WaterNews for October 15, 2002

WaterNews is a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water.

OCTOBER 18—THE FIRST NATIONAL WATER MONITORING DAY- Administrator Christie Whitman recently encouraged everyone to participate in local water quality monitoring activities during National Water Monitoring Day on Oct. 18 to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act. For more information log on to http://www.epa.gov/water/yearofcleanwater/.

Inside this week’s WaterNews

• EPA’s Watershed Initiative - One Step Closer
• National Study of Contaminants in Fish: First Findings
• Operator Certification Grants Program

EPA’s Watershed Initiative - One Step Closer

EPA announced the Watershed Initiative on August 20, 2002 and requested nominations for target watersheds be submitted by November 21, 2002. The Senate markup of last summer and the recent House Appropriations Subcommittee mark up indicate probable full funding for the Initiative when EPA receives its fiscal 2003 budget. The $21 million request for the new Watershed Initiative will enable the Agency to select up to 20 watersheds throughout the country for grants to support promising watershed-based efforts toward cleaner water. The Federal Register announcement and other information about EPA’s Watershed Initiative can be found on EPA’s website at http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/initiative.

National Study of Contaminants in Fish: First Findings

EPA recently released the first-year results of its National Fish Tissue Study, which measured selected persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals in fish from 500 randomly-selected lakes and reservoirs in the United States. The survey will help to determine normal levels, to establish a baseline against which to track progress of pollution control activities, and to identify areas where contaminant levels indicate the need for further study. More information about the preliminary results can be found at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fishstudy/.

Operator Certification Grants Program

The Office of Water has awarded expense reimbursement grants totaling $51 million to 28 States. These grants will cover the cost of training and certification for persons operating water systems which serve a maximum of 3300 persons. For further information visit the Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water web site at: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ or contact Jenny Bielanski at 202-564-3836 for more information.

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