Groundwater Protection: Measurement of Relative Vulnerability to Pesticide Contamination
PEMD-92-8
Published: Oct 31, 1991. Publicly Released: Oct 31, 1991.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the feasibility of differentially protecting groundwater from pesticide contamination based on the relative vulnerability of different geographic areas, focusing on the degree to which: (1) states and counties are uniform in their susceptibility to groundwater contamination; and (2) two common measures of relative vulnerability diverge in identifying areas that are susceptible to contamination.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Protection Agency | EPA should provide explicit guidance on how the states should determine the geographic scale at which vulnerability assessments must be conducted to achieve an adequate level of protection. |
Closed – Implemented
EPA has provided states with technical guidance documents which will, among other things, address the issue of the geographic scale for vulnerability assessments.
|
| Environmental Protection Agency | EPA should incorporate a measure of population use as a risk factor in determining which sources require special protection, thus removing the ambiguity on this point which currently exists in the proposed Pesticides and Ground Water Strategy. |
Closed – Implemented
EPA has incorporated into its guidance documents that population factors are important to consider in targeting geographic areas for protective measures.
|
| Environmental Protection Agency | EPA should reevaluate its differential management strategy in light of effectiveness considerations raised by these findings. |
Closed – Implemented
EPA will still proceed with its differential management strategy.
|
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Topics
Environmental policiesEvaluation methodsHealth hazardsPesticide regulationPesticidesGroundwater contaminationPollution monitoringRegulatory agenciesSafety standardsWater pollution controlWater quality