management are confounded by administrative, historical, environmental, and other factors.

Water quality programs for the Mississippi River are administered in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). At the federal level, Clean Water Act implementation is the responsibility of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). States that border the river also have significant CWA-related management responsibilities, for many of which they have been delegated authority by the EPA. The fact that the Mississippi River flows through or borders on 10 different states (Figure 1-1) is

FIGURE 1-1 Mainstem Mississippi River. © International Mapping Associates.