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Water Headlines for July 7, 2008Benjamin H. Grumbles Water Headlines 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 Water Headlines:
EPA Re-Issues Permit for Construction Site StormwaterThe EPA is re-issuing a stormwater Construction General Permit (CGP), which expired July 1, 2008, for a two-year time period. The permit will apply only where EPA is the permitting authority, which is in five states (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Idaho and Alaska); Washington, D.C.; most territories; and most Indian country lands. The CGP regulates the discharge of stormwater from construction sites that disturb one acre or more of land, and from smaller sites that are part of a larger, common plan of development. The permit requires operators of the construction sites to use stormwater controls and develop stormwater pollution prevention plans to minimize the discharge of sediment and other pollutants associated with construction sites in stormwater runoff. Under the re-issued permit, new dischargers include new construction sites that start construction on or after the effective date of this permit and those that have already started construction, but do not have coverage under the 2003 CGP. Sites that have coverage under the 2003 CGP must continue to comply with the provisions of that permit and do not need to apply for coverage under this new permit. The permit uses most of the same terms and conditions as EPA's 2003 permit. EPA is coordinating the permit with a second effort that is underway to establish national clean water standards, known as an effluent limitation guideline, for the construction and development industry. Upon finalization of the guideline, EPA plans to include its provisions into a new and improved five-year CGP to be reissued no later than July 2010. For more information on the Construction General Permit: http://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/cgp Effective Utility Management Primer and Electronic Toolbox ReleasedTo assist utility managers in promoting sustainable operations and improving performance, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency helped create the "Effective Utility Management Primer." This is a collaborative effort with six national associations: Water Environment Federation, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, American Water Works Association, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, American Public Works Association, and National Association of Water Companies. Based on the "Ten Attributes of Effectively Managed Water Sector Utilities" and the five "Keys to Management Success," the primer provides a framework through a customized, incremental approach to help utility managers identify which of the 10 attributes they should focus on first. It also features a series of suggested utility performance measures. This will allow utilities to establish a performance baseline and begin to measure their progress. The document is available at http://www.epa.gov/waterinfrastructure/pdfs/tools_si_watereum_primerforeffectiveutilities.pdf
There is also an electronic resource toolbox that utilities will be able to access on-line from the collaborating organizations at http://watereum.org/ Don't Trash the Ocean: National Clean Beaches Week July 1-7Summer is here and everyone is heading to picnics, parties, pools, parks, and beaches, but it is important to remember to put trash and recyclable materials in their proper place to help protect oceans and coasts from marine debris. EPA recommends five simple actions that can prevent trash from becoming marine debris:
When trash is not properly thrown away or recycled, it can wash down storm drains or get blown into streams, rivers, and oceans becoming marine debris. Marine debris, including plastic grocery bags and bottles, ropes, soda rings, fishing lines and other items, can threaten public safety, hurt the economy with costly cleanups and deterred tourism, and harm or kill marine life like seals, sea turtles, and birds. Information on marine debris: http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/debris/ Ways to reduce waste: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/ Free Webcast about the Clean Water Act State Revolving Fund: What’s in it for Watersheds?EPA's Watershed Academy sponsors free monthly Webcasts for watershed practitioners from around the globe. On Wednesday, July 16th, 2008, Stephanie VonFeck from EPA’s State Revolving Fund Branch and Patti Cale-Finnegan from Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources will discuss the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, a large, flexible, and largely untapped source of funding for watershed projects. It provides over $5 billion each year for traditional stormwater and wastewater projects, as well as over $200 million for nonpoint source projects, such as land conservation, agricultural best management practices, and clean-up of contaminated sites. Registration opened July 3rd. Archived audio versions of past webcasts are also available at http://epa.gov/watershedwebcasts/. EPA Testifies Before Congress about National Estuary ProgramSummer is here and everyone is heading to picnics, parties, pools, parks, and beaches, but it is important to remember to put trash and recyclable materials in their proper place to help protect oceans and coasts from marine debris. Craig Hooks, Director of the Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds in EPA’s Office of Water testified before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment, about the economic and environmental values of estuaries and the importance of the National Estuary Program (NEP). He discussed how the NEP supports the Clean Water Act Core Programs, how the 28 NEPs successfully leverage additional funds, and the value of partnering to achieve environmental results. He also described the new Climate Ready Estuaries program. The Committee also heard testimony from representatives of NOAA, the Puget Sound Partnership, the Association of National Estuary Programs, and other stakeholder organizations on the protection and restoration of the nation's coasts and estuaries. Links to the testimony and the live broadcast can be found at: http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingDetail.aspx?NewsID=686 Subscribe to Water HeadlinesPlease 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 Water Headlines listserve: Send an email message, leave the subject line blank, and address it to: In the body of the message write: Subscribe Water Headlines first name last name (Please leave one blank space between each word, do not include any other message, and use your actual name- i.e. Subscribe Water Headlines Robert Jones) To unsubscribe to the Water Headlines listserve: Send an email message, leave the subject line blank, and address it to: leave-waterheadlines@lists.epa.gov To read archived editions of Water Headlines, visit: http://www.epa.gov/water/waternews/
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