WaterNews for January 21, 2003

WaterNews 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

• President George W. Bush to Propose $8 Million For Clean Water In Puerto Rico
• Watershed-Based NPDES Permitting Policy Statement Released
• Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
• Subscribe to WaterNews

President George W. Bush to Propose $8 Million For Clean Water In Puerto Rico

President Bush will propose $8 million to provide clean and safe drinking water for Puerto Rico in his fiscal year 2004 budget.

The Puerto Rico Drinking Water Grant would provide funds for upgrades at Sergio Cuevas, a treatment plant within Puerto Rico’s largest drinking water system. Upon implementation, the upgrades would provide cleaner water to the 1.4 million Puerto Ricans served by the water system.The Environmental Protection Agency will administer the grant.

According to the EPA, inadequate drinking water infrastructure in Puerto Rico has created a significant health risk, with less than 20 percent of the population receiving drinking water that meets all health-based standards.

Watershed-Based NPDES Permitting Policy Statement Released

On Jan. 7, EPA’s Assistant Administrator, G. Tracy Mehan, III, signed the Watershed-Based National Pollutant Discharges Elimination System Permitting (NPDES) Policy. The Policy describes the benefits of watershed-based permitting, the implementing mechanisms for this component of the watershed approach, and how EPA will be encouraging an increase in the use of watershed-based NPDES permits. The Policy can be seen at http://cfpub1.epa.gov/npdes/whatsnew.cfm?program_id=0 .

Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) have issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM). The comment period is on issues associated with the scope of waters that are subject to the Clean Water Act (CWA) in light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 531 U.S. 159 (2001) (SWANCC) closes on Mar. 3, 2003. These documents are printed at 61 Federal Register 1991 (January 15, 2003) and may also be found on EPA’s website at http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/swanccnav.html .

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