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WaterNews for August 19, 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) President Clinton Announces Clean Water Across America2) New On-Line Fish Consumption Advisory Database 1) President Clinton Announces Clean Water Across AmericaIn this week's radio address, President Clinton announced new steps to restore America's rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. Based on a detailed inventory of the nation's waters, more than 20,000 rivers, lakes and estuaries across the country are still polluted. Under a proposed new rule, EPA will work with states to better assess the health of US waterways and to develop detailed plans to make them safe for basic uses, such as fishing and swimming. The proposal would strengthen EPA's "total maximum daily load" (TMDL) requirements to help restore polluted waterways nationwide. For more information on the proposed rule, including state-by-state maps and lists of impaired waters, visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl on the Internet. 2) New On-Line Fish Consumption Advisory DatabaseEPA has released a new, on-line fish consumption advisory database where the public can find information on whether the fish they catch is safe to eat. Each year, states and tribes provide EPA with a list of fish advisories they have issued. This information is compiled into a national listing of fish advisories and, for the first time, is now searchable on line. Anyone can now check for local fish consumption warnings on any river, lake, or stream. The advisories apply primarily to non-commercial fish and shellfish obtained through sport, recreation, and subsistence activities. Fish advisories inform the public about which fish to avoid or limit eating due to elevated levels of pollutants. The total number of advisories in the United States increased for three major contaminants in 1998: mercury, PCBs and DDT. Dioxin advisories declined in 1998, in part, because of several years of focused efforts by EPA to reduce pollutant discharges from the pulp and paper industry. This culminated in 1998 with a landmark rulemaking to significantly cut back on permissible dioxin discharges to water and air. EPA's national list of fish advisories is available at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish on the Internet. TRY OUR OTHER WEBSITES:EPA's Drinking Water Standards Program has redesigned its web pages. For more easily accessible information on standard setting and related activities, visit http://www.epa.gov/safewater/standards.html 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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