 |
||
|
Water |  |
 |
||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
WaterNews for July 28, 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:
$1 Billion Sewer Overflow Settlements Reached with Baltimore Co. and Washington Suburban Sanitary CommissionThe Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Maryland Department of the Environment today announced on Tuesday, July 26, 2005, two major Clean Water Act settlements with Baltimore County and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), that are anticipated to lead to more than $1 billion in sewer system improvements. "This billion dollar effort reinforces our national strategy of investing in sewer infrastructure and advancing regional partnerships to protect citizens and restore waters of regional and national significance, such as the Anacostia River and Chesapeake Bay," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, EPA's Assistant Administrator for Water. The settlement requires Baltimore County to implement corrective measures to address both past and potential future causes of sewage overflows. Specific requirements include elimination of system relief points that allow discharges during heavy rains, completion of specific repair or replacement work in known overflow areas, ensuring that backup power exists for pumping stations, and increased oversight and regulation of grease management to reduce associated sewer backups. The county will also perform a comprehensive proactive inspection of its collection system piping, equipment, and pump stations and correct any deficiencies identified with the goal of resolving those deficiencies before they result in sewage overflows. For more information on sanitary sewer overflows, visit EPA's website at http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=4. Expanded Beach Water Quality Data ReleasedEPA's released the most recent data on beach closings and advisories show that only four percent of beach days were lost in 2004 due to advisories or closures triggered by monitoring for bacteria. Most of the closures were relatively short in duration-- 2,700 of these closings were two days-- or less. The number of beaches monitored has more than tripled -- 3,574 in 2004, compared with 1,021 in 1997, the first year EPA began collecting beach-monitoring program data. Of the beaches reported to EPA in 2004, 942, or 26 percent, had at least one advisory or closing during the 2004 season. The differences are attributable both to greater state participation in the program and also to improved measurement and monitoring made
possible by grant money from EPA. For the past five years, EPA has provided nearly $42 million in grants to 35 coastal and Great Lakes
states and territories. The grants help improve water monitoring and fund public-information programs that alert beach-goers about the health To further its commitment to reducing the risk of exposure to disease-causing bacteria at recreational beaches, the Office of Water posted its latest data about beach closings and advisories for the 2004 swimming season on its web site at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches/2004fs.html. Information about specific beaches is available at: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/beacon/. General information about EPA's beaches program, including a listing of all 35 coastal and Great lakes states and territories is available at: http://www.epa.gov/beaches/. Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Public MeetingsThe Great Lakes Regional Collaboration (GLRC) has announced the dates and locations for six public meetings to obtain input on the recently released GLRC Draft Strategy to Restore and Protect the Great Lakes. The meeting schedule is as follows: July 28th in Gary, Indiana; August 1st in Grand Rapids, Michigan; August 4th in Superior, Wisconsin; August 18th in Detroit, Michigan; August 23rd in Cleveland, Ohio; and August 30th in Buffalo, New York. The GLRC is a partnership of federal, state, local and tribal government officials and other interests in the Great Lakes basin created as a result of Executive Order 13340 on the Great Lakes, which was signed by President Bush on May 18, 2004. The purpose of the Collaboration is to develop, by consensus, a restoration and protection plan for the Great Lakes. The draft plan was released on July 7th, and the final plan is scheduled for completion on December 12, 2005. For more information on the public meetings and to review the draft strategy, please visit the GLRC web site at www.glrc.us. Office of Water Launches New Watershed Discussion BoardAs part of its second Webcast, the Office of Water, launched a new on-line Watershed Discussion Board. This forum offers watershed protection practitioners and citizens a platform to exchange ideas, so that innovative solutions and ideas can be easily shared in (near) real-time cyberspace. EPA hopes to engage watershed leaders from around the country in these interactive, on-line discussions. Share your expertise so that others can learn from your experiences. The Forum currently includes the following six categories: Discussion Item Titles:
Please visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/forum/forum.html and join in! Share your expertise so that others can learn from your experiences. Anyone can view the discussion, but one must register to post messages and receive customized updates. Watershed Academy's Second Webcast Features Getting in Step Guide to Effective Watershed OutreachEPA's Watershed Academy sponsored its second Webcast on how to conduct effective watershed outreach campaigns on July 20. The Webcast, entitled Getting in Step: Developing Your Message and Publicizing it Effectively, featured watershed outreach specialist, Charlie McPherson from Tetra Tech, Inc. The on-line seminar attracted several hundreds of participants from 42 States, Puerto Rico, and Canada with people participating via streaming audio or phone lines, and viewing the PowerPoint presentation on the Internet. The entire presentation, complete with audio, can be viewed at the Clu-In Web site at: http://www.clu-in.org/conf/tio/gettinginstep_072005/. The June 22nd Webcast on “Eight Tools of Protection for Developing Areas” featuring Tom Schueler with the Center for Watershed Protection can also be accessed at: http://www.clu-in.org/conf/tio/watershedtools_062205/. 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.
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
