 |
||
|
Water |  |
 |
||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
WaterNews for March 23, 2004Benjamin Grumbles WaterNews is a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water. In This Week’s WaterNews:
Joint FDA/EPA Fish Consumption Advisory ReleasedOn Friday, March 19th, the Food & Drug Administration and EPA issued a joint consumer advisory about mercury in fish and shellfish. The advice is for women who might become pregnant, women who are pregnant, nursing mothers, and young children. Aside from being issued jointly by two federal agencies, this advisory is important because it emphasizes the positive benefits of eating fish and gives examples of commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury. In the past, FDA issued an advisory on consumption of commercially caught fish, while EPA issued advice on recreationally caught fish. By following these three recommendations for selecting and eating fish or shellfish, women and young children will receive the benefits of eating fish and shellfish and be confident that they have reduced their exposure to the harmful effects of mercury:
For more detailed information, visit EPA’s internet site at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/ or visit http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/seafood1.html Clean Water Act Recognition AwardsEPA released nomination guidelines for the 2004 Clean Water Act Recognition Awards program which seeks to recognize outstanding and innovative technological achievements at wastewater treatment facilities, and in biosolids management, pretreatment, stormwater, and combined sewer overflow programs. Nominations are due by June 18, 2004. For more information, visit www.epa.gov/owm/mtb/intnet.htm. EPA Launches New WebsiteThe Office of Water announces the opening of a new website providing in one place access to a range of key information about the water program strategic plan and supporting materials (www.epa.gov/water/waterplan). This is a convenient, one stop access point to:
As a reminder, comments on the Draft National Water Program Guidance for FY 2005 are due by March 30. Still Time to Sign-Up for Water Efficient Products MeetingEPA's Water Efficient Product Market Enhancement Program is conducting a series of stakeholder meetings to work toward approaches and partnership opportunities that promote water efficient products, including product labeling. EPA invites your participation at the upcoming stakeholder meeting: Location: Seattle, WA Register at http://www.epa.gov/owm/water-efficiency/products_program.htm. If you are not already an identified stakeholder (see stakeholder list on our website) and would like to become one, please send an e-mail to Water_Efficiency@epa.gov. Senior U.S. Officials Hosts Press Briefing At Miami Conference to Protect Caribbean EcosystemsBenjamin Grumbles, Acting Assistant Administrator for Water, spoke at the White Water to Blue Water Partnership conference yesterday in Miami. He discussed the hypoxia issue as well as other EPA efforts in the Gulf. Grumbles participated in a briefing with other senior U.S. officials including Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky and Vice-Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. More than 600 people from 31 countries of the wider Caribbean region and other coastal nations attended. Administrator Signs Methods Update ProposalEPA’s Administrator signed a Federal Register notice on Tuesday, March 16, announcing proposed changes to sampling and analysis procedures under the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act compliance monitoring programs. The changes would approve new and improved analytical methods for compliance monitoring and withdraw older EPA methods, including CFC-113 based oil and grease methods and methods with technical deficiencies. EPA is also proposing new sample collection procedures, general analytical requirements for multi-analyte methods, and additional method flexibility requirements for its Clean Water Act programs. EPA is soliciting comment on the Agency's microbiological alternate test procedure guidance document, and the deadline for comments is 60 days after publication of the FR notice. 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.
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
