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NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION ing laws provide protection against pollution sources, Park Service efforts to invoke protections or remedies have often gone unanswered. Finally, while damage to park water-related resources from nonpoint sources of pollution and sediment can be severe, it often results from the con- tinuing accumulation of small increments of pollu- tion or sediments over time. Monitoring of park water quality, and of streambed and wetland condi- tions, is essential to determine the extent and nature of the problem and to develop solutions. Current funding for park wetland and water quality pro- grams, however, is insufficient to adequately support these vital efforts. At St. Croix and Lower St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, for example, the Park Service has lacked funds to monitor and assess, much less address, the extent and effects of agricultural pesti- cide runoff into the riverway. Similarly, despite expanding development and construction activities upstream of Colonial National Historic Park's wet- lands, the Park Service has lacked funds to assess whether, and to what extent, the accumulation of sediments is harming the park's historic wetlands. NPCA RECOMMENDATIONS: Strict new mandatory programs should be established to prevent, as well as control, nonpoint sources of pollution and sediment. Congress Should: 1. Strengthen the Clean Water Act fo prevent, and more effectively-control, pollution and sediment runoff from nonpoint sources: Required strategies should include: mandatory adoption of integrated pest management. practices to reduce or eliminate pesticide use; incentives or requirements for the use of organic rather than chemical fertilizers; restrictions on excessive use of chemical fertilizers and on exces- sine irrigation; comprehensive and mandatory erosion controls, surface water diversion and buffer strips to protect water bodies from nearby surface-disiurbing activities; improved grazing practices, including limited use ©f riparian-areas; ,itrtproved timbering practices, particularly restrictions on clearcutting and use of surface disturbing_equiprrient on steep slopes; use of retention basins to treat urban runoff. 2, Provide adequate funding for Park Service efforts to identify nonpoint source pollution and sediment ~_ ,threats,-to pack waters;~and to develop and implement the protective and remedial actions needed. 3. Wherd federal or state agencies have failed to_ exercise their legal authority to initiate compliance inves- tigations or=enforcement proceedings against nonpoint sources of unlawful pollution or sediment that could threaten park water resources; authorize the Park Service to require initiation of appropriate pro- ceedings: 36