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WaterNews for February 1, 2005Benjamin 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:
Assistant Administrator Gives Keynote Address at Annual Smart Growth ConferenceBenjamin H. Grumbles, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Water, gave a keynote address to the 900 attendees at the 4th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth meeting held Jan. 27-29, in Miami, FL. Grumbles discussed 1) agency-wide efforts to advance sustainable growth, environmental protection and public health 2) announced a new Memorandum of Agreement between the EPA Administrator and Admiral Lautenbacher of NOAA on sustainable growth in coastal areas. Information on this MOU is posted at: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/noaamoa.html and 3) work that the Office of Water is doing on protecting water resources with smart growth. Grumbles noted the important role EPA’s Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation plays in coordinating smart growth efforts and conducting the annual smart growth achievement awards. Grumbles emphasized that the Agency will remain committed to these issues in the years to come. For more information, please contact Jamal Kadri at kadri.jamal@epa.gov. Now On-line "Growth and Water Resources" Training ModuleA new on-line, distance learning training module called "Growth and Water Resources" has recently been posted on EPA's Watershed Academy Web at: http://www.epa.gov/watertrain/smartgrowth/. This training module explains how changes in land use affect water resources, and presents national data on trends in development patterns and activities on land that have become increasingly significant challenges for achieving water quality standards. The module describes a combination of approaches to accommodate future growth in a way that benefits the economy and the environment and will help us meet out water resource goals. The module also includes a "tools" section with links to on-line resources. This training module was developed by EPA’s Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds Smart Growth Team. For more information, please contact Jamal Kadri at kadri.jamal@epa.gov. EPA Issues Interpretive Statement on Application of PesticidesOn Jan. 27, EPA announced the issuance of a final interpretive statement and a proposed rule on clarification of Clean Water Act (CWA) permitting requirements for the application of pesticides to or over the nation’s waters. The statement and proposed rule reflect EPA's long-standing policy that a CWA permit is not required where application of a particular pesticide to or over water is consistent with requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Upon publication of this notice in the Federal Register, you may provide input on the proposal during a 60-day comment period. You can find the statement and proposed rule on EPA’s web site at day comment period. You can find the statement and proposed rule on EPA’s web site at www.epa.gov/npdes/agriculture. White House Releases Response to Ocean Commission ReportThe White House released its response to the Ocean Commission report on Dec. 17, 2004. The response, entitled U.S. Ocean Action Plan, summarizes the Administration's actions to advance ocean policy and also identifies new near-term and longer term initiatives that respond to recommendations in the Commission report. EPA collaborated with 13 other executive branch agencies and departments on the Administration's Interagency Ocean Policy Group to consider the Commission's recommendations and help formulate the Administration's response. One of the elements of the Action Plan is an Executive Order establishing a Cabinet-level Committee on Ocean Policy, to be chaired by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The EPA Administrator will serve on the Committee, along with the heads of other agencies and departments with responsibilities relating to ocean and coastal policy and management. A copy of the Ocean Action Plan is available at: http://ocean.ceq.gov EPA to Celebrate Environmental Education WeekNational Environmental Education (EE) Week is April 10-16. More than 100 organizations representing 3 million educators and 6 million volunteers are signed on to participate. The goal is to engage teachers, parents and students, and to educationally prepare students for Earth Day 2005. Educators can participate by conducting EE classes, discussions, community service projects, field trips or any on a hundred different activities and projects. For free curricula and ideas see www.eeweek.org/eeweeklinks.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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