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WaterNews for May 13, 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 Celebrates American Wetlands Month in MayIn celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act, EPA is conducting a nationwide awareness campaign each month for the water programs in the agency. Each campaign is focused on educating the American people about watersheds, water conservation, water monitoring, safe drinking water, nonpoint source pollution (polluted runoff) and other topics. May is Wetlands Month! EPA will join others across the Nation to celebrate American Wetlands Month with New outreach materials and events highlighting the importance of protecting wetlands for future generations. The Environmental Law Institute, the EPA, and other federal agencies will honor the winners of the annual National Wetlands Awards on May 20 in Washington, D.C. The awards honor individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to wetlands conservation, research or education projects at the regional, state or local level. Winning photos from the EPA's annual Wetlands Photo Contest will also be on display. A series of brown bag at noon time presentations will be scheduled for the Federal Triangle complex in May. For more about wetlands protection see www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands Listed below are materials that have been developed and are now available online at http://www.epa.gov/water/yearofcleanwater/month.html#may
National Forum on Water Quality Trading July 22-23Spend two days this summer learning about market innovations to restore watersheds and meet water quality goals with greater efficiency. Participate in the National Forum on Water Quality Trading at the Courtyard by Marriott in Downtown Chicago on July 22-23, 2003. You'll learn the trading state-of-the-art from practitioners and leaders in the agricultural community, state environmental agencies, municipal and industrial dischargers, and other watershed interests. Interactive sessions will answer your questions on water quality trading's potential benefits, implementation challenges and solutions, and what's next for this innovative approach. This exciting event is designed to give you the latest information in trading implementation and ample opportunities for dialogue with your peers and experts in the field. The forum is sponsored by the U.S. EPA, U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Water Environment Federation. Registration for the Forum is FREE. Email your name, title, organization, telephone and fax number, and your email address to wynn.lynda@epa.gov Hotel reservations can be made by calling 312-329-2500. A block of rooms is available at a conference rate of $155.00; mention the “EPA Water Quality” Forum. Transportation and other hotel information is available at www.courtyard.com/chiwb EPA and Corps Address Coal Mining Operations and Clean Water Act RequirementsOn May 5, 2003, the Office of Water and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) jointly issued a memorandum to their field offices in the coal producing states of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio in order to help ensure coal mining operations are meeting their obligations under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The memorandum included a fact sheet for further distribution to coal operators in Appalachia explaining how the CWA applies to coal mining activities that occur in the nation's streams and wetlands and discussing when a CWA permit is required. The intent is to ensure coal mine operators are aware of their responsibilities under the CWA and that mining related activities proposed in waters of the U.S. are appropriately reviewed and permitted. Copies of the joint EPA/Corps memorandum and fact sheet are available on the EPA Office of Water home page at http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands or on the Corps Regulatory Branch home page at
http://www.usace.army.mil/inet/functions/cw/cecwo/reg/citizen.htm Survey Shows Progress in Biological Assessments & CriteriaAll states, and several tribes and territories, now have biological assessment programs for streams and small rivers, and most are using biological assessments to determine if they have attained aquatic life uses. Twenty-nine States and tribes have narrative biocriteria for streams and small rivers in their water quality standards, and 27 states and tribes have numeric biocriteria for their narrative standards. Many more states and tribes are developing biological criteria programs. Given this progress, about 475 thousand miles of streams and small rivers across the country were assessed in 2001 using biological sampling of fish, invertebrates and algal communities. This significant progress was revealed in a recent survey conducted by the Office of Water and Office of Environmental Information, Summary of Biological Assessment Programs and Biocriteria Development for States, Tribes, Territories, and Interstate Commissions: Streams and Wadeable Rivers (EPA-822-R-02-048). With this major progress on streams and small rivers, states, tribes and territories can begin to focus on developing biocriteria for other waterbodies (lakes, reservoirs, wetlands and estuaries) for which EPA has developed methods and guidance. You can find the survey and more information on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/bioindicators/html/program_summary.html. Office of Water Reaches Out to Participants During the 2003 Congress & Expo for Manufactured and Modular HousingMore than 1,400 people saw EPA’s Drinking Water exhibit at the Manufactured Housing Institute trade show on April 22-24 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The manufactured housing sector represents approximately 8,500 community water systems in the U.S., serving fewer than 500 people each. The Office of Water staffed a booth and distributed outreach materials, including Sources of Technical and Financial Assistance for Small Drinking Water Systems; Complying with the Revised Drinking Water Standard for Arsenic: Small Entity Compliance Guide and the Small Systems Guide to the Total Coliform Rule. For more information, please contact Kathleen Vokes at 202-564-9910. EPA Publishes Report on Treated Wastewater in South FloridaIn response to a Congressional mandate to conduct an assessment of waste management practices in South Florida - deep well injection, ocean disposal, surface discharge and aquifer recharge of treated effluent - EPA issued a report in the Federal Register May 5 titled Relative Risk Assessment of Management Options for Treated Wastewater in South Florida (68 FR 23673), along with an accompanying Notice of Data Availability (68 FR 23666). The assessment considers several factors important for determining risk and relates them, across all four disposal options, to determine the overall estimate of risk to both human and ecological health. The Notice of Data Availability (NODA) summarizes information from the assessment and solicits public comment on how the deep well injection findings should inform the final determination on the July 7, 2000, proposed rule, Revision to the Federal Underground Injection Control Requirements for Class I Municipal Wells in Florida. The report, NODA, and additional information are available on the EPA Region 4 website at http://www.epa.gov/region4/water/uic/proposedrule.htm COG and Area Water Utilities to Launch First Regional Wise Water Use CampaignThe drought of 2002 may soon be a fading memory, but the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), in partnership with area water utilities is initiating the first regional campaign to promote year round wise water use. Jane Moore, Deputy Director for the Office of Wastewater Management, will represent EPA at the kickoff. To encourage residents and businesses across the region to use water wisely, the partnership is using materials developed through the national “Water, Use It Wisely” program to demonstrate simple wise water use practices, which can be used in and around homes and businesses. Campaign media include broadcast, theater, and transit advertising; public service announcements, as well as public school education and community outreach efforts. The campaign will be held on Tuesday, May 20 at 10:30 a.m. at the K&P Builders Model Home (Strawberry Glenn Subdivision), 11300 Glenn Dale Road, Glenn Dale, MD. 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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