Discusses the barriers hindering the development & implementation of states' Wellhead Protection (WHP) programs, & the options available to deal with these barriers.

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) and state efforts to implement the wellhead protection (WHP) program, focusing on the: (1) barriers to states' WHP program development and implementation; and (2) options available to overcome implementation barriers. GAO found that: (1) only 26 states and 1 territory have complied with the 1989 legislative requirement that states develop and implement EPA-approved WHP programs; (2) no state has completed the key WHP program elements in accordance with the legislation or defined all of its WHP areas; (3) 21 states are developing WHP programs and 3 states have no plans to develop WHP programs; (4) barriers that hinder states' efforts to develop and implement WHP programs have included a lack of WHP funding, the low priority of WHP programs, states' reluctance to enact local land-use controls, a lack of public awareness regarding the need to protect wellhead areas, and a shortage of technical data and expertise to properly delineate WHP areas and identify sources of contamination; and (5) options to resolve WHP program funding problems include greater program integration between federal WHP programs and comprehensive state groundwater protection programs and assigning a higher funding priority to all WHP programs.