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WaterNews for June 29, 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:
Reunion of National Wetlands Policy Forum HeldOn June 25, 2004, EPA reconvened participants and organizations involved in the National Wetlands Policy Forum from 1987-1989. William K. Reilly, who convened the original Wetlands Forum as Chairman of the World Wildlife Fund, chaired the event. Administrator Michael Leavitt greeted the participants and discussed the President’s wetlands goals. The group discussed the state of the nation’s wetlands and programs to protect them. Many of the participants represented the same organizations that participated in the National Wetlands Policy Forum in the late 1980’s. That Forum published a report fifteen years ago with more than 100 recommendations that included the national goal of “no overall net loss of wetlands.” Participants in the Symposium identified a number of areas that warrant additional attention, including: better information on wetland losses, gains and condition; improving regulatory programs to avoid wetland losses and provide quick approval for environmentally sound projects; and developing more opportunities for states, tribes, and private landowners to protect and restore wetlands. A growing awareness of the importance of wetlands to the nation’s economic and environmental health has been reflected in commitments made by recent Administrations. President George H. W. Bush adopted the National Wetlands Policy Forum’s goal of No Net Loss of Wetlands, President Clinton established the target of an annual net gain in the nation’s wetlands, and President George W. Bush on Earth Day in April 2004 established a goal of gaining 3 million acres of wetlands by 2009. Wetland losses in the U.S. have declined from a net annual figure of nearly 460,000 acres per year through the mid-1970’s to less than 60,000 acres per year today. For more information contact John Meagher at meagher.john@epa.gov.
Second Phase of National Water Tour Features EPA Acting Deputy AdministratorAs part of the National Water Tour, Region 7 in Kansas City, KS., kicked off the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commemoration on June 25, 2004. Stephen Johnson, Acting Deputy Administrator, gave the keynote address at the Great Wolf Lodge. Johnson delivered remarks that focused on enhancing the Lewis and Clark legacy through water quality protection, riverfront revitalization and Brownfields. For more information please visit http://www.epa.gov/region7/news_events/newsreleases/. 10th Annual Industrial Waste Technical and Regulatory Conference Set for AugustEPA is co-sponsoring the Industrial Waste Conference to be held on August 22-25, 2004 in Philadelphia, PA. The conference is targeted for industry engineers, scientists, managers, operators, academia, manufacturers, consultants and environmental health and safety personnel. Attendees will gain valuable knowledge on the latest treatment technologies, solving operational challenges, waste reduction/recycling/reuse practices, environmental management strategies, remediation options, air emission reduction, and current regulatory initiatives. To register for the conference or to obtain more information visit the website at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/guide/#conf. A New Version of EnviroMapper is Now AvailableEPA’s Office of Water has just released a new version of EnviroMapper for Water (http://www.epa.gov/waters/enviromapper/). EnviroMapper for Water provides a Web-based mapping connection to a wealth of water data. You can use it to view and map data, such as the uses assigned to local waters by your state (fishing, swimming, etc), waters that are impaired and do not support their assigned uses, the reasons why waters are impaired, water quality monitoring information, closures of swimming beaches, and the location of dischargers. Maps can be viewed at the national, regional, state or local levels. This latest release of EnviroMapper for Water (Version 3.0) features several new layers of water data including EPA’s national water quality database STORET, National Estuary Program study areas, and the location of nonpoint source projects. Other enhancements make it easier to locate and view these data, and instructions are included describing how to incorporate the resulting map into your own Web page. For more information, contact Tommy Dewald at dewald.tommy@epa.gov or 202-566-1178. 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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