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WaterNews for May 25, 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:
Memorial Day 2005: Another Beach Season Begins!Each year, Americans take 910 million trips to coastal areas and spend about $44 billion dollars at the beach. Also every year there are hundreds of beach advisories and closings at coastal and Great Lakes beaches due to harmful bacteria. Therefore, EPA is working with states, tribes and local governments to notify the public of beach conditions through electronic data exchange, beach advisory and closing information, better science, and federal dollars. States are using the grant money that EPA has provided to develop enhanced monitoring notification programs. "Beaches are often a part of our summer recreational activities," said Benjamin Grumbles, assistant administrator for the Office of Water. "Through these grants, we can improve the water quality and keep the public informed so that they can enjoy trips to the beach confidently." With the help of these funds, beach programs such as Warren Town Beach, Rhode Island, were able to identify two broken storm water pipes as a major contributor to poor beach water quality. The beach sampling activities showed that after the pipes were repaired, there was a dramatic drop in bacteria levels. Information about EPA’s beach programs is available at: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches/memorial05.htm and http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/b1ab9f485b098972852562e7004dc686/c02dff270f1bbe0c8525700c0054ede5!OpenDocument. All States to Share in Water Quality Monitoring FundsEvery state will get additional water quality monitoring funds as a result of an EPA decision to target a $9.92 million increase in fiscal year 2005 water pollution control grants for these activities. Each year, EPA awards funds under Section 106 of the Clean Water Act to assist states (including territories and the District of Columbia), Indian Tribes, and interstate agencies in establishing and implementing water pollution control programs. EPA will award each state an additional $172,000 in funding, while each territory and the District of Columbia will receive $86,000. The Federal Register Notice and other information about the alternative allotment formula are available at http://www.epa.gov/owm/cwfinance/altformula.htm. EPA Publishes New National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from ForestryEPA recently published new National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Forestry, a technical guidance and reference document for use by State, Territory, and authorized Tribal managers as well as the public in the implementation of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution management programs in forest settings. The new guidance contains information on the best available, economically achievable means of reducing nonpoint source pollution that can result from forestry activities. For more information about the guidance or to download the document (in PDF format) please visit our Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/forestrymgmt/. Also, you can receive a free copy of this guidance by contacting the National Service Center for Environmental Publications via phone at 1-800-490-9198 or via the Web at www.epa.gov/ncepihom and requesting Publication # EPA 841-B-05-001. For more information, please contact Chris Solloway at: solloway.chris@epa.gov. ICMA and TPL to Host Conservation Financing WebcastOn June 9, 2005, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the Trust for Public Land (TPL), in cooperation with EPA, will host a webcast, Protecting Water Resources through Land Conservation: Funding Options for Local Governments. The webcast will provide explore the role of conservation finance in land conservation, describe critical components for creating a successful funding effort, and showcase local government success stories. To register, visit http://lgean.org/html/training 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 listserve: 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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