ABSTRACTThe Nation's ground‐water resources constitute a vast and often unprotected resource. The Environmental Protection Agency is about to launch a number of programs designed to protect what is, in many cases, a virtually non‐renewable resource. Separate regulatory activities mandated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Clean Water Act must be carefully coordinated if they are to be effective.The current implementation efforts within the agency are being framed in view of our major principles which will be the focus of public comment in the months ahead. These principles are:First, the administration of the related programs will be a cooperative effort involving Federal, State and local governments, all of which must participate in formulating the program if it is to be effective.Second, the focus of the programs will be on the prevention of contamination rather than on its treatment at the point of withdrawal.Third, the applicable standards will be based primarily on technology rather than ambient ground‐water quality considerations since the effects of discharges upon ambient quality are complex, difficult to predict, and of long duration.Fourth, there is a need to balance environmental protection, energy development and continued economic prosperity objectives so that the resulting programs fully protect public health while being realistically implementable.All of us—government, industry and citizens, through acts of commission or omission—have contributed to the potential problem. We must work together if we are to get on with the important task of protecting the quality of the Nation's ground‐wate
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