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LOCAL, STATE, FEDERAL AGENCIES FORM WATER QUALITY PARTNERSHIP

Release Date: 5/9/1996
Contact Information:

Jointly released by the Arizona Association of Conservation Districts, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 9, 1996

Contact: Mary Ann McQuinn, U.S. NRCS Wayne Kessler, AACD
(602) 280-8778 (602) 280-8778

Jim Mathews, ADEQ Dave Schmidt, U.S. EPA
(602) 207-2215 (415) 744-1578



LOCAL, STATE, FEDERAL AGENCIES FORM WATER QUALITY PARTNERSHIP

(Clarkdale, Arizona)-- The Arizona Association of Conservation Districts (AACD), the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), and the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) today announced they are joining forces to protect and improve water quality in Arizona.

In a signing ceremony in Clarkdale, officials signed a partnership agreement committing these four agencies to work cooperatively toward solutions to Arizona's water pollution problems. The agreement's goals are cleaner water, more efficient use of funding, and promotion of voluntary watershed management efforts with local leadership.

"Partnerships in the Verde Watershed have worked well in the past and hold promise for the future," said Ed McGavock, Chairman of the Verde Watershed Association. "The real objective is getting local groups involved in addressing interests."

"We are pleased to join these agencies in promoting a more effective approach to solving environmental problems," said Karen Schwinn, deputy director of U.S. EPA's western regional water management division. "I hope we can make measureable gains in protecting and restoring Arizona's riparian zones, and in improving water quality."

"This partnership agreement is a way of making federal programs more effective and responsive to the natural resource needs of Arizona's local communities," said Michael Somerville, state conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service.

"This agreement demonstrates the effectiveness of local grass roots leadership in establishing local conservation priorities and implementing locally-based resource planning to address those priorities," said Wayne Kessler, President of the Arizona Associatin of Conservation Districts.

Arizona's 38 local Conservation Districts are key participants in the effort. The Districts set priorities for watershed management. They also marshal state and federal funding and expertise to provide direct technical and financial assistance to landowners and water users, including Indian communities.

The participating agencies have already been working together on efforts to protect the Verde River, a riparian oasis that runs 134 miles from its source near the Chino Valley to its confluence with the Salt River near Granite Reef Dam. The Verde River initiative will be the model for similar efforts on other watersheds throughout the state of Arizona.

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