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NR 151 | Cost Considerations | Recommendations
Across
Wisconsin, not only do impervious surfaces contribute to questions of
water quality but pervious surfaces do as well. For example, land used
for agricultural purposes contributes greatly to the level of water
quality. Land use plays a very important and influential role in the
type and level of pollutants that appear in Wisconsin’s waterways.
Agriculture is a factor in the nonpoint source pollution discussion
and should not be overlooked or underestimated.
Nonpoint source pollution (taken
from EPA’s Polluted brochure EPA-841-F-94-005, 1994), “comes
from many diffuse sources. 
NPS
pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through
the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural
and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers,
wetlands, coastal waters, and even our underground sources of drinking
water.
These pollutants include:
- Excess fertilizers, herbicides,
and insecticides from agricultural lands and residential areas;
- Oil, grease, and toxic chemicals from urban runoff and energy production;
- Sediment from improperly managed construction sites, crop and forestlands,
and eroding streambanks;
- Salt from irrigation practices and acid drainage from abandoned mines;
- Bacteria and nutrients from livestock, pet wastes, and faulty septic
systems”.
NR
151 - Back to Top
Nonpoint source pollution has become an increasingly visible topic at
the local, state and national level. The Environmental Protection Agency
has directed States to implement non-point pollution regulations to
minimize impacts to waterbodies. Over the course of a few years, the
Department of Natural Resources has created NR 151 to comply with the
EPA directive. Essentially, NR 151 addresses agricultural, non-agricultural,
and transportation performance standards as they relate to non-point
source pollution. These rules work to minimize the amount of non-point
source pollutants that enter waterways in an efficient, effective and
reasonable manner. NR 151 should be referred to as a resource when issues
arise at the local level.
Cost
Considerations - Back to Top
Locally and nationally farmers are challenged everyday with living off
the land while at the same time managing and maintaining an operation
that protects Wisconsin’s precious natural resources. Tighter
environmental regulations in conjunction with decreasing product costs
and increasing equipment costs can hurt the agricultural community.
It is very important to consider how regulations will affect those implementing
the regulation. (Source: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources)
Recommendations
- Back to Top
There are a number of voluntary things farmers could do to help address
the impact of non-point source pollution.
At the local level farmers could look to implement a few of the following voluntary practices:
-Buffer strips
-Terracing
-Grass Waterways in Areas Where Water Collects
-Low-Till or No-Till Practices
-Nutrient Management for Manure and Commercial Fertlizer Application
-Proper Pesticide Application Practices
Nonpoint source pollution rules, specifically agricultural nonpoint pollution, should be addressed at the state level and implemented at a local level. Management of such rules is not an easy task requiring a great deal of background information and resources. For detailed information, statistics and questions contact your County Land Conservation Department, the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), or the Wisconsin DNR and Department Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection.
Source for text in oval:
DNR, Milwaukee River Priority Watershed Program Records.