Nonpoint Source Control on Forest Lands, 1996 Environmental Conference Proceedings

The 1972 Water Pollution Control Act Amendments set in motion the development of state-level silvicultural Nonpoint Source (NPS) control programs. These programs use technology-based controls or Best Management Practices (BMPs) designed to prevent or minimize NPS impacts. NCASI has conducted or supported several national surveys of state NPS control programs to evaluate their status. These surveys show that, even though silviculture is usually considered a modest contributor to NPS pollution, all states with significant forest operations have silvicultural NPS control programs. These include Forest Practices Act-based regulatory programs and nonregulatory programs based on education and incentives. Compliance with BMPs is generally high and there is reason to believe that the BMPs are effective. In recent years there has been extensive refinements in state NPS control programs and BMPs to address identified problems. In some states, federal oversight has almost become irrelevant as state-level concerns and politics overwhelm any national guidance. An important trend is adoption of nonstandard BMPs, especially where application of standard BMPs represent an unreasonable risk to natural resources. Increasingly complex natural resource issues will require site-specific BMPs, based on watershed or landscape-scale analysis, to meet both environmental and economic goals.