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WaterNews for October 28, 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
November and December Focus on Drinking Water SecurityAs part of the celebration of the Year of Clean Water during November and December, we will focus on activities that promote the security of our drinking water resources as well as our drinking water and wastewater facilities and equipment. Water utilities today find themselves facing new responsibilities. While their mission has always been to deliver a dependable and safe supply of water to their customers, the events and aftermath of September 11, 2001, immediately and drastically expanded their mission to include security and counter-terrorism efforts. The Water Security Months will help to highlight our significant work and progress. EPA and its partners have made considerable progress toward developing tools, training, and technical assistance to address potential threats to the safety of drinking water and wastewater facilities. Some of our major accomplishments include:
As a product of these efforts, we have assembled new materials that address some of the concerns about water and wastewater security for a variety of audiences, including the general public, medical professionals, utilities, and others. The security of our Nation’s more than 170,000 public water utilities and 16,000 wastewater treatment plants requires not only the involvement of government officials, but of all Americans! “Water Watchers, We Are All in This Together” -- A brochure for residents that describe how they may help local authorities protect the water utilities in their communities. (Download the brochure at www.epa.gov/safewater/security/flyers ; e-mail your order for hard copies to Outreach.Team@epa.gov.) “Water Security and You” -- A drop-in article for local news media that describes examples of suspicious activity around drinking water and wastewater structures and equipment or water resources. “Drinking Water Security, Report Suspicious Activities:” -- Four flyers for display in local municipal, recreational and commercial buildings to encourage citizens to watch out for and report suspicious activity around water resources, water structures, and equipment. (Download flyers at www.epa.gov/safewater/security/flyers or e-mail your order for hard copies to Outreach.Team@epa.gov.) “Healthcare Provider Preparedness for Acts of Water Terrorism” A flyer describing a new website for resources to better recognize and diagnose waterborne illnesses related to water terrorism. “Water Security Progress and Resources” – Four-page flyer highlighting the achievements and ongoing projects of the water security program and its partners. (Download flyers at www.epa.gov/safewater/security/flyers or e-mail your order for hard copies to Outreach.Team@epa.gov.) “Top Ten List: Water Supply Emergency Preparedness and Security for Law Enforcement” – Flyer for display in local municipal facilities to help coordination between law enforcement, water supply industry, and public health officials. (Download flyer at www.epa.gov/safewater/security/flyers or e-mail your order for hard copies to Outreach.Team@epa.gov.) “Top Ten List”: Visor card version of the above flyer available to EPA Regions. (Download visor card at www.epa.gov/ne/eco/drinkwater/dw-security.html) “WaterISAC”: Four-page flyer for drinking water and wastewater utility managers that describes the web-based Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center, a secure information system that shares up-to-date information between the intelligence community and the water sector. (Download one-page fact sheet at www.epa.gov/safewater/security/flyers.) To see how EPA has celebrated the Clean Water Act all year long, check out our website, www.epa.gov/water/yearofcleanwater Office of Water Develops New Strategic PlanEPA recently adopted a new Strategic Plan for 2004 - 2008. Key elements of the National Water Program are addressed in Goal 2 (Clean and Safe Water) and Goal 4 (Healthy Communities and Ecosystems). The new Strategic Plan is the product of an extensive outreach effort and reflects the views of States, Tribes, other stakeholders, and the public. The new Plan includes, to a greater degree than ever before, clear and measurable statements of the environmental and health goals that we expect to accomplish by 2008. Over the next several years, the new Strategic Plan will play a central role in guiding a wide range of program management, budget and policy decisions. The Plan has already contributed to the development of the FY 05 Agency Budget and will continue to support future budget and resource allocation decisions. Starting this Fall, EPA will be working with States and Tribes to develop more detailed implementation plans for FY 05, including defining Regional and State commitments. As we move forward, the Strategic Plan will be a yardstick by which we measure key parts of our environmental and programmatic performance. You can find information about the new Strategic Plan on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/water/waterplan/. Two More Ships Depart James River FleetThe U.S. Department of Transportation issued a press release stating that the Canopus and the Compass Island were towed from the James River Reserve Fleet to be dismantled in Teesside, UK. These, plus the two World War II era ships which are being towed to England, bring the total to four ships being removed from the fleet this week. All four will be dismantled at the Able UK facility in the Teesside area of northeastern England as part of the pilot project authorized by Congress, directing the disposal of four ships overseas in an environmentally responsible and fiscally sound manner. So far this year, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) has awarded contracts for the removal of 23 ships, with some to be dismantled in the United States. (10/16/03). For more information, contact Laura Johnson 566-1273. Ballast Water Discharge Standard Public MeetingsThe U.S. Coast Guard will hold a series of public meetings to obtain input from interested persons and affected stakeholders on issues to be addressed in the programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) for development of ballast water discharge standards. The meetings will be held in: Oakland (October 29); Cleveland (October 31); Norfolk (November 3); and Washington, DC (November 7). 68 Fed. Reg. 57479 (October 3, 2003). Information on the meetings is available at the following websites: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/mso/mso4/ans.html EPA Publishes New Guidelines for the National Nonpoint Source ProgramEPA has published new guidelines for the National Nonpoint Source (NPS) Program implemented under section 319 of the Clean Water Act. These guidelines completely replace all previous NPS grants guidances, guidelines beginning in fiscal year 2004. The guidelines focus approximately one-half of section 319 dollars on the remediation of impaired waters through the development of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs), and the development and implementation of watershed-based plans. These plans provide an analytical framework for assessing the sources of water pollution; estimating the amount of pollutant reduction needed to achieve water quality standards; identifying the management measures whose implementation will enable those reductions to be achieved; and identifying financial and regulatory tools, as appropriate, that will enable the watershed plan's goals to be achieved. These guidelines were published in the Federal Register on Oct. 23, 2003 and are posted on EPA's NPS web site at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/. Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) Annual ConferenceTwo presentations describing State experiences with the Area Wide Treatment Optimization Program (AWOP) were given at the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) annual conference October 6-8. The program assists States in maximizing public health protection in their drinking water programs. The presentations, "Overview of the Area Wide Optimization Program" and "AWOP in Action in South Carolina" were well received by the audience. For more information, please contact Gwen Wise at 513-569-7874. 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 listserv: 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 your actual name- i.e. Subscribe WaterNews Robert Jones) A welcome message will appear in your email box once you are officially subscribed.
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