Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
research on it for a decade, but never on a farm scale. Roberts consulted
with a team of other extensionists in eastern Washington, and they
responded with enthusiasm, as did the Wilke Farm committee. Now they
needed to find a source of funding for whole farming systems, which was
difficult to do within the existing funding sources at WSU. A team rep-
resenting a funding agency serendipitously visited the area that very same
year.
USEPA staff in the Seattle regional office had been talking about the
Columbia Plateau's agro-environmental problems throughout the mid
1990s. When they analyzed Washington State air, water, and land pollu-
tion—plus habitat loss—they discovered that agriculture was the least
regulated source. They also realized the laws authorizing their regulatory
activities were poorly designed to address agricultural pollution—most
regulations were designed with manufacturing, not agriculture in mind.
The Columbia Plateau aquifer was of particular concern because so
many rural communities depended on it for drinking water, and it was
vulnerable to overuse and agrochemical pollutants. The agency legally
had the authority to review all federal actions impacting groundwater
quality, and some agricultural leaders feared the agency could interfere
with federal crop subsidies, even though this was never seriously consid-
ered by the agency. The USEPA ultimately decided to support local
efforts to protect the aquifer, but the multi-year review process amplified
fears among local residents that this was only the beginning of the
agency's efforts to impose stricter regulations in the region.
During the Clinton Administration, the Seattle office of the USEPA
secured funding for several community-based environmental protection
initiatives, efforts to work cooperatively with local agencies and citizen
groups to address environmental problems that are beyond the scope of
typical regulatory devices.
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This approach identifies geographic regions
with environmental problems unaddressed by existing programs, and it
provides institutional support, coordination, and some funding, for local
efforts. USEPA leadership had recognized the limits to the “command
and control” regulatory and enforcement approach, and believed that an
approach that emphasized institutional collaboration had a better
chance of making progress toward environmental goals.
Persuaded by data, the Seattle USEPA office created the Columbia
Plateau Agricultural Initiative (CPAI) in 1997, drawing from existing
