Jan. 16, 2003 -- Water Environment Federation (WEF) issued a release Thursday that stated it supports EPA's Water Quality Trading Policy.
The purpose of the Policy is to encourage states, interstate agencies, and tribes to develop and implement voluntary water quality trading programs that facilitate implementation of TMDLs, reduce the costs of compliance with Clean Water Act regulations, establish incentives for voluntary reductions, and promote watershed-based initiatives.
Specifically, WEF said it supports the policy's emphasis on watersheds and cooperation between point and nonpoint sources. The federation has long advocated the watershed management approach and the principle that water quality oriented activities across regulatory programs should be combined to form a strong, integrated basis for planning, priority setting, and implementation on a watershed basis.
Visit WEF's website at http://www.wef.org
For more information from the EPA: www.epa.gov