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WaterNews for April 29, 2003G. Tracy Mehan, III 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
EPA To Hold Public Meeting for 2003 Report to CongressThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a meeting to provide people with an opportunity to discuss EPA’s 2003 Report to Congress on the Impacts and Control of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) and Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) on June 24-25, 2003 at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, DC. The is report, due in December 2003, will investigate environmental and human health impacts of CSOs and SSOs, resources spent by municipalities to control these impacts, and technologies for controlling these impacts. EPA’s Office of Water invites members of the regulated community, public health officials, representatives of environmental groups, and the general public to comment on preliminary findings of the 2003 report and to discuss the report’s implications for national policy. EPA will present the results of the data collection, request verification of information and data sources, and solicit input on findings and interpretations. A detailed agenda will follow closer to the meeting date. For planning purposes, please register by e-mailing before June 10, 2003. In the e-mail 2003RtCStakeholders@sra.com, please include your name and your affiliation or organization. If you have any questions regarding the report or the meeting, please contact Kevin Debell in EPA's Office of Wastewater Management at debell.kevin@epa.gov or at 202-564-0040. EPA Featured in the April 21 Edition of “County News Online”As part of the “Year of Clean Water” program, the National Association of Counties (NACO) featured a wastewater month story-“EPA Provides Tools to Help County Officials with Septic Systems.” To read the story log onto
http://www.naco.org/CountyNewsTemplate.cfm?template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=7778 State Lakes Meeting Highlights Total Maximum Daily LoadsThe 16th Annual National Conference on Enhancing the States’ Lake Management Programs was held on April 23-25, 2003 in Chicago and was attended by 160 people with representatives from 34 states. This year’s conference theme was “Developing and Implementing Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for Lakes and Reservoirs.” A number of lake/reservoir TMDLs were discussed including TMDLs for Cherry Creek Reservoir in Colorado, Cascade Reservoir in Idaho, Lake Champlain in Vermont, Lake Mead in Nevada, and several others. EPA participants at the meeting included: Chuck Sutfin, Director, EPA’s Assessment and Watershed Protection Division (AWPD), who gave the keynote address on efforts to restore and protect our nation’s waters; Tom Davenport, EPA Region 5, who gave some opening remarks; Ruth Chemery’s, AWPD, who spoke on Mercury TMDLs; Tim Wool, EPA Region 4, who discussed modeling to support TMDL development; and Anne Weinberg, AWPD, who facilitated a session on the “ABC’s of TMDLs for Lake Associations.” The conference included an interactive session which summarized a survey on the status of development of lake nutrient criteria–this survey was conducted by the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) and should be posted on their web site soon at www.nalms.org Water Symposium Held in Puerto RicoThe Office of Water participated in the Center for Education Conservation and Environmental Interpretation (CECIA) Water Biennial Symposium sponsored by the InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico. The symposium was conducted April 10-11 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to provide Puerto Rican and other Latin America scientists, regulators, and water system users and owners a forum to discuss water regulation, research and technology. The symposium was followed by an investigation of small Puerto Rico water systems, including source watersheds. For more information, please contact Eric Bissonette at 513-569-7933. EPA Administrator Announces Grants to Educate Kids, Increase Public Awareness and Improve New York/New Jersey Harbor EstuaryAt an Earth Day ceremony held aboard an historic 125-foot schooner at the 79th Street Boat Basin, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christie Whitman was joined by New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe to announce 11 grants totaling $50,000 to New York and New Jersey groups. The grants are for programs that will educate area students and residents about the New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuary, foster stewardship of its resources and improve its environmental quality. “Our nation’s estuaries are unique places where fresh and salt water mix – creating vibrant habitats for marine life and scenic spots for boating and birdwatching,” said Administrator Whitman. “Since joining EPA’s National Estuary Program fifteen years ago, a dedicated group of stakeholders, representing government, community and environmental groups, have worked to develop a plan to restore, manage, and protect the waters of the Harbor Estuary.” The grants were awarded through the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary Program (HEP), a bi-state consortium of federal, state and local governments, environmental and community groups, businesses and individuals brought together by a common goal of cleaning up and protecting NY/NJ Harbor. Eleven projects, focusing on water quality improvement, student education, teacher training, and stewardship, won grants ranging from $950 to $5,000. The HEP is part of EPA’s national program to study, clean up, restore and protect the nation’s most important estuaries. New York Sea Grant works with HEP to oversee the education and outreach portion of the program, including this grant program. Grant recipients in New York: American Littoral Society, in conjunction with Jamaica Bay Eco Watchers, received support for their “Jamaica Bay Clean Sweep.” Working together, the groups will remove abandoned boats and other large items from the shores of Jamaica Bay. Beczak Environmental Education Center received a grant for its elementary and middle school education program on watersheds. The center uses a physical model of a watershed to illustrate the impacts of pollution on these elaborate water systems to kids from low-income school districts in Yonkers. Hudson River Sloop Clearwater received grant support for its ship-board education program that targets fourth and tenth graders. Through this program, the students will learn basic sailing techniques, how to trawl for fish and draw conclusions from the catch, and how to test and analyze water samples. New York City Audubon Society received a grant for its Harbor Herons Citizen’s Monitoring Program. They will train volunteers to conduct heron nest surveys on the islands off the north shore of Staten Island. South Street Seaport Museum received a grant to support its Urban Waters Environmental Education Program, which will introduce young people to the environment and impacts of pollution on the harbor, and teach them how to analyze water samples and trawl for marine life. The museum will also develop a Web site for teachers featuring lesson plans on estuarine science and stewardship. Grant Recipients in New Jersey: Bayshore Sub-watershed Regional Council will use its grant money to mark storm drains and monitor waters along Flat Creek in the Bayshore Sub-watershed. The council will also develop and distribute a brochure that will be given to local businesses and residents to better educate them about the watershed. Future City, Inc. of Elizabeth, New Jersey will use its grant money to educate the public about the Elizabeth River and the Arthur Kill. They will develop a multi-lingual information center. The Greater Newark Conservancy will use its HEP money to train teachers to use both national and New Jersey based curricula focused on the importance of wetlands and watersheds. The group will hold a two day workshop for teachers, which will include a field trip to identify wildlife, sample water and conduct experiments. Hackensack Riverkeeper, Inc will use its grant money to teach high school students from six area schools to conduct water quality sampling in the lower Hackensack. The students will be trained to test the water for ten parameters and interpret these results. The Monmouth County Planning Board received grant moneys to post signs on county bridges identifying the stream and the watershed and drainage basin in which it is located. The county will also distribute a brochure to educate the public about non-point source pollution, preventing erosion and the importance of stream buffers. Small grants are awarded every year through the HEP. Proposals for the next round will likely be taken next fall. For more information about the New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program, visit their website at www.harborestuary.org National Biological Assessment and Criteria Workshop Called Huge SuccessThe Council of State Governments and EPA co-sponsored the first National Biological Assessment and Criteria Workshop in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, March 31-April 4. The purpose of the workshop was to take advantage of recent knowledge and expertise to advance State and Tribal biological assessment and criteria programs. More than 200 people, representing 47 States, 26 Tribes, EPA, and other experts, gathered to share the state-of-the-art in biological assessments and criteria via 18 training sessions, 5 specialized sessions, 23 posters, and the opening/closing plenary sessions. Most of the workshop was designed by States and Tribes, including selection of the courses, based on a State/Tribal needs assessment. EPA’s Biocriteria Program and ORD, States, Tribes, academics, and other outside experts played a critical role as course developers and presenters. The workshop was considered a huge success based on the enthusiasm, newly gained knowledge, and feedback received from the participants. To quote a participant, “It truly was a success in my opinion. In addition to having the opportunity to share in what we are all doing, the availability of expertise in the courses provided me personally with some “breakthroughs” to next steps in our program. Good job to everyone.” For more information email brown.robert@epa.gov Subscribe to WaterNewsPlease 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: Send an email message, leave the subject line blank, and address it to: In the body of the message write: Subscribe WaterNews firstname lastname (Please leave one blank space between each word, do not include any other message, and use A welcome message will appear in your email box once you are officially subscribed. Following your welcome message, you will begin to receive WaterNews once a week. If you encounter difficulties subscribing to this list server or if you would like to be taken off the WaterNews list server at any time, please send your E-mail address to Gloria Posey at Posey.Gloria@epa.gov. We welcome any comments that you may have.
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