![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Watershed News
December 2006
|
Watershed News is a publication of EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds. It is designed to provide timely information to groups working at the watershed level.
In this month's newsletter
1) Clean Water Act Section 319 Funds Available to Tribal Nonpoint Source Programs
2) Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants - Request For Proposals/Availability of Funds issued
3) Five-Star Restoration Matching Grants Program
4) EPA's Water Quality Trading Assessment Handbook
5) Bear River Watershed, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming - Water Quality Trading Program and Model
6) Source Water Collaborative launches Web Site
7) 2007 National Wetlands Awards Nomination Forms Available
8) Blue Ribbon Water Quality Trading Awards Program
9) Fall 2006 Issue of The Volunteer Monitor Now Available
10) State Innovation Grants Announced
11) Stormwater Webcast Series Continues with December 6th Webcast
12) January 17, 2007 Webcast on Connecting with Local Land Use Decision-Makers on Water Resource Protection
13) After the Storm Video, co-produced by The Weather Channel and EPA, Now Available as Streaming Web Video and soon to be available on DVD!
14) AWRA 2007 Spring Specialty Conference - 3rd National Water Resources Policy Dialogue
15) Paying for Sustainable Water Infrastructure: Innovations for the 21st Century
16) River Network's National River Rally - SAVE THE DATE!
Funding Opportunities
Clean Water Act Section 319 Funds Available to Tribal Nonpoint Source Programs
EPA anticipates, pending enactment of its FY 2007 appropriations, awarding a total of $7 million in grants to eligible tribes for nonpoint source pollution programs. The grants, awarded under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, will help tribes implement their approved nonpoint source (NPS) management programs to control polluted runoff. A portion of the funding will be distributed competitively to develop and implement watershed-based plans and other projects that result in a significant step towards solving NPS impairments. The remaining funds will be distributed to all eligible tribes for education programs, protection activities, and implementing watershed projects. The agency is also releasing national guidelines for the award of this base-grant funding. EPA expects funds will be similar to those distributed in FY 2006, which included approximately $3.8 million awarded to 28 tribes and $3.2 million in base grants awarded to 95 tribes. Applications for the funding must be received by Dec. 19, 2006. The request for proposals can be found at http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/tribal/.
Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants - Request For Proposals/Availability of Funds issued
Brownfields are real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land, and both improves and protects the environment. In 2006, communities shared $69.9 million in EPA Brownfields grants to revitalize former industrial and commercial sites, turning them from problem properties to productive community use. The total estimated funding expected to be available under this competitive opportunity is approximately $72 million. EPA anticipates awarding approximately 200 cooperative agreements. This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits proposals from eligible entities to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize Brownfield sites. Proposals sent through the U.S. Postal Service or sent via a commercial delivery service must be postmarked by December 6, 2006; Proposals submitted through grants.gov must be received by December 6, 2006. To view the Request for Proposals announcement, please visit http://www.epa.gov/oswer/grants-funding.htm#epa-oswer-obcr-07-01.
Five-Star Restoration Matching Grants Program
The National Association of Counties, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Wildlife Habitat Council, in cooperation with EPA and a newt partner, Southern Company, are soliciting applications for the Five-Star Restoration Matching Grants Program. The Program provides modest financial assistance on a competitive basis to support community-based wetland, riparian, and coastal habitat restoration projects that build diverse partnerships and foster local natural resource stewardship through education, outreach and training activities. Awards are between $5,000 and $20,000; the average grant is about $13,000. Projects must include a strong on-the-ground wetland, riparian, or coastal habitat restoration component and must also include a strong training, education, community stewardship and/or outreach component. Projects must involve diverse partnerships of ideally five organizations that contribute funding, land, technical assistance, workforce support, and/or other in-kind services. Projects involving only research, monitoring, or planning are not eligible for funding. Applicants must demonstrate that measurable ecological, educational, social, and/or economic benefits are expected to result from the completion of the project.
EPA also announced the availability of special funding under the Five-Star Restoration Program through a partnership with Southern Company and its operating companies (Georgia Power, Alabama Power, Gulf Power, and Mississippi Power). In addition to EPA funding for projects located within any U.S. state or territory, $200,000 in additional grant funding from Southern Company is available for projects located in the following areas:
- Georgia (excluding Union, Fannin and Towns Counties)
- Alabama (excluding Lauderdale, Colbert, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marshall, Morgan, Jackson, DeKalb, Cherokee and Cullman Counties)
- the Florida Panhandle (west of the Apalachicola River)
- southeast Mississippi (23 counties, from Meridian to the coast, with the west boundary running from Pearl River County to Union County)
Applications must be postmarked by March 9, 2007. For more information, visit http://www.nfwf.org/programs/5star-rfp.cfm. 
Watershed Tool of the Month
EPA’s Water Quality Trading Assessment Handbook
Water quality trading is an innovative approach to achieve water quality goals more efficiently. Trading programs allow facilities to meet regulatory obligations by purchasing equivalent or superior pollution reductions from another source -- achieving water quality improvements in a cost-effective manner. The Water Quality Trading Assessment Handbook is intended to help water quality managers and watershed stakeholders determine if trading can be used in their watershed to make cost-effective pollutant reductions that achieve water quality standards. You can order hard copies of the handbook free of charge through the National Service Center for Environmental Publications at (800) 490-9198. You can also download the handbook at www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/trading/handbook/.
Spotlight: Watersheds At Work
Bear River Watershed, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming – Water Quality Trading Program and Model
Bear River is the largest tributary to the Great Salt Lake and provides important waterfowl habitat in the largely arid desert surroundings. The 7,500 square mile watershed is unique in that it presents challenges and opportunities from three states, two EPA regions, and a multiple of jurisdictions and planning authorities. In addition to complexities stemming from the transboundary nature of the river, the river is faced with impairments from animal feeding operations, grazing, agriculture, urban development, phosphate mining, oil and gas exploration, and logging. To address the multiple pollutants and diverse pollutant sources, the Bear River Commission, along with its many partners are developing a water quality trading program to allow point and nonpoint pollutant sources to trade water quality credits. A water quality trading model is also being developed that can analyze potential water quality monitoring scenarios. Find out more information about this Targeted Watersheds Grant Project at: http://www.epa.gov/twg/2005annualreport/index.html.
News
Source Water Collaborative launches Web Site
Fifteen leading organizations that have joined forces under a newly formed Source Water Collaborative have launched a new joint web site. The web site—www.protectdrinkingwater.org —will network source water advocates across the country and serve as a national portal to source water information.
The Source Water Collaborative, created in February 2006, meets quarterly to share information, develop recommendations, and promote the protection of the lakes, streams, rivers and aquifers America taps for drinking water. Members include the American Planning Association, American Water Works Association, American Metropolitan Water Association, Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, Association of State & Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators, Clean Water Fund, Ground Water Protection Council, The Groundwater Foundation, Environmental Finance Center Network, National Association of Counties, National Rural Water Association, River Network, Trust for Public Lands, U.S. Geological Survey, and EPA.
In their vision statement, Collaborative members agreed that source water protection should be integrated into land-use planning and stewardship; road, sewer and water projects; farming, industry and development practices; waste disposal methods; watershed planning; and the routine decisions Americans make every day. This approach recognizes that the country cannot rely on treatment alone to protect drinking water and that the quality, quantity, and cost of drinking water also depend on land stewardship and planning decisions. The Collaborative’s new web site offers a portal to source water guides and materials for policymakers, developers, farmers and others. Learn more at www.protectdrinkingwater.org. EPA Contact: Tracy Hudak, (hudak.tracy@epa.gov), 202-564-0651
2007 National Wetlands Awards Nomination Forms Available
The National Wetlands Awards Program celebrates individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary dedication, innovation or excellence in wetlands conservation. Their work covers programs or projects on the regional, state and local levels, and their efforts to educate the public and surrounding communities about the value of wetlands, the programs that are available to protect and restore wetlands, and the value of cooperation among grassroots organizations, educational organizations, private landowners, and government agencies lead to the successful protection of wetland resources. National Wetlands Awardees show how individuals can and do make a difference. The Program recognizes extraordinary individual achievement in six categories: Education and Outreach; Science Research; Conservation and Restoration; Landowner Stewardship; State, Tribal, and Local Program Development; and Wetland Community Leader. The winners in each category will be honored in a ceremony on Capital Hill in May 2007.
The awards are co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute, EPA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service, NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Federal Highway Administration.
For more information, please visit http://www.nationalwetlandsawards.org or call (202)939-3247. The deadline for submitting nominations is December 15, 2006.
Blue Ribbon Water Quality Trading Awards Program
EPA is seeking nominations for the Blue Ribbon Water Quality Trading Awards Program, a new awards program, to recognize outstanding leadership in designing or implementing water quality trading programs and policies that have achieved or will achieve environmental and economic benefits. EPA’s Water Quality Trading Policy offers participants a tool to help foster accelerated restoration of our nation’s watersheds. Trading programs allow facilities facing higher pollutant control costs to meet their regulatory obligations by purchasing environmentally equivalent (or superior) pollutant reductions from another source at lower cost, thus achieving the same water quality improvement at lower overall cost. Water quality trading is gaining increased acceptance as a cost-effective method of meeting new challenges. The deadline for applications is January 16. For more information about Water Quality Trading, please visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/trading.htm. For more information about the Blue Ribbon Water Quality Trading Awards Program including the Federal Register notice on the program, please visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/trading/awards.html.
Fall 2006 Issue of The Volunteer Monitor Now Available
The fall 2006 issue of the Volunteer Monitor, Observational Monitoring Using Volunteers, focuses on observational monitoring and includes articles on monitoring human use in a watershed, construction site monitoring, volunteer response to a Delaware Bay oil spill, conducting horseshoe crab counts, and much more. The issue is now available at http://www.epa.gov/owow/monitoring/volunteer/issues.htm.
State Innovation Grants Announced
EPA is awarding $2.9 million in grants to 12 states to help them improve environmental permitting – the legal process by which regulatory requirements to protect health and the environment are translated into operating procedures for businesses and facilities. Five states receiving grants – New Jersey, Virginia, Louisiana, Indiana and Nevada – are setting up programs to improve environmental performance in small businesses, such as dry cleaning, oil and gas well operations, retail gasoline sales, and dental facilities. These programs will be applying the Environmental Results Program (ERP) model to improve compliance and other aspects of environmental performance while reducing regulatory burden and increasing regulatory agency awareness of small business operations. Since 2002, EPA has provided 23 states 29 State Innovation Grants totaling nearly $5 million. These grants are an outgrowth of EPA's 2002 Innovation Strategy, which calls for strengthening the agency's innovation partnership with states.
EPA will also be announcing a solicitation for additional grants under the 2007 State Innovation Grants competition. It will appear soon in the Federal Register. For more information on the State Innovation Grants program and the latest solicitation : epa.gov/innovation/stategrants
More information about EPA's Innovation Strategy : epa.gov/innovation/strategy.htm
More information on the Environmental Results Program (ERP) : epa.gov/permits/erp/index.htm
Webcasts
Stormwater Webcast Series Continues with December 6th Webcast
The December 6, 2006 Webcast, Killing Two Birds with One Stone: Building a Local Program to Maintain Your Stormwater Practices and Prevent Pollution from Municipal Operations will feature Tom Schueler of the Center for Watershed Protection. The Webcast will discuss aspects of two of the six minimum measures: maintaining post-construction Best Management Practices (BMPs) and municipal operations/good housekeeping. During this Webcast we will discuss how to build a strong maintenance program that will cover both of these areas. The Webcast will include a brief discussion of the requirements, examples of successful local programs, the top maintenance headaches faced by MS4s, and will introduce new tools to help you build a successful maintenance program. To register for this free webcast, please visit www.epa.gov/npdes/training
All Stormwater webcasts are archived and can be viewed at any time. Also, you can now download these webcasts and listen to them on your iPod or MP4 player. To access last year’s webcasts, please visit www.epa.gov/npdes/training
January 17, 2007 Webcast on Connecting with Local Land Use Decision-Makers on Water Resource Protection
EPA's Watershed Academy sponsors free monthly Webcasts for watershed practitioners from around the globe. On Wed., January 17th, Chet Arnold from the University of Connecticut’s Center for Land Use Education and Research, John Rosum with the Connecticut NEMO Project and Dave Dickson with the National NEMO Network will provide a thorough overview of the methods, impacts and educational offerings of the Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) Program. NEMO is a national award-winning program of the University of Connecticut that educates local land use decision makers on the links between land use and water resource protection. In this session, the educational offerings, geospatial technology tools, and local impacts of the Connecticut program will be discussed. The instructors will reveal the mysteries of the National NEMO Network, an affiliated group of projects in 30 states. Registration for this Webcast will open on January 10th, 2007.
On Wed., November 29th, Beth Hall from EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water; Chris Crockett, Manager of Watershed Protection for the Philadelphia Water Department; and Sheree Stewart, Drinking Water Protection Coordinator, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality provided a primer on public water supplies and the recently completed source water assessments mandated by the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act. For more information or to access archived audio versions of this and past webcasts, please visit www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts.
Outreach and Education
After the Storm Video, co-produced by The Weather Channel and EPA, Now Available as Streaming Web Video and soon to be available on DVD!
The After the Storm video program, co-produced by EPA and The Weather Channel, highlights three case studies—Santa Monica Bay, the Mississippi River Basin/Gulf of Mexico, and New York City— where polluted runoff threatens watersheds highly valued for recreation, commercial fisheries and navigation, and drinking water. Key scientists and water quality experts, and citizens involved in local and national watershed protection efforts provide insight into the problems as well as solutions to today’s water quality challenges. To access the free streaming video, go to http://www.clu-in.org/search/t.focus/id/602/.
For more information, including tips about what people can do to prevent watershed pollution, visit www.epa.gov/weatherchannel. Free VHS and Beta SP (for cable, other TV stations, schools, etc.) copies of the After the Storm program can be ordered from this website. The program will also be available in DVD format soon!
Upcoming Conferences and Workshops
AWRA 2007 Spring Specialty Conference – 3rd National Water Resources Policy Dialogue
January 22-23, 2007, Arlington, VA. The First and Second National Water Resources Policy Dialogues brought together water resources experts from around the Nation to focus on the policy needs of the Nation. The Third Dialogue will build on the results of these Dialogues with the aim of providing decision makers with guidance in the formulation and development of water resources policies attuned to societal needs and preferences. At the conclusion of the Third Dialogue, an after-action report will be prepared that will be distributed widely within the Administration, the Congress, the Nation's Governors and the attendees of the Dialogue. For more information, visit http://www.awra.org/meetings/DC2007/index.html.
Paying for Sustainable Water Infrastructure: Innovations for the 21st Century
March 21-23, 2007, Atlanta, Georgia. EPA and the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority will bring together stakeholders from all levels of government and the private sector to explore creative methods to pay for sustainable water infrastructure. This will be the first national conference to address the challenge of integrating the diverse tools and strategies to pay for sustainable water infrastructure. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss these issues with leaders and peers in four tracks: 1) Sustainable Water Infrastructure; 2) Federal Roles in Water Infrastructure Innovation; 3) State and Local Innovations; and 4) International Innovations in Finance, Technologies, and Management. More details and information are available at www.payingforwater.com, specific questions can be directed to Kelly Kunert at kunert.kelly@epa.gov.
River Network's National River Rally - SAVE THE DATE!
River Network's 2007 National River Rally will take place May 18-22, 2007 in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. Over 500 river and watershed protection advocates at Skamania Lodge (www.skamania.com) will come together for four days of education, inspiration and celebration. Over 100 workshops are planned. Nonprofit staff and volunteers, tribal, agency and corporate representatives working on freshwater issues are invited and encouraged to attend!
2007 River Rally dates to note:
~ January 15: River Rally registration opens
~ February 9: River Hero nominations due
~ March 15: Scholarship applications due
For more information, visit http://www.rivernetwork.org/
Be sure to check EPA's Watershed Funding Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/funding.html
To subscribe to Watershed News, simply send a blank email to:
watershed-news-subscribe@lists.epa.gov
Mention of any commercial enterprise, product, or publication does not constitute endorsement by EPA. Also, EPA does not endorse any group's policies, activities or positions on any federal, state or local legislation.