WATERSHED PROTECTION APPROACH (WPA)

A type of pollution management program supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as being the most effective mechanism for achieving clean water and healthy, sustainable ecosystems throughout the United States. The WPA is a "placed-based" strategy that integrates water quality management activities within hydrologically defined drainage basins or watersheds as opposed to using conventional, politically-defined boundaries. The WPA allows stakeholders to tailor corrective actions to local concerns within the coordinated framework of a state, Tribal, and national water program. In addition, an emphasis on public participation provides the opportunity to incorporate environmental justice issues into watershed management.