Nonpoint source pollution (NPS) is the major cause of impairment of U.S. surface waters. Erosion from croplands has been declining but is not yet reflected in decreased sediment yield or phosphorus concentrations in the nation's rivers. Nitrogen pollution is of particular concern in eutophication of estuaries as a contaminant of groundwater, and as an acidifying agent in atmospheric deposition. Nitrogen fertilizer and emissions of nitrous oxides are major contributors to the problem. The outlook on pesticides is mixed: bans on organochlorine pesticides in the 1970s have resulted in decreasing concentrations in fish tissue; however, herbicides are now a problem for some surface and groundwater sources of drinking water, especially in the Upper Midwest.