The Clean Water Act: Nonpoint Source Control

A survey conducted by the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators in 1984 indicated that 78% of the states saw their nonpoint source problems as greater than or equal to those caused by point sources. Nonpoint sources are diffuse sources of water pollution that do not discharge at single locations (e.g., pipes or ditches) but whose pollutants are generally carried over or through the soil and ground cover by way of stormflow processes. Because nonpoint source control is inherently site-specific and land-use oriented, Congress, in 1972, reserved it to state and local governments. The Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 dealt with nonpoint source control in sections devoted primarily to planning. The unenforceability of the water quality management plans themselves, and their failure to produce recommendations for enforceable regulatory programs, might lead some to believe that the nonpoint source component of section 208 has been a complete failure.