 |
||
|
Water |  |
 |
||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
WaterNews for May 6, 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 Announces $15 Million for the Nation’s WatershedsTo support community-driven initiatives that protect habitat, improve water quality, and enhance outdoor recreation, EPA Administrator Christie Whitman on Friday announced nearly $15 million in grants to 20 watershed organizations selected as part of a new Watershed Initiative. Whitman announced the grants at the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association’s Watershed Nature Reserve in Pennington, N.J. “This national competition for these Watershed Initiative grants generated an outpouring of outstanding proposals, each with the enthusiastic support of their respective governors and Tribal leaders,” said Administrator Whitman. “EPA is very excited to commit significant federal dollars to support these top watershed efforts, all of which will serve as national models for other communities to follow. The organizations selected stand ready to achieve on-the-ground water quality improvements. Two years from now, I am confident that we will see cleaner water and measurable environmental change – such as the return of native bass and trout fisheries and increased recreational opportunities.” “The Watershed Initiative builds on the energy, commitment, in-depth knowledge of local problems, and enthusiasm of citizen-driven efforts,” said EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Water, G. Tracy Mehan, III. “These Watershed Initiative grants will help tackle some of the nation’s most pernicious water quality problems – problems such as habitat loss and alteration, nutrient enrichment, pathogens, and invasive species, all of which continue to harm watersheds nationwide.” President George W. Bush asked the nation’s governors and tribal leaders last year to nominate proposals to support community-based approaches to clean up the nation’s watersheds. This year, Congress appropriated $15 million of the President’s original $20 million dollar funding request. The winning watersheds cover more than 90,000 square miles of the nation’s lakes, rivers and streams. They represent our country’s unique and varied landscape – from the forests of Maine to the tropics of Hawaii. These watersheds reside in urban and rural areas, encompass agricultural land, and are often threatened by suburban sprawl. Funds will go toward restoration and protection projects, such as stream stabilization and habitat enhancement, implementing agricultural best management practices, and working with local governments and homeowners to promote sustainable practices and strategies. The grants range from $300,000 to $1 million. For more information log on to. Regional and national experts selected the winners from a highly competitive field of more than 176 nominations. Winners were chosen because they best demonstrated the ability to achieve on-the-ground environmental results in a short time frame. Each of these watershed organizations exhibited strong partnerships with a wide variety of support, showed innovation, and demonstrated compatibility with existing governmental programs. The 20 winning watersheds include:
Office of Water Joins G8 Environmental Ministers MeetingDeputy Assistant Administrator Ben Grumbles joined Administrator Whitman, and Assistant Administrators Judith Ayers (OIA) and Steve Johnson (OPPTS), at the April 25-27, 2003 G8 Environmental Ministers meeting in Paris. This was the main preparatory meeting on environment in advance of the G8 Summit to be held in early June. The Summit will be an opportunity for the Heads of State and Government of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the U.S., and Russia to discuss a number of issues relating to globalization and the world economy. The Environmental Ministers viewed water as a key issue to sustainable development. They raised the importance of global attention to problems such as adequate water and sanitation services for the poor, transbounday water management, and coastal and marine resources management (including invasive species). EPA Observes National Drinking Water WeekThis week marks the 15th annual National Drinking Water Week, May 4-10. To celebrate, EPA is encouraging individuals, communities, and companies to help “Protect Water for Life,” by making protecting and conserving their water source. No matter where you live, your drinking water starts its journey to your tap from a watershed, a land area that drains to a single body of surface water or to ground water. The best protection barrier against pollution is PREVENTION. This week, find out more about your drinking water, where it comes from, and what you can do to help protect it from contamination. To learn more, visit www.epa.gov/safewater/waterweek/index.html, and plan to attend the 2003 Source Water Protection Conference. You can sign-up for a free registration at www.epa.gov/safewater/protect/swpconf.html. For more information about source water protection, please call the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791. World Health Organization Interested in Drinking Water Academy TrainingThe World Health Organization (WHO) has contacted the Drinking Water Academy about its sanitary survey training materials. WHO has requested permission to translate the Sanitary Survey Learner’s Guide and accompanying video series, “Before You Begin,” into Arabic, to be used when training current and prospective inspectors in the Middle East. Call Jamie Bourne at 202-564-4095 for more information. Distribution System Meeting Set For May 16EPA will be holding a public meeting on May 16 at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to discuss distribution system issues of potential public health concern. The meeting will focus on those issues characterized in a series of distribution system white papers prepared by EPA, American Water Works Service Co., and AWWA. Meeting logistics can be accessed via the OGWDW TCR/Distribution Systems’ web page: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/tcr/tcr.html link to the Federal Register Notice of April 8 (67 FR 17041), which publicly announced the stakeholder meeting. For more information, please contact Ken Rotert at 202-564-5280. National Wetlands Mitigation Action Plan Featured at 6th Annual National Mitigation and Conservation Banking ConferenceThe 6th Annual National Mitigation and Conservation Banking Conference was held in San Diego, California on April 23-25. This year's conference brought together over 230 wetland and conservation bankers, environmental consultants, conservation organizations, government regulators and others to discuss the most recent advances in the science, policy, and practice of wetland/conservation banking. The National Wetlands Mitigation Action Plan including the revised Mitigation Regulatory Guidance Letter (RGL) were featured at this year's conference with a presentation by EPA Wetlands Division Staff. The Action Plan, released jointly in December 2002, by EPA and the Departments of Army, Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, and Transportation, commits the agencies to completing 17 action items over the next three years to improve the ecological success and results of wetlands compensatory mitigation. The Plan and the revised Mitigation RGL were well received by conference participants. For a complete copy of the Mitigation Action Plan and related documents see: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/guidance/index.html#mitigation EPA's Wetlands Division has been a sponsor of the Banking Conference since its inception in 1998. EPA and the Departments of Army, Agriculture, Commerce, and Interior released joint guidance on the establishment, use, and operation of Mitigation Banks in 1995 (http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/mitbankn.html) and mitigation banking has evolved in many areas into an ecologically sound market-based approach to compensate for impacts to wetlands and other aquatic resources authorized under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. For more information, please contact Palmer Hough at (202) 566-1374. 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.
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
