Glickman, Babbitt Propose Water Quality Plan

February 21, 2000

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt have proposed a plan to combine federal efforts to protect water quality on federal lands. A draft proposal calls for a watershed management approach and better coordination among federal agencies, states, tribes and other interested parties.

The proposal will be published in Tuesday's Federal Register and is considered a framework to protect public health, reduce polluted runoff, improve natural resources stewardship and increase public involvement in watershed management on federal lands.

Public benefits from the proposal, according to Glickman and Babbitt, include managing lands and resources on a watershed basis and improving stewardship of federally managed watersheds; providing better coordination among federal agencies, states, tribes and interested stakeholders; making it easier for states, tribes, local governments and others to work with federal agencies on a watershed basis, and helping focus and leverage the resources of various federal agencies to solve problems on priority watersheds.

Public comments on the draft policy will be accepted for 60 days from Tuesday, or through April 21.  Based on public comments, a final rule will be developed later this year.  A series of public meetings will be held in Milwaukee, WI, Portland, Or, Denver, CO, and Atlanta, GA, to present and discuss the draft policy and receive formal comments.  Informational meetings for tribes will be held in each of those cities as well.

Additional information is available on the Clean Water Action Plan web site at http://www.cleanwater.gov/ufp.