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minations, delineating which areas are considered wetlands protected by the wetland conservation provisions of the 1985 Farm Bill.

Wetlands Reserve Program

The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), created by the 1990 Farm Bill, is similar to CRP in that it offers landowners financial incentives to restore and protect wetlands on their property. Landowners who grant longterm easements to restore and maintain wetlands receive easement payments, technical assistance, and up to 75 percent of costs for work approved to restore the wetlands. Landowners are then responsible for protecting and maintaining wetlands within the boundaries of the easement. WRP does not allow cropping or other alterations harmful to wetlands.

The Bush administration proposed full funding for the Wetlands Reserve Program at nearly $800 million through 1995 to restore and protect 1 million acres of wetlands. In fiscal 1992, with $46 million appropriated to enroll 50,000 acres, WRP began as a pilot program in nine states. During a sign-up held in July 1992, landowners offered 500,000 acres for enrollment in the pilot program.

Water Quality Incentives

The Agricultural Water Quality Incentives Program provides payments and technical assistance to landowners who reduce the movement of contaminants from cropland to surface and subsurface waters. As part of this pilot effort, USDA conducts research to improve conservation technology. The Department has selected 16 demonstration areas to show how economically sound agricultural practices can

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Fertilizer and pesticide use on major U.S. field crops.

Crop

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Note: Based on river miles monitored in 1990, which represent 9.5 percent of total U.S. river miles.

Source: See Part II, Table 31.

improve water quality. During fiscal 1991 a total of 1,679 producers used such practices on 163,000 acres of cropland. For example, better nutrient management reduced the application of nitrogen to cropland by 675,000 pounds and phosphorous by 216,000 pounds.

In addition, USDA has selected 74 areas for intensive action against specific nonpoint contamination problems. In these areas, farmers apply both existing and newly developed conservation practices to eliminate water quality problems, including those that involve

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Air Quality

Also see Energy, International Issues, Transportation, and related tables and figures in Part II.

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in lead levels in the air, resulting primarily from the removal of lead from most gasoline. In addition, the gradual phase-in of cleaner automobiles and powerplants caused atmospheric levels. of carbon monoxide to fall by 30 percent, nitrogen oxides by 6 percent, ozone by 8 percent, and sulfur dioxide. by 20 percent. Levels of fine particulate matter (PM-10, otherwise known as dust and soot) have dropped 10 percent since the PM-10 standard was set in 1987.

Despite this progress, 86 million people live in U.S. counties where pollution levels in 1991 exceeded at least one national air quality standard, based upon data for a single year. Urban smog continues to be the most prevalent problem; 70 million people live in U.S. counties where 1991 pollution levels exceeded the standard for ozone, the primary constituent of smog. Ozone pollution is formed from hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions, which come from motor vehicles and stationary sources such as factories, powerplants, and certain consumer products.

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