Social and Legal Issues
Spotlights
Implementing Agricultural Conservation Practices: Barriers and Incentives - A CEAP BibliographyUSDA. NAL. Water Quality Information Center.
A guide to recent literature examining agricultural producers' views of conservation programs and practices. Two dynamic searches of NAL catalog (AGRICOLA) article and book citations from 2000 to the present are also available.
Regulating Water Quality: Policy Standards and LawsUSDA. NAL. Water Quality Information Center.
Offers a dynamic search of NAL catalog (AGRICOLA) article citations on regulating water quality from 1997 to the present. Try a book citation search.
Attitudes Toward Water Resources
USDA. NAL. Water Quality Information Center.
Offers a dynamic search of NAL catalog (AGRICOLA) article citations on attitudes toward water resources from 1995 to the present. Try a book citation search.
The National Agricultural Law CenterUniversity of Arkansas. School of Law.
"The website is a clearinghouse for legal information that spans nearly four dozen agricultural and food law topics both in the United States and around the world." See especially the Water Law section. The center and the National Agricultural Library are cooperating organizations.
Soil and Water Conservation: Agriculture Tax TipsDepartment of the Treasury. Internal Revenue Service.
Explains how to "deduct expenses for soil or water conservation or for the prevention of erosion of land used in farming."
National Agriculture Compliance Assistance Center
Environmental Protection Agency.
Offers information about environmental requirements that affect the agricultural community. Key topics include water, sustainability, pesticides, and health and safety.
Community Culture and the Environment: A Guide to Understanding a Sense of Place (PDF | 10 MB)EPA. Office of Water.
"Addresses the social and cultural aspects of community-based environmental protection. Offers a process and set of tools for defining and understanding the human dimensions of environmental issues."
Community-Based Watershed Management: Lessons from the National Estuary ProgramEPA. Coastal Management Branch.
Presents examples of successful watershed management plans highlighting estuary protection and restoration, promotion of public involvement and establishing credibility.
EPA Laws and RegulationsEnvironmental Protection Agency.
Offers access to the daily table of contents for the Federal Register, selected Federal Register documents, the United States Code, the Code of Federal Regulations and proposed rules.
USGS Recreation - Federal Laws and RegulationsDOI. USGS.
Provides links to information on environmental laws and regulations.
Volunteer MonitoringEPA. Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds.
Contains information on volunteer water quality monitoring, including issues of the Volunteer Monitor, a newsletter which "facilitates the exchange of ideas, monitoring methods, and practical advice among volunteer environmental monitoring groups across the nation."
NACEC Summary of Environmental Law in North America
North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation.
Provides access to environmental law in North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries, Canada, Mexico and the United States. With the NACEC Transboundary Agreements Infobase find agreements and treaties covering transboundary environmental cooperation.
Environmental Law: An OverviewCornell University. Law School. Legal Information Institute.
Provides access to federal environmental statutes, the Code of Federal Regulations and links to state statutes and regulations.
Enforceable State Mechanisms for the Control of Nonpoint Source Water PollutionEnvironmental Law Institute; Environmental Protection Agency.
Examines "enforceable mechanisms the states have available to them, the scope of the existing mechanisms used by the states, and the general limitations and impediments that accompany some of these mechanisms, in order to inform the nation's policy decisions on the remaining nonpoint problem."
Who Will Pay for On-Farm Environmental Improvements in the 21st Century?
USDA. NAL. Water Quality Information Center.
Focuses on policies and programs related to agriculture and the environment.
Operations Manual for Hispanic Community-Based Organizations (PDF | 540 KB)Forum on Hispanic Health and Safety; Environmental Protection Agency; National Safety Council; Pan American Health
A manual to help "Hispanic CBOs grow, thrive, and find the financial and technical resources available to address pressing environmental health and safety issues."