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M OAs can be a significant instrument of cooperation between agencies whose effective interaction is of growing importance. Congress still seems leery of addressing the awesome issue of water allocation on a national scale. In the meantime, the nation's water management problems continue to multiply. "The days ofletting the federal government sit here in Washington and dictate what ought to be good for South Dakota or wherever are over," stated Gianelli. 'You have to bring everyone into the process and make them partners. The federal government is just not going to provide it all anymore." But Interior Secretary Watt disagreed and prevailed over Gianelli to win endorsement for a cost-sharing policy of "flexibility," which called for a "case-by- case" approach to project financing, so that the beneficiaries' "ability to pay" could be considered, Environmental critics called this approach counterproductive and no policy at all. "By failing to ensure that all parties will be treated equally," the National Wildlife Federation'sJay D. Hair wrote President Reagan, "your policy is unlikely to achieve its stated purpose - increasing the non-federal share of water project costs." Sen. Pete V Domenici, Republican budget committee chairman from New Mexico, summarized the concern of many: "I look around and I see that no one wants to pay for inland waterways; they want them free, They do not want to pay for ports; they want them free. They wonder why we are not spending new money on water projects, . . . We are not going to spend money on water projects because we do not have a water policy." Case Study: Developing a Groundwater Strategy One attempt begun during the Carter Administration to develop a federal interagency groundwater strategy at EPA was abandoned by then-EPA administrator Anne McGill Burford at the outset of the Reagan Administration, This policy was reversed when Burford and Watt were replaced by William D. Ruckelshaus and William P. Clark, respectively. Watt had opposed development of a groundwater strategy as chairman of the White House Cabinet Council on Natural Resources and Environment. Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt's response was critical: "Many of us governors were offended bywhatJim Watt did; it was a purely political decision. The EPA had obtained suggestions for a federal-state approach to this, andJim Watt simply said he was not interested, that the federal government has no role and would not be a player. "The governors basically said Watt was wrong. We're all in this together. We are one nation. We must sit down and carve out a regulatory scheme that is driven by a sense of restraint combined with some standards at the federal level." Last August, EPA did announce a revised groundwater strategy, which set protection policies for three classes of groundwater: 1) those that are "irreplaceable" drinking water sources; 2) those currently or potentially needed for drinking water; and 3) those too polluted to drink. Many water specialists, however, believe more federal leadership is needed. Early this year The Conservation Foundation and Gov. Babbitt announced the formation of a national groundwater policy forum to provide recommendations by early 1986. "The genie will be out of the bottle," Gov. Babbitt warned, "unless we deal with this on a national level." MOAs: Groundwork for Cooperation The EPAcooperates with many federal agencies, such as the Interior Department's U.S. Fish and Wildlifi~ Service and the U.S. Geologic Survey, the United State Coast Guard, the Department of Defense, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service. One important vehicle for encouraging communication and cooperation between such agencies is the memorandum of agreement (MOA), a written document spelling out the specifics of how the two agencies will cooperate in carrying out a mutual function, such as that of executing a particular statute. Such a formal agreement is sometimes mandated by a statute; other times it is initiated by the agencies themselves. 19