The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Federal Advisory Committee met in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 30-Oct. 1.  NSAC Senior Policy Associate Martha Noble is a member of the Committee.

The Committee is currently charged with one major task – the preparation of a paper with recommendations to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson on how the agency should address water pollution problems arising from agriculture.

Presentations at this particular meeting focused on EPA activities involving agriculture and water quality in three regions, including:

1. the development of a Total Maximum Daily Load plan and state watershed implementation plans to address both point sources and nonpoint sources of pollution throughout the Chesapeake Bay Region;
2. the development of numeric nutrient standards for nitrogen and phosphorus in Florida; and
3. activities in Mississippi River watersheds, especially in Iowa, addressing nutrient runoff and leaching from farms.

EPA has now posted the presentations from the meeting.

EPA Agricultural Counselor Lawrence Elworth announced that the Committee would likely meet three or four more times in Washington D.C. during the 1-1/2 year left for it to complete its work under the current federal charter for the Committee.