Agriculture Compliance Assistance Center
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Kansas City, Kansas 66101
                              Telephone: 913-551-7864
                                 EPA 305-F-95-001A
                                    September, 1995

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        The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
        with  the  support  of  the Department of
        Agriculture  (USDA),   has  developed  a
 national Agriculture Compliance Assistance Center
 to provide a base for "one-stop shopping" for the
 agricultural   community  ~  one place  for  the
 development of comprehensive, easy-to-understand
 information about approaches to compliance that are
 both environmentally protective and agriculturally
 sound.  The Center, a program offered by EPA's
 Office of Compliance, seeks to increase compliance
 by  helping the  agricultural community identify
 flexible,  commonsense  ways to  comply with  the
 many environmental requirements that affect their
 business.

 INFORMATION ACCESSIBILITY

     The  Ag Center will  rely heavily on existing
 sources of agricultural information and established
 distribution mechanisms.  The Center is designed so
 growers, livestock producers,  other  agribusinesses
 and agricultural information/education providers can
 access its resources easily ~ through telephone, fax,
 mail, and  EPA's Enviro$ense computer bulletin
 board.

     The Ag Center will be coordinated from EPA's
 Kansas City regional office. This will  give it direct
 access to  a  large  segment  of  the  agricultural
 community and first-hand information
on factors that affect the compliance of producers
and agribusinesses.

HOW THE  CENTER  WILL  WORK  WITH  OTHER
AGRICULTURAL AGENCIES

    Although USDA and other agricultural agencies
provide  educational  and  technical  information,
assistance   in   complying   with   environmental
requirements has not been as readily accessible.  The
new Center will work with USDA and other federal
and  state  agencies  to  provide  the  agricultural
community  with    a   definitive   source   for
environmental compliance information.  The Center
plans to provide information on a variety of topics,
including:
    #
    #
    #
        pesticides,
        animal waste management
        non-point-source pollution,
    #   agricultural worker protection,
    #   groundwater, surface water, and drinking
        water protection, and
    #   wetlands protection.

In addition, the Center will support regional and state
regulatory  agencies  in  their  effort  to provide
compliance   assistance   to   local   agricultural
communities.

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    The Ag Center plans to develop the following
types of information:
 <:Plain-T^ngnagft friiiftes - User-friendly materials
that consolidate  information  about  compliance
requirements,  pollution prevention,  and technical
assistance resources for use by  regional and state
assistance   and  educational   programs,   trade
associations, individual businesses,  citizens,  and
local governments.

 
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