A diverse coalition of organizations and businesses, joined by a bipartisan group of state legislators, is urging the state to restrict development in a 100-foot-wide buffer along streams and rivers to reduce pollution.

The Pennsylvania Campaign for Clean Water launched its "Buffers 100" initiative in Harrisburg yesterday, hoping to influence the state Department of Environmental Protection's ongoing regulatory review of water quality regulations, which include no general stream buffer requirements.

"About 12,500 miles of streams in Pennsylvania are already degraded by pollution. Buffers can help restore many of these streams to health and protect the rest from harmful pollution," said Myron Arnowitt, state director for Clean Water Action, a national environmental group.

The proposal, which would not affect existing developments or agricultural uses, was endorsed by 110 environmental groups, municipal organizations and businesses, and 25 state senators and representatives.

The major impact of stream buffer restrictions would be felt by sprawling new residential and commercial developments, Mr. Arnowitt said. The proposal would require developers to preserve a strip of land at least 100 feet wide, keeping the land in its natural state with native vegetation and trees.

Neil Weaver, a DEP spokesman, said department officials have met with the coalition about the proposal and it is under consideration and review. Revised water regulations should be completed and proposed for public review within six months, he said.

Other states have enacted stream bank buffers. New Jersey requires a 300-foot buffer around its higher-quality streams.

"We have only recently become aware of how our use of nearby land affects the quality and quantity of water and aquatic life in our rivers and streams," said state Rep. Kate Harper, R-Montgomery.

"With that knowledge comes a responsibility to define for the entire commonwealth a safe buffer area for Pennsylvania waterways so that we can continue to enjoy the benefits of clean water for generations to come."

Stream buffers provide many ecological benefits, including flood and stream temperature control; sediment, nutrient and pollution filtering; bank stabilization; and wildlife habitat.

"Mother Nature needs a buffer zone. We need a buffer zone," said state Rep. Camille George, D-Clearfield, chairman of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. "There is nothing extreme about this except extreme common sense."

Pennsylvania has 83,261 miles of flowing water -- second only to Alaska -- but as many as one-third of those rivers, creeks and streams have been polluted by acid mine drainage, sewage, agricultural runoff or urban storm water runoff.