According to a recent Agri-Pulse report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) believes states need to improve the clean-up process of our nation’s lakes and rivers. “States need to do a better job securing landowner involvement in advance of seeking federal funds for projects and conduct more rigorous selection processes,” the GAO commented.

The article reports that, “the two key findings were in a GAO report released Monday: “NonPoint Source Water Pollution: Greater Oversight and Additional Data Needed for Key EPA Water Program,” which focuses on the Section 319 program of the Clean Water Act.”

Agri-Pulse concludes, “to strengthen implementation of Section 319, GAO recommends that the agency provide specific guidance to EPA’s 10 regional offices on how they are to fulfill their oversight responsibilities and revise section 319 guidelines to states. In addition to existing statutorily required reporting measures, states should emphasize measures that more accurately reflect the overall health of targeted water bodies.”

To view the full Agri-Pulse article, click here.

To read the full GAO report, click here.

This article was posted on July 4, 2012.