Good Afternoon. I would like to thank Senator Crapo for his leadership on this issue and for holding today's hearing on the proposed rulemaking by the Environmental Protection Agency on Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs).

I believe that I'm not overstating it when I say that this may be one of the most significant environmental regulations that this committee will address in the next decade. It is certainly an issue of vital importance to New Hampshire.

New Hampshire is referred to by many as the "Mother of Rivers," because five of the great streams of New England originate in its granite hills. We have 1300 lakes and 40,000 miles of rivers and streams that provide year-round fishing and recreation in scenic surroundings, as well as power for the State's many industries. New Hampshire also has about 1,600 certified tree farms covering approximately 850,000 acres of land.

It is very important to me as a Senator of New Hampshire and Chairman of this Committee that we make sure we protect both our natural resources for future generations and our businesses with sound scientifically based environmental programs.

The Clean Water Act has been one of our most successful environmental statutes. Over the last twenty-eight years, we have successfully identified and cleaned up many of the waters across the United States. We have achieved that partially through federal regulations and permits, but also through state programs and partnerships with industries and private land owners. We've made a lot of progress, but that doesn't mean that we can't do more, particularly in the area of nonpoint source pollution. I believe, however, that we achieve better results if we work with the States and landowners, instead of against them, as EPA has done.

There are three main concerns that I have with this proposal.

First, we have seen great success with state and voluntary programs. We need to make sure that this proposal will in no way impede on their progress or create any unnecessary duplication.

Second, we must make sure that any TMDL program is based on sound science. The GAO recently released a summary of a report that demonstrates that states don't have the data they need to implement TMDLs. In fact, only 6 of 50 states said they have a majority of the data needed to fully assess their waters. Without quality data we cannot implement this program.

And finally, a procedural point. EPA received over 30,000 public comments on its proposed rule. In addition, several House and Senate committees are holding hearings on this issue to better understand the proposal. It is my hope that EPA will consider seriously the written comments of all stakeholders and the concerns of the various individuals who are testifying at these hearings before it finalizes any rule. This is too important a issue to rush to finalize a rule for no reason.

I look forward to hearing from all the witnesses and hopefully we can shed some light on what many feel to be a very confusing and troublesome proposed rule