ate and extent of impacts on those resources. Research conducted under the auspices of the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP) concluded that regions in the United States most at risk from continued acidic deposition are located along the Appalachian Mountain chain stretching from the Adirondacks to the Southern Blue Ridge. Although many surface waters in western North America are as sensitive as, or more sensitive than, aquatic systems in the East, deposition levels in the West are sufficiently low that the risk of chronic (longterm) acidification to resources in most of the West is low at present and is expected to remain low in the foreseeable future. Episodic acidification (from spring snowmelts) adversely affects some eastern surface waters. It may be affecting high-elevation western surface waters, as well.
             An acid deposition standard or standards could be designed to achieve a variety of environmental protection goals. For example, the goal of a standard may be to (a) maintain specific conditions as ob
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