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14 Chapter One

monitoring data with quality standards existing in EU government’s role in groundwater management
legislation on nitrates and plant protection and bio- has increased. The introduction of the Resource
cidal products which set threshold values (maximum Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 1976 and
permissible concentrations) in groundwater for a the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com-
number of pollutants. With regard to pollutants that pensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) 1980, estab-
are not covered by EU legislation, the proposed Dir- lished the federal government’s current focus on
ective requires Member States to establish threshold groundwater remediation. With these acts, the
values defined at the national, river basin or ground- federal government has directed billions of dollars
water body levels, thus taking into account the great in public and private resources towards cleaning
diversity of groundwater characteristics across the EU. up contaminated groundwater at ‘Superfund’ sites,
The proposed Groundwater Daughter Directive RCRA corrective action facilities and leaking under-
sets out specific criteria for the identification of ground storage tanks. In 1994, the National Academy
significant and sustained upward trends in pollutant of Sciences estimated that over a trillion dollars,
concentrations, and for the definition of starting or approximately $4000 per person in the United
points for when action must be taken to reverse these States, will be spent in the next 30 years on remediat-
trends. In this respect, significance is defined both on ing contaminated soil and groundwater.
the basis of time series and environmental signific- The approach to groundwater protection at the
ance. Time series are periods of time during which federal level has left the management of many con-
a trend is detected through regular monitoring. taminant threats, for example hazardous materials
Environmental significance describes the point at used by light industries (such as dry cleaners, printers
which the concentration of a pollutant starts to or car maintenance workshops), to state and local
threaten to worsen the quality of groundwater. This government authorities. Other groundwater threats,
point is set at 75% of the quality standard or the such as over-abstraction, are not generally addressed
threshold value defined by Member States. In 2012, a under federal law, but left to states and local govern-
comprehensive programme of measures to prevent ments to manage.
or limit pollution of water, including groundwater, In 1984, the US Environmental Protection
will become operational under the WFD. Monitor- Agency (USEPA) created the Office of Ground Water
ing results obtained through the application of the Protection to initiate a more comprehensive ground-
Groundwater Daughter Directive will be used to water resource protection approach and to lead
design the measures to prevent or limit pollution of programmes aimed at resource protection. Such pro-
groundwater. grammes include the Wellhead Protection and Sole
Source Aquifer Programs, which were established by
Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act 1986.
1.9 Management and protection of groundwater The Wellhead Protection Program (WHPP) encour-
resources in the United States ages communities to protect their groundwater
resources used for drinking water. The Sole Source
Groundwater management in the United States Aquifer Program limits federal activities that could
is highly fragmented, with responsibilities shared contaminate important sources of groundwater.
among a large number of federal, state and local State groundwater management programmes are
programmes. At each level of government, unique seen as critical to the future achievement of effective
legal authorities allow for the control of one or more and sustainable protection of groundwater resources.
threats to groundwater, such as groundwater con- In 1991, the USEPA established a Ground Water
tamination arising from municipal, industrial, mining Strategy to place greater emphasis on comprehensive
and agricultural activities. state management of groundwater as a resource
Beginning with the 1972 amendments to the fed- through the promotion of Comprehensive State
eral Water Pollution Control Act, and followed Ground Water Protection Programs (CSGWPPs)
by the Safe Drinking Water Act 1974, the federal together with better alignment of federal programmes