Who's Who in the Region 10 Office of Water and Watersheds

Mike Gearheard at gearheard.mike@epa.gov, Director, at 206 553-7151
Christine Psyk, psyk.christine@epa.gov, Associate Director, at 206-553-1906
Jayne Carlin, carlin.jayne@epa.gov, Office of Water and Watersheds Web Coordinator, at 206-553-8512

EPA Region 10's Office of Water and Watersheds is responsible for carrying out EPA's mandates under several laws (EPA's National Office of Water Website), such as the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act.

EPA Region 10's Office of Water and Watersheds' mission is to:

Restore, maintain, and enhance the overall quality of the Region's water resources in order to protect the health and diversity of the environment for present and future generations.

Our environmental objectives are to:

Protect diverse ecosystems and ensure healthy watersheds.
Safeguard human health through vigorous protection of ground and surface waters and drinking water
sources.
Prevent and minimize the discharge of pollutants to land, air, and water.
Promote stewardship for the Region's waters through education and public involvement.

We will use sound science and wise decision-making to accomplish these objectives by:

Managing our programs through partnerships with state, local, tribal and federal governments.
Providing technical assistance and programmatic support to build capacity with state and tribal
agencies as well as other federal agencies.
Targeting our efforts on greatest human health and environmental risks, by focussing available information on region's ground water and surface water quality.
Applying water program authorities in an integrated manner to the highest priority ecosystems in the region.
Encouraging innovative and cost-effective solutions to environmental problems.
Integrating watershed programs to better enable the delivery of watersheds that meet water quality standards and increase the ability to deliver on-the-ground environmental results.

The Office of Water and Watersheds includes five operating units:

The Drinking Water Unit deals with both surface and subsurface sources of drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act. This unit also deals with general ground water protection issues. Its work includes support for State Wellhead and Source Water Protection programs. The unit manager is Marie Jennings at jennings.marie@epa.gov or 206-553-1893. The staff are listed in Who's Who in the Drinking Water Unit or by staff by subject. Key websites are the Regional Drinking Water, Regional Groundwater, National Groundwater, and National Safe Drinking Water.
The Grants and Strategic Planning Unit (GSPU) deals with preserving and restoring watersheds through providing resources including financial support to states and communities. GSPU also provides leadership for OWW strategic planning and grants management. Programs include the State Revolving Loan program, Special Appropriations Act wastewater and drinking water projects, the National Estuary Program and the Targeted Watershed Grants. The unit manager is Paula VanHaagen at vanhaagen.paula@epa.gov or 206-553-6977. The staff are listed in Who's Who in the Grants and Strategic Planning Unit. Key websites are Regional Clean Water State Revolving Fund, National Grants and Regional Grants, Regional Watershed Collaboration and Tools, National Watersheds and National Estuary Program (in Region 10).
The NPDES Permits Unit issues wastewater discharge permits in accordance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System regulations. The unit manager is Michael Lidgard or lidgard.michael@epa.gov or 206-553-1755. The staff are listed in Who's Who in the NPDES Permits Unit. Key websites are EPA's Regional Water Discharge (NPDES) Permit and National Wastewater Management.
The Water Quality Standards Unit deals with water quality standards. The Unit Manager is Jannine Jennings, at jennings.jannine@epa.gov or 206-553-2724. The staff are listed in Who's Who in the Water Quality StandardsUnit. Key websites include EPA's Regional Water Quality Standards Website and National Water Quality Standards and Criteria Website.
The Watershed Unit deals with Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs or surface water clean-up plans), the nonpoint source program (Clean Water Act 319), impaired and threatened waterbodies (Clean Water Act 303d list), and coastal nonpoint pollution control program (Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments, Section 6217). The Unit Manager is Dave Croxton at croxton.david@epa.gov or (206) 553-6694. The staff are listed in Who's Who in the Watershed Unit. Key websites include EPA's National TMDL Program Website, National Nonpoint Source Pollution Program, Coastal Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program, and Regional Watershed Restoration (TMDL) Website.

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Who's Who in the Region 10 Office of Water and Watersheds

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