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WaterNews for August 10, 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 Allocates $1 Million in Grant Funding to Regions for Wastewater Security TrainingEPA is allocating $1 million in FY 2004 funding to the Regions for grants to established state environmental training centers. With this funding, State environmental training centers will be equipped to provide on-site operator training assistance or classroom training on the use of vulnerability assessment tools, emergency response plan development and upgrades, and security system upgrades. Additional information can be accessed on EPA's website at http://www.epa.gov/owm/mab/smcomm/104g/104secur.pdf (PDF, 11 pages, 167KB) Preparing Vessels Intended for Artificial ReefsEPA published in the Federal Register, last week, a notice of availability of Draft National Guidance: Best Management Practices for Preparing Vessels Intended to Create Artificial Reefs. This guidance provides national, environmentally-based best management practices for the preparation of vessels to be sunk with the intention of creating artificial reefs. The draft guidance is open for a 60-day public comment period. Comments are due by October 1. The guidance is available at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/habitat/artificialreefs. For additional information contact Laura Johnson at 202-566-1273. Reminder to States Seeking Beach Implementation GrantsThe Office of Water wants to remind its partners that the deadline for states and territories to submit applications for grant assistance to implement their Beach Monitoring and Protection programs is Wednesday, Sept. 1. In early May, we published a notice of availability (69 FR 24592) of grants under the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act. You can review this notice on the Internet at www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-WATER/2004/May/Day-04. There are few weeks left to apply. Applicants should send their applications to the appropriate Regional Grants Coordinator listed in the Federal Register notice containing instructions for submitting applications. Contact your Regional grants coordinator for more information. The list of contacts is also on the Internet at www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches/grants/contacts.html. For more information on EPA’s BEACH program, please contact your EPA Regional beaches contact or call Beth Leamond at 202/566-0444 (e-mail her at leamond.beth@epa.gov). Lead and Copper Rule: Expert Panel Workshop on Public Education and Risk CommunicationThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is convening an expert panel workshop on Sept. 14-15, 2004, in Philadelphia, PA, to discuss issues associated with the Lead and Copper Rule. The workshop will discuss the public education requirements under the Lead and Copper Rule and how to effectively communicate risk to customers in a variety of situations. This workshop is one in a series of expert workshops that EPA is holding to provide a venue for idea exchange on the opportunities and challenges associated with the Lead and Copper Rule. To register for this event please call Liana Pike at 703-247-6173, or register by email at Registration@EPAPEWorkshop.com. Five-Star Challenge Grants Award AnnouncementEPA and its partners the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Association of Counties, the Wildlife Habitat Council, and NOAA announced on July 28 that the Five Star Restoration Challenge Grant Program had awarded $550,000 to 50 community-led conservation projects to support wetland and streamside restoration projects nationwide. The Five Star Challenge Grants Program develops knowledge and skills in young people through restoration projects that involve multiple and diverse partners, including local government agencies, elected officials, community groups, businesses, schools, youth organizations, and environmental organizations. Consideration for funding is based upon the project's educational and training opportunities for students and at-risk youth, the ecological benefits to be derived, and the project's social and economic benefits to the community. Since FY99, over 350 projects have been selected from 1,200 applications, involving over 5,000 grass roots organizations in all 50 States, DC, two territories, and several Tribes. For more information about 5-Star, visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/restore/5star/ or contact Myra Price at 202-566-1225. Outreach on Mercury in Fish and ShellfishEPA and FDA are distributing What You Need to Know About Mercury in Fish and Shellfish, a brochure that presents the recommendations from the joint national mercury advisory that the two agencies issued in March 2004. We recently distributed the brochures, with a letter signed by EPA and FDA, to over 170,000 members of the U.S. medical community as well as state, tribal, and local health departments, WICs, Pregnancy Planning Centers, and other public health organizations. You can get copies of the brochure, available in both English (document number EPA-823-F-04-009) and Spanish (document number EPA-823-F-04-010), by calling the EPA distribution center at 1-800-490-9198 and giving them the appropriate document number. You can also learn more about EPA’s fish consumption advisory program by visiting EPA’s web site at www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/. 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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