Numerous federal and state laws contain provisions affecting agricultural land use and land use patterns. Many of these laws were originally passed over 20 years ago. An increased ability to monitor and measure environmental problems and new information on the environmental impacts of agricultural practices have prompted amendments to and changes in the laws. In addition, as environmental awareness and concern has grown, new environmental laws have been passed.

The purpose of this fact sheet is to describe briefly some of the important provisions of environmental legislation and the ways in which the regulations may affect land use decisions. Land owners and managers are responsible for compliance with federal and state statutes; failure to comply could be costly in some cases.

Federal Legislation
Water Quality Act Of 1987
The Clean Water Act was reauthorized and extensively amended by the Water Quality Art of 1987.¹ The goal of the Water Quality Act is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the surface waters of the United States. The act addresses pollution from municipal and industrial sources, nonpoint sources, and dredge and fill activities. Section 319 of the Water Quality Act addresses nonpoint sources of water pollution.

Section 319 requires all states to assess current water quality and identify those areas where water quality is threatened by nonpoint sources of contamination. In addition, all states are to develop and implement management plans for controlling nonpoint sources of pollution. In general, the nonpoint source pollution control program is designed to encourage agricultural land owners and operators to implement best management practices to prevent the loss of agricultural contaminants into surface waters.

Section 404 of the Water Quality Act regulates the discharge of dredged and fill material into waters of the United States, including marshes and wetlands, and established a permit program to ensure that such discharges comply with environmental requirements. The permit program is administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; enforcement authority is shared between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Corps. Discharges of dredged and fill material are commonly associated with activities, such as port development; channel construction and maintenance; fills to create development sites; transportation improvements; and water resource projects, such as dams, jetties, and levies. Other kinds of activities, such as land-clearing, are regulated if soil is deposited in wet areas to change the hydrology of the area.

Some activities are exempt from the dredge and fill permitting requirements. These include: 1) normal farming, silviculture, and ranching practices; 2) construction or maintenance of farm or stock ponds or irrigation ditches or the maintenance (but not construction) of drainage ditches; and 3) construction or maintenance of farm or forest roads or temporary roads for moving mining equipment if best management practices are followed. These exemptions are applied narrowly and are not intended to exempt activities with more than minor impacts on aquatic resources. The exemptions do not apply to an activity intended to convert an area of the waters of the United States into a use to which it was not previously subject, where the flow or circulation of waters may be impaired, or the reach of such waters reduced. This limitation on exemptions would, for example, require that a farmer obtain a permit to fill a wetland area and make production of an upland crop possible.

Food, Agriculture, Conservation, And Trade Act Of 1990
The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (FACTA90) is the most recent farm legislation.² FACTA90 contains a conservation or environmental title which is intended to protect soil and water resources. The Conservation Compliance provision, originally introduced in the 1985 Food Security Act and continued under FACTA90, requires all persons with highly erodible land to develop and begin implementing a conservation plan for that land by 1990 to retain eligibility for commodity program benefits.³ Implementation of the plan must be completed by 1995 or within three years of the date the land was classified as highly erodible. A wetlands conservation subtitle (Swampbuster) was also introduced in the 1985 legislation. Under the FACTA90 Swampbuster provision, any person who converts (drains or fills) a wetland loses eligibility for commodity program benefits.

FACTA90 also includes provisions which authorize several voluntary programs. Although they are not regulatory, they may serve as incentives to change land use and management. The Agricultural Conservation Program authorized by FACTA90 includes the Conservation Reserve Program (originally authorized by the 1985 legislation), the Wetlands Reserve Program, and the Environmental Easement Program. Each of these programs is intended to remove from agricultural production environmentally sensitive areas, including highly erodible cropland, wetlands, and areas which threaten surface and groundwater quality. In addition, the Agricultural Water Quality Protection Program was introduced to provide incentives for producers to adopt management practices designed specifically to reduce the threat of water quality problems.

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, And Rodenticide Act As Amended (FIFRA) Of 1988
FIFRA provides regulatory authority for registration and use of pesticides and similar products intended to kill or control insects, rodents, weeds, and other living organisms.⁴ Under the act, a pesticide cannot be legally shipped or sold in the United States unless it is registered by EPA. Pesticide labels approved by EPA delineate the legal uses of the pesticide. Selling a pesticide with a label that does not meet EPA standards or using a pesticide in any way other than provided for on its label is a violation of FIFRA. Thus, EPA can make it illegal to use a particular pesticide in specific locations or for particular pests by requiring the manufacturer to include those restrictions on the product's label. In addition, if a site or pest is not specifically included on a pesticide's label, then that pesticide is not legal for that site or pest.

Nearly all states have assumed primary enforcement authority for FIFRA regulations. States assume enforcement authority if EPA approves their regulations and management strategies. The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries has the enforcement authority for FIFRA in Alabama. In general, EPA allows states to assume responsibility for: 1) pesticide applicator certification programs; 2) experimental-use permits; 3) registration of pesticides to meet special local needs; 4) enforcement of federal pesticide laws and regulations; 5) emergency use of a pesticide; and 6) any additional regulation of pesticides not specifically prohibited by the act.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, And Liability Act (CERCLA) Of 1980
This act, commonly called the Superfund Law, requires cleanup of releases of hazardous materials in air, surface and groundwater, and on land.⁵ Both new spills and leaking or abandoned dumpsites are covered. The legislation established a trust fund to pay for cleaning up hazardous substances in the environment. EPA is authorized to collect the cost of cleanup from the parties responsible for the contamination. Liability for cleanup costs falls to the individual responsible for the spill or contamination.

However, CERCLA has been interpreted so that cleanup costs can also be recovered from site owners who neither owned the site when hazardous wastes were placed there nor caused the presence or release of the wastes. For example, a bank in Maryland made a mortgage loan on a piece of land. The borrower defaulted, and the bank foreclosed on the property. After the bank took title to the property, state and federal authorities determined that it was a contaminated waste site requiring cleanup under CERCLA. The bank was held liable for cleanup costs, and those costs exceeded the value of the initial loan.

The perceived unfairness of such occurrences resulted in an amendment to CERCLA which introduced the concept of an "innocent landowner⁶." The general liability standard for owners and operators was maintained, but the amendment stated that "innocent landowners" who acquire property without knowledge of hazardous substances on the property are not liable as owners or operators. However, to satisfy the exemption, landowners must have, at the time of purchasing the property, undertaken "all appropriate inquiry into the previous ownership and uses of the property consistent with good commercial or customary practice in an effort to minimize liability." Appropriate inquiry is being interpreted as an environmental audit. Environmental auditors investigate current and former uses of the land, search for existing environmental hazards, and evaluate the potential for future problems. Individuals considering the purchase of additional property may want to obtain an environmental audit of the property they intend to purchase. In fact, many lenders are requiring that such an audit be done before they loan money for real estate purchases.

Resource Conservation And Recovery Act As Amended (RCRA) Of 1976
This law was passed to regulate the disposal of all types of solid wastes.⁷ However, its major emphasis is the control of hazardous waste disposal. Under the law, EPA lists substances that are considered hazardous when disposed of on land. Anyone who generates more than 220 pounds per month of hazardous waste must register with EPA and comply with requirements for the treatment, storage, and disposal of the waste. However, the law provides that states may assume responsibility for controlling hazardous wastes. Several pesticides are listed as hazardous waste materials; large agricultural producers and commercial pesticide applicators may be subject to RCRA or state hazardous waste regulations.

The regulation of underground storage tanks also falls under RCRA. The law requires EPA to develop rules for detection and correction of leaks and establish performance standards for new tanks. States are required to make inventories of all underground storage tanks containing petroleum or other regulated substances. Farm or residential motor fuel tanks up to 1100 gallons and heating oil tanks for onsite consumption are exempt from RCRA requirements. However, owners of these smaller tanks would still be responsible for contamination caused by a leaking tank.

State Legislation
Alabama Water Pollution Control Act
The Alabama Water Pollution Control Act⁸ is designed and was enacted to maintain and improve the quality of public water supplies and provide for the prevention, abatement, and control of new or existing water pollution.

This law, as it affects agricultural production, refers specifically to chemical and agricultural waste discharged into water. Water refers to "any river, stream, watercourse, pond, lake, coastal ground or surface water, wholly or partially within the state, natural or artificial."

Alabama Air Pollution Control Act
The Alabama Air Pollution Control Act⁸ prohibits the discharge into the outdoor atmosphere any solid, liquid, or gaseous matter in such quantities and duration as are injurious to human health or welfare, animal or plant life or property, or would interfere with the enjoyment of life or property throughout the state.

This law may affect agricultural production by prohibiting the burning of wastes and off-target pesticide applications that result in human, plant, or animal injury.

Solid Wastes Disposal Act
The Solid Wastes Disposal Act⁸ provides for proper and lawful disposal of solid wastes, including putrescible and non-putrescible discarded materials, except household sewage and livestock and poultry wastes. These putrescible and non-putrescible materials include, but are not limited to, garbage, rubbish, ashes, street and highway cleanings, dead animals (including offal), abandoned automobiles, and industrial wastes not controlled by other agencies. There are special considerations provided for hazardous wastes as defined in the Hazardous Waste Management Act of 1978, subsequently amended.

This law affects agricultural production in the disposal of wastes, such as pesticide containers, discarded pesticides under the Hazardous Waste Management Act, and disposal of animal wastes. Pesticide containers must be triple-rinsed or properly pressure washed before disposal in a landfill. The pesticide toxicity and quantity of unwanted pesticides must be communicated to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) - Solid Waste Division. Permission must be granted from ADEM before disposing of such wastes in a landfill or sanitary landfill. Solid wastes may be disposed of on the producer's property if producer is granted a certificate of exception. In order to obtain a certificate of exception, an application, application fee, and plan must be filed with the county health officer or with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. The plan must include the proposed method of storing, hauling, and disposing of the solid waste so as to comply with state rules and regulations to prevent the creation of a public nuisance or hazard to the public health. All certificates of exception are good for one year. On-farm disposal of agricultural waste must also comply with The Alabama Water Pollution Control Act.

Alabama Pesticide Act Of 1971
The Alabama Pesticide Act of 1971⁹ is designed to regulate the registration, sale, and use of pesticides intended for use on farm, garden, lawn, golf course, or in the home and other uses for which pesticides are ordinarily and customarily used. All pesticides designated as restricted-use pesticides because of increased hazards to humans, wildlife, or the environment require a license to sell as well as a license to purchase and use such designated pesticides. Licensing involves a fee and demonstration of competency.

The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries is currently providing leadership in establishing a program for proper pesticide container disposal according to new federal laws scheduled to go into effect in December of 1993. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System is providing education for pesticide applicators, and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management is providing assistance in recycling empty containers. In 1994, all pesticide containers must be triple-rinsed or pressure washed prior to disposal, with all rinsates being added right into the sprayer tank and applied to the target crop or site. This law will eliminate the need for disposal of rinsates and will require that all containers be rinsed at the time of pesticide use. In addition to elimination of rinsate disposal, a program for recycling properly rinsed plastic pesticide containers will be enacted; whereby, pesticide users can bring properly rinsed plastic containers to designated solid waste facilities for storage prior to recycling.

Conclusions
The environmental laws and regulations discussed above may significantly impact land use and management decisions. Agricultural incomes may be affected by changes in tillage practices, pesticide and fertilizer use, livestock production and livestock waste management practices, and on-farm solid waste disposal practices, all of which could be required to comply with the laws. However, it is important to insure that land is managed in recognition of these environmental considerations. Landowners and managers may be liable for environmental damages caused by their management decisions. Similarly, if environmental problems are associated with a particular piece of land, owners may find it difficult to sell the property or to use it as collateral for borrowing money.

References
Patricia E. Norris and Lisa 0. Anderson, Environmental Regulations Affecting Agricultural Land Use, Cooperative Extension Service, Division of Agriculture, Oklahoma State University

Footnotes
¹33 USC 1251 et seq. Regulations at 40 CFR 100-140,40 CFR 400-470.
²Public Law 101-624. ³USDA program benefits affected include price support payments, farm storage facility loans, federally subsidized crop insurance, disaster payments, FmHA Loans, payments for CCC storage, cost share payments for soil conservation practices, payments for Conservation Reserve Program participation, and other programs under which USDA makes commodity-related payments.
⁴7 USC 136 et seq. Regulations at 40 CFR 162-180
⁵42 USC 9601 et seq. Regulations at 40 CFR 300.
⁶Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA).
⁷42 USC 6901 et seq. Regulations at 40 CFR 240-271.
⁸Code of Alabama 1975 22-22-1.
⁹Department of Agriculture and Industries, Agricultural Chemistry, Chapter 80-1-13.

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work in agriculture and home economics, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, and other related acts, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University) offers educational programs, materials, and equal opportunity employment to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability.

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