Since the passage of the Clean Water Act, we have seen the evolution of its programs go from the development of effluent guidelines for Point Sources to ensure national consistency among dischargers to the derivation of extremely stringent water quality-based limitations which require Point Sources to spend millions of dollars to meet new levels of treatment under their NPDES permits.
Now, with the advent of the TMDL program requirements, there is a recognition that Point Source controls are not the only solution to water quality problems in some situations. However, the implementation of the TMDL program has often advanced the requirements beyond the knowledge and with the resources of the regulatory agencies involved in the process. Arkansas is a case in point. The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality is recognized nationally by its peer agencies as a leader in the protection of water quality.
Through such programs as development of the ECO Region standards, first in the country to ever have those, toxicity testing, which they put on numerous Point Source dischargers, maintenance of a comprehensive ambient water quality monitoring program, which is designed to obtain real world data concerning the condition of their Arkansas' waters. The agency's efforts are to be commended and has been very successful in addressing water quality issues in the state, especially in light of the limited resources that it has.
One of the keys to PC&E; or ADEQ success has been its ability to address problem areas as it has determined and in time frames that allowed the department to development sound technical approaches. An example would be the ECO Region research, which among other things completely revamped the Dissolved Oxygen Standards in the state of Arkansas, thereby resulting in real world, reasonable permitting requirements on municipal and industrial Point Sources, but this was a multi-year process, taking approximately five years from the initiation of the field studies to regulatory finalization.
A whole lot of work went into it -- very, very field-intensive work. Yet it provides a good parallel as to how the 303D or TMDL process should be conducted to ensure a technically sound cost-effective approach. The Senate 2417 correctly identifies many of the problems involved in the implementation of the TMDL program across the country. Some of the noted deficiencies are insufficient State resources to manage the program and the lack of sound science and water quality monitoring data to properly implement the program.
All of these are quite problematic and can result in technically unsound, unrealistic control strategies, which will not achieve better water quality throughout the Nation. The proposed legislation offers a moratorium on the finalization of EPA's final TMDL regs, pending studies by the National Academy of Sciences on many of the technical issues contained therein. This at a minimum should be done. In addition to this, we would recommend that the committee consider broadening the moratorium to address the current TMDL program requirements. This is because factors such as artificially short implementation time frames due to court orders and budgetary considerations will result in technically unsound TMDLs being imposed on both Point and Non-Point Sources.
We also recommend that consideration be given to adding provisions to allow the States flexibility in receiving the appropriation set out in the bill. This is because due to State budgetary time frames, State agencies may not be able to direct their resources in order to maximize the use of such funding. In addition, we have great concern that the technical tools needed to create valid TMDLs will not be available and that unsound science be utilized in order to meet artificial regulatory and fiscal considerations.
In conclusion, we appreciate the opportunity to make these comments and appreciate the work of the committee to address this extremely important issue. The TMDL program is evolving, and anything that can be done to ensure a more systematic technical evolution is warranted. Senate Bill 2417 is a very good start in that direction. Thank you very much.