In September 2003, Mr. Jimmy Palmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Region 4 Administrator, initiated an unprecedented effort to bring stakeholders (representatives from the agricultural, industrial, state and local governmental, and tribal sectors) from across the southeastern United States together to begin discussions regarding the development of a regional water resources planning strategy. States in the southeastern United States, which also comprise USEPA Region 4, include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. To explore the development of a regional water resources planning strategy, the USEPA Region 4 staff organized a water resources track at the 2003 Southern States Environmental Conference and Exhibition. During that conference, executive leadership of major stakeholder organizations and key decision-makers from federal, tribal, state and local governments identified 12 goals and nine next steps toward a regional planning strategy.