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WaterNews for July 13, 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:
EPA Launches New Topical Website on BeachesThe Agency is implementing a new approach to making it easier for people to find information on EPA’s web site. We’re organizing the information around topics rather than programs or organizations. One of the first new topics-based sites brings together the Agency’s information on beaches. Take some time to visit EPA's new beaches website at www.epa.gov/beaches/ to help you plan a trip to the beach, learn about beach conditions, and see what EPA is doing to clean and protect our Nation’s beaches. We are also working on topics-based sites for water quality standards, cruise ship water discharges, floating debris, private drinking wells, and septic systems. Phase II Rule for Cooling Water Intakes PublishedPublished in the Federal Register on July 9th, this final rule protects fish, shellfish and other aquatic life from cooling water intake structures at large power plants. This is the first time in the 32-year history of the Clean Water Act that EPA has established a systematic way to address the environmental consequences of power plant intakes that withdraw more than 50 million gallons of water per day. The rule will protect aquatic organisms from being trapped on intake screens or drawn through the cooling systems. You can learn more about this rule by visiting the internet at www.epa.gov/waterscience/316b/ . EPA to Revisit Water Quality Criteria for AmmoniaEPA announced on July 8 that we intend to re-evaluate the current water quality criteria for ammonia to determine whether they should be revised to reflect new toxicity data. The Agency also seeks additional data on the acute or chronic toxicity of ammonia to aquatic life and scientific views on the interpretation of data that might help us as we re-evaluate the ammonia criteria. We are asking the public to submit scientific information before August 9. You can find the complete Federal Register notice by visiting the Internet at www.epa.gov/waterscience/standards/ammonia . National Estuaries Restoration Inventory ReleasedThe National Estuaries Restoration Inventory (NERI) was released, last month, to track progress made toward the goals of the Estuary Restoration Act of 2000. The Act is implemented by an interagency Council consisting of representatives from EPA, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the U.S. Army who jointly developed a strategy calling for the restoration of one million acres of estuary habitat by 2010. NOAA developed NERI as an on-line tool to monitor Estuary Restoration Act projects and other estuary restoration projects implemented around the country. NERI serves as a restoration information clearinghouse, providing details on techniques and monitoring results. Projects can be submitted to the inventory from Federal, State, local, and private sources provided the project goal is to restore ecosystem benefits to estuaries and associated habitats. Project managers can use the inventory to produce on-demand reports, find new partnership opportunities, and locate regional restoration efforts that may assist in future restoration planning and design. For further information contact Greg Colianni at 202-566-1249 or Jennifer Linn at 202-566-1258 or visit the NERI website at https://neri.noaa.gov/ 2004 Gulf Guardian Award Winners to be Honored in MississippiThe Gulf of Mexico Program recently announced the 2004 Gulf Guardian Award winners. The winners will be awarded September 22 at the Southern States Environmental Conference and Exhibition being held in Biloxi, MS. A complete list of all winners and a description of the projects, programs, and individuals involved in the competition is available on the Program's web site at: http://www.epa.gov/gmpo/gulfguard.html. The Gulf of Mexico Program partnership developed the Gulf Guardian awards in 2000 as a way to recognize and honor the businesses, community groups, individuals, and agencies that are taking positive steps to keep the Gulf healthy, beautiful and productive. Each year, a first, second, and third place winner are awarded in six categories: 1) Business, 2) Government, 3) Civic/Nonprofit Organizations, 4) Youth/Education, 5) Partnerships, and 6) Individual. "Gulf Guardians are shining examples of the type of collaboration and dedication needed for protecting and conserving coastal communities and ecosystems," said Benjamin Grumbles, EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for Water in Washington, D.C. "Government alone can’t solve the environmental challenges we face today," said Bryon Griffith, Director of the Gulf of Mexico Program. "Gulf Guardian applicants and winners repeatedly demonstrate that the answer to our environmental problems is through partnerships and working together as one Gulf community." EPA Announces Release of Implementation Guidance for the Filter Backwash Recycling RuleEPA is issuing the Implementation Guidance for the Filter Backwash Recycling Rule (FBRR) to assist EPA Regions and States with implementation of the rule’s provisions. Along with a summary of the rule, this document contains guidance for preparing State primacy revision applications, rule fact sheets, a quick reference guide, data entry instructions, and flowcharts of rule requirements. Copies of the guidance will be available in hard copy by contacting the Water Resource Center at 202-566-1729 and identifying document number EPA 816-R-04-006. You may also contact the National Service Center for Environmental Publication 1-800-490-9198 to obtain hard copies. An electronic version can be found on the EPA website at www.epa.gov/safewater/filterbackwash.html 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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