Agriculture - Additional Resources | Polluted Runoff: Nonpoint Source Pollution

Information Resources and Centers

Fact Sheets, Presentations and Reports

Information Resources and Centers

Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs)
This page includes general information on AFOs, links to the USDA-EPA Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations and the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation proposed rule, and includes guidance documents and compliance guides for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Practice Standards Exit
NRCS conservation practice standards provide guidance for applying conservation technology on the land and set the minimum acceptable level for application of the technology. This site lists current national conservation practices in alphabetical order, with links to the practice standards, conservation practice information sheets and Conservation Practice Physical Effects (CPPE) worksheets (when available).
2014 U SDA Farm Bill Exit
The 2014 Farm Bill was enacted on February 7, 2014. NRCS offers voluntary Farm Bill conservation programs that benefit both agricultural producers and the environment.

How to Build Better Agricultural Conservation Programs to Protect Water Quality: The National Institute of Food and Agriculture- Conservation Effects Assessment Project Experience Exit (2012) This book provides a synthesis of 13 projects designed to evaluate the effects of conservation practices on spatial and temporal trends in water quality at the watershed scale. The lessons learned Exit from this synthesis strengthen the knowledge base for evaluating the impacts of conservation practices on water quality, improving management of agricultural landscapes for improved water resource outcomes, and informing conservation policy.
Conservation Buffers to Reduce Pesticide Losses (PDF) (22 pp, 1.2MB, About PDF)
This document summarizes recent research investigating the ability of conservation buffers to trap and degrade pesticides carried in field runoff. It is the result of a joint effort between the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), National Water and Climate Center and EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances.

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EPA's National Agriculture Compliance Assistance Center Exit
The National Agriculture Compliance Assistance Center is the "first stop" for information about environmental requirements that affect the agricultural community.
Water Quality Information Center at the National Agricultural Library Exit
From the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the WQIC provides electronic access to information on water quality and agriculture. The center collects, organizes and communicates the scientific findings, educational methodologies and public policy issues related to water quality and agriculture.
Conservation Technology Information Center ExitThe Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) is a national, public-private partnership with a mission to provide reliable, profitable solutions to improve the relationship between agriculture and the environment. The center provides information on agricultural conservation issues.
North Carolina State University (NCSU) Water Quality Group Exit
The North Carolina State University (NCSU) Water Quality Group is a multidisciplinary team that analyzes and conducts natural resource management programs with an emphasis on nonpoint source (NPS) pollution policy, assessment and control technologies.
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Photo Gallery Exit
Approximately 1,500 conservation-related images are available for download from this site. The photos are organized in a database that allows users to search 54 categories from 30 States using key categories like buffers, conservation tillage, water quality and wildlife.

Fact Sheets, Presentations and Reports

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National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Agriculture, July 2003
Technical guidance and reference document for use by State, local, and tribal managers in the implementation of nonpoint source pollution management programs. It contains information on the best available, economically achievable means of reducing pollution of surface and ground water from agriculture.
Chesapeake Bay Federal Land Management Guidance , May 2010
Chapter 2 of this guidance presents the implementation measures component of Nutrient Management Plans that would maximize nutrient reductions by agriculture. Three types of practices are necessary in agricultural production to control nutrients and sediments. These three types avoid, control, and trap pollutants (ACT), and practices that suit each should be implemented in agricultural production.

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Techniques for Tracking, Evaluating and the implementation of Nonpoint Source Control Measures - Agriculture (PDF)(92 pp, 844 K, September 1997, EPA 841-B-97-010 )
This guidance from 1997 was written to help state, regional and local environmental professionals track the implementation of best management practices (BMPs) used to control agricultural nonpoint source pollution.
Protecting Water Quality form Agricultural Runoff (PDF)(2 pp, 122 K, MArch 2005, EPA 841-F-05-001)
This is a fact sheet about how agricultural runoff affects water quality.