Best Management Practices

Best Management Practices (BMPs) comprise a range of different concepts and definitions, with varying emphases depending on the primary interests or perspectives of the definers. Environmental BMPs, however, share in common that they are geared toward real (or apparent) reduction or elimination of detrimental impact on the natural environment (such as pollution or habitat destruction). Though references to the general idea of BMPs can be found as far back as the late 19th century, the concept did not gain serious traction until it appeared in the revised 1977 Clean Water Act (though it lacked clear definition), and was originally concerned only with water quality. Since then, BMPs have found a variety of uses in agriculture, manufacturing, land maintenance, and animal care, covering the use and protection of everything from water to air, soil, and natural resources.

Common to BMP regulations is that they are primarily concerned with so-called non-point source pollution, that is, pollution that is an indirect result of production or consumption, and that does not have a clearly defined or definable source of origin. But BMPs have by now also found a much more common usage, as in “best practices” to minimize detrimental environmental impact of one's actions, whether they are personal or communal, in production or consumption. Typical for the kinds of rationales given for the creation and implementation of BMPs, the U.S. Department of the Interior states that BMPs are significant in the pursuit of “enhancing quality of life for all citizens through balanced stewardship of America's public lands and resources.” In short, the most fundamental goal of all BMPs is what can best be summarized as pollution prevention, resource conservation, and environmental stewardship.