (202) 720-4751.

ERS and NASS recently completed selection of Area Study survey sites. Each site corresponds to a National Water Quality Assessment Study Unit established by the USGS.
 * Area Study Sites Set By ERS

Newly selected sites include the Mississippi Embayment (MS, LA, AR, TN, KY, MO); San Joaquin–Tulare (CA); Southern Arizona (AZ); Southern High Plains (TX, NM); and Red River of the North (MN, ND).

Studies to be conducted this year include the Albemarle–Pamlico Drainage (MC, VA); Southern Georgia (GA, FL); Iowa–Illinois (IA, MN, IL); and Upper Snake River Basin (ID, WY, NV).

Area studies started in 1991 included Central Nebraska (NE); White River Basin (IN); Lower Sosquehanna Basin (PA, MD); and Mid-Columbia Basin (WA).

For additional information, contact Bob Kellogg, ERS, (202) 219-0403.

Participants in a recent Nitrogen Workshop made suggestions for an expanded research program in soil testing and a position paper on the level of nitrate needed in the soil for economical production of crops.
 * Soil Testing, Nitrate Usage Issues Emerge From Workshop

Workshop participants included representatives from ARS, ES, SCS, EPA, the Nitrogen Action Committee (EPA and USDA), and scientists from five CSRS regional research committees.

The Soil Testing Research Program will address improvements in present tests for nitrogen availability to crops; development of new tests, as needed, to assess the impacts of nitrates on water quality; integration of soil tests into farm-scale nitrogen recommendation systems, and development of improvement of tests to determine excess nitrate and the leaching potential at the end of the crop production system. Funding was identified to initiate new or enhance ongoing research programs.

The position paper on nitrogen is targeted for completion in April.

For addition information contact, [sic] Maurice Horton, CSRS, (202) 401-4504.

An often overlooked benefit of a Federal program is attracting private sources to water quality projects with a high probability of success.
 * The Hidden Benefits of Water Quality Programs

The nonpoint hydrologic unit areas (HUA), [sic] in Ohio are one case in point. One area received an additional $300,000 in funding from an environmental organization, and $100,000 from a major industry in the watershed. In another, the EPA participated in the purchase of $500,000 worth of conservation equipment for demonstration purposes.

A California HUA project attracted 30 growers who committed 13,034 acres to improved practices. Cooperating agencies expanded to include the California Departments of Fish and Game, Food and Agriculture, and Regional Water Quality Control Board; the Center for Irrigation Technology and Engineering Institutes, both at California State University, Fresno; three local water districts; ARS; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the Lemoore Naval Air Station. This HUA has attracted in excess of $200,000 in funding from non-HUA sources.

Copies of the USDA’s Working Group on Water Quality publication “Nitrate Occurrence In U.S. Waters” remain available following initial distribution to Federal and state agencies, as well as organizations in the private sector. For additional information, contact John Fedkiw, OBPA, (202) 720-7963.
 * Nitrate Occurrence In U.S. Waters