Pesticides in the Nation’s Streams and Ground Water:
A Decade of Assessments Provide Information for Future Protection

Friday, March 3, 2006
9:30 am – 11:30 am, 2318 Rayburn House Office Building

The briefing is cosponsored by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute and Water Environment Federation in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey(USGS).

The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) will release a report documenting its nationwide assessment of pesticides in streams and ground water from a decade of monitoring and analysis.  The report will be released at this briefing and available for briefing attendees.

The USGS assessment provides the most comprehensive national-scale analysis to date of pesticide occurrence, sources, concentrations, and potential effects on humans, aquatic life and wildlife.  It shows where, when, and why specific pesticides occur across the Nation, and begins to examine two important topics with implications for the future – prediction of pesticide occurrence and long-term trends. 

The findings also provide important implications for water-quality protection and can be used to help guide and inform state and national regulations and policies.  Policies, including those currently being deliberated in the 2007 Farm Bill that take into account these science-based insights, can now reflect actual environmental conditions, identify sources of nonpoint pesticide pollution in both urban and agricultural areas, and improve investments in water-quality monitoring and management across the Nation’s diverse environment and pesticide-use patterns.

Speakers:
Dr. Robert Hirsch, USGS Associate Director for Water, will describe unique design and significance of NAWQA’s studies, providing a context for its findings.

Bob Gilliom, Chief, NAWQA Pesticide Synthesis Team, will present the major findings and implications from the assessment.

Jim Jones, Director, Office of Pesticides of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will evaluate the implications of the assessment and describe ways EPA and USGS have collaborated to enhance the science base for EPA policy decisions.

Following the presentations, there will be ample time for questions and discussion with the audience.   

The briefing is free and open to the public.  No registration is required.

For more information, contact Carol Werner, EESI Executive Director at cwerner@eesi.org or  
Patricia Sinicropi, WEF Legislative Counsel at psinicropi@wef.org.

 

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