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WaterNews for May 6, 1999WaterNews is a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water. Inside this week's WaterNews:
1) EPA Administrator Testifies on EPA's FY2000 Budget 1) EPA Administrator Testifies on EPA's FY2000 BudgetOn April 29, EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner testified before the Senate Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies Committee on Appropriations. In her testimony, the Administrator discussed polluted runoff as one of the most serious problems facing our waters. She outlined the President's proposal to provide a flexible funding option to states to combat the problem of polluted runoff. The proposal would give states for the first time the option to set aside up to 20 percent (or as much as $160 million) of their FY 2000 Clean Water State Revolving Fund allotment for grants to implement nonpoint source pollution projects outlined in their Clean Water Act Section 319 management plans and estuary projects included in their Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plans under Section 320 of the Clean Water Act.To view the Administrator's Testimony, visit http://www.epa.gov/ocir/testimony/042999cmb.htm on the Internet. 2) River Network Announces First Round of Watershed Mini-Grant RecipientsRiver Network announced the first round of mini-grant recipients under the Watershed Assistance Grant program, supported by EPA's Office of Water. The grants will enable organizations to build watershed partnerships and advance watershed restoration efforts. The grants were established as a key action under the Clean Water Action Plan announced by President Clinton in February, 1998. The grants will support short-term organizational development projects; amounts range from $1,320 to $4,000.
A round of larger ($4,000- $30,000), longer-term grants to support more
complex projects will be awarded later this spring. A second round of
mini-grants will be awarded this summer. Proposals must be postmarked
no later than June 15. Grant guidelines can be found on River Network's
website at http://www.rivernetwork.org/ 3) Clean Water Act Section 106 Grant Allotment RevisionEPA announced changes to the formula for allotting funds appropriated under section 106 of the Clean Water Act to states and to interstate agencies for administering water quality programs. The section 106 allotment formula was previously based on data more than 25 years old, including population data from the 1960s and data on pollution sources from the early 1970s. Reports of current water quality conditions around the country, provided by States under section 305(b) of the Clean Water Act, indicate that the location and nature of the sources of water pollution have changed significantly since the early 1970s. Utilizing the more recent data, EPA revised the Section 106 State and interstate allotment formula.These revised Section 106 State and interstate allotment formulas will be effective for Fiscal Year 2000 and beyond. For a copy of the Federal Register Notice, visit http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-WATER/1999/May/Day-03/w10631.htm on the Internet. 4) Coral Reef Task Force Reports Available for CommentDraft recommendations and reports presented to the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force in March are now available for review and comment. The Coral Reef Task Force was created under the Executive Order on Coral Reef Protection, which was signed by President Clinton on June 11, 1998. At the March meeting of the Task Force, recommendations were proposed by the water & air quality, coastal uses, International, Ecosystem, Science and Conservation, and Mapping Task Force working groups.Working group recommendations can be viewed on the Internet at http://coralreef.gov/draftrec.html [NOTE: this URL is no longer working.] and email links are provided for sending comments to each working group. The comment period runs through June 15. 5) Five Star Restoration Grants AwardedThe National Association of Counties, the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Wildlife Habitat Council have awarded $395,000 to about 40 community-led conservation projects throughout the country. These projects were selected from over 300 applications involving over 1,500 grassroots organizations in 47 states and from several tribes. The Five Star Restoration Grant Program is funded by EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds and the National Marine Fisheries Service Community-based Restoration Program. The Program provides grants of between $5,000 and $13,500 to community-based partnerships that involve local government and tribal agencies, conservation organizations, youth corps, local businesses and schools to support wetland and streamside restoration projects. The participating communities have committed additional funding in cash or in-kind services worth over $2 million.Five Star Restoration projects must involve at least five different partners, such as environmental, educational, youth, business and philanthropic organizations, other community groups, elected officials, and government agencies. For more information, go to http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/restore/5star/ on the Internet.
Please forward this message to your friends and colleagues who share an interest in water-related issues and would like to hear from EPA's Office of Water. To subscribe to the WaterNews listserve:
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