On March 29 and 30, the EPA Farm, Ranch & Rural Communities Committee met in Arlington VA.  The Committee overseen by EPA Agricultural Counselor Larry Elworth is a federal advisory committee to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson on agricultural issues relevant to EPA.

Administrator Jackson has requested that in 2010-2011 the Committee focus on agriculture and water quality issues. More specifically, she has asked for advise on the three sets specific areas:

(1) resources available at the federal, state and local level for addressing agriculture and water quality problems and the best way to coordinate and deliver those resources;

(2) science issues involved in assessing water quality  problems arising from agricultural activities, including water quality monitoring, integrity of modeling, validation of technologies to address water quality issues, and the process for independent review and credibility of research results; and

(3) role of partnerships in addressing agricultural water problems, including criteria for effective partnerships, management needs of partnerships, the best ways to deliver resources to partnerships, and ways for partnerships to access and incorporate scientific developments into their efforts to address agriculture and water quality problems.

As a prelude to Committee work on these issue areas, the Committee heard presentations on efforts to address agriculture-related water issues in the Great Lakes, the San Francisco Bay Delta, Puget Sound and the Chesapeake Bay.

Background information and material from the presentations at the meeting will be posted on the FRRCC home page.  The next FRRCC meeting is scheduled for June 22-23 in Washington DC.