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Watershed News
November 2008
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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) FY09 Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup Grants2) ArcelorMittal Great Lakes Watershed Restoration Program
3) Region 10 - Request for Initial Proposals (RFIP) for EPA Dedicated Water Quality Program Funding
4) Over 2 million acres now enrolled in the USDA's Wetlands Reserve Program
5) Environment Matters - New Series of Podcasts from EPA Region 3
6) Green Scene: Tap Water vs. Bottled Water
7) Alliance for Water Efficiency and U.S. EPA Announce Water Efficiency Resource Library Launch
8) EPA Issues Guide to Help Reduce Wastewater Nutrients
9) New "Find Your Watershed" Widget Connects to EPA's Surf Your Watershed
10) Lake Como, Texas - Removing Legacy Pollutants Restores Fish Consumption Use
11) EPA's Watershed Academy to sponsor free December 3rd Webcast on Rain Gardens
12) 8th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference
Funding Opportunities
FY09 Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup Grants
The proposal deadline is November 14, 2008.
These grants may be used to address sites contaminated by petroleum and hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum). Please note there have been significant changes to the Proposal Guidelines for Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants. EPA encourages applicants to read the guidelines carefully before applying. Opportunities for funding are as follows (See Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 66.818):Brownfields Assessment Grants: (each funded up to $200,000 over three years; $1,000,000 for Assessment Coalitions) provide funding to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning and community involvement related to brownfield sites;
Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants: (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years) provide funding to capitalize a revolving fund and to make loans and provide subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites;
Brownfields Cleanup Grants: (each funded up to $200,000 over three years) provide funding for a grant recipient to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites that are owned by the grant recipient.For additional information on using Brownfields Grants for watershed restoration, visit EPA's Watershed Academy for an archived webcast on: "Using Brownfields Grants for Watershed Restoration and Revitalization." This Webcast highlights funding available to states, communities, and other stakeholders under the Brownfields Program. The Webcast showcases the Black Warrior-Cahaba Rivers Land Trust in Jefferson County, Alabama, which received a $200,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant for the Five Mile Creek Project.
ArcelorMittal Great Lakes Watershed Restoration Program
This program provides grants to organizations working to protect, restore or
enhance the habitat for fish wildlife and plants of the Great Lakes
watershed. To be eligible for consideration, projects must be located
within U.S. portions of the Great Lakes watershed. Potential Canadian
grantees are urged to check with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
(NFWF) technical contact to ensure eligibility developing an application.
Projects must also directly address at least one
of the priority areas identified by the Great Lakes Regional
Collaboration's Habitat/Species Strategy Team. This year there is a
special emphasis on proposals that address coastal wetland and
tributary restoration. Applications are due November 17, 2008.
Region 10 - Request for Initial Proposals (RFIP) for EPA Dedicated Water Quality Program Funding
EPA Region 10 is soliciting proposals from eligible agencies/organizations for the coordination and acceleration of research, studies, experiments, training, investigations and demonstration projects to improve the capacity of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington States and Tribes to effectively and efficiently develop total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for impaired waters located in these States. EPA will not provide funding to State or Tribal environmental agencies for "routine" TMDL work that the Agency supports with grants under Section 106 and 319 of the Clean Water Act; production of TMDLs must be an incidental by-product of the activities EPA funds under this competitive announcement. EPA encourages eligible agencies/organizations to submit proposals on the application of biological monitoring protocols and biocriteria (including narrative biocriteria) in listing, TMDL development and implementation that lead to improved TMDLs. The total estimated funding available for awards under this announcement is approximately $400,000. Applications are due December 8, 2008.News
Over 2 million acres now enrolled in the USDA's Wetlands Reserve Program
WRP, administered by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, was reauthorized in the 2008 Farm Bill. It provides technical and financial assistance to eligible landowners to address wetland, wildlife habitat, soil, water, and related natural resource concerns on private agricultural land. The program provides financial incentives to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on their property. This voluntary program strives to achieve the greatest wetland functions and values and optimum wildlife habitat on every enrolled acre. The enrollment options for landowners are permanent easements, 30-year easements, and a restoration cost-share agreement, as well as 30-year contracts on acreage owned by Indian Tribes.
Environment Matters - New Series of Podcasts from EPA Region 3
The current Environment Matters podcast focuses on the Schuylkill River watershed. The Schuylkill Action Network's work in the watershed is discussed. Past podcasts cover topics such as green highways, the WaterSense program and Brownfield revitalization projects.Green Scene: Tap Water vs. Bottled Water
In the newest EPA Green Scene video, Ben Grumbles, EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water, discusses the issues surrounding the tap vs. bottled water debate, including the health, economic and environmental impact of both. EPA's multimedia page also features videos on the Energy Star program, fall GreenScaping tips and climate change.
Alliance for Water Efficiency and U.S. EPA Announce Water Efficiency Resource Library Launch
The Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE), a national non-profit organization that promotes the efficient and sustainable use of water, announced the formal launch of a comprehensive web-based Water Efficiency Resource Library, in cooperation with the U.S. EPA, who is a major partner and funder of the program.
The Resource Library is intended as a one-stop shop for water efficient product and program information. Library sections cover residential plumbing and appliances, toilet testing, landscape and irrigation, commercial and industrial water conservation, water rates and rate structures, water loss control, codes and standards, drought planning, and numerous other topics. Research reports, published documents, and case studies are included, providing a comprehensive picture of what water efficiency measures prove to be the most successful, and how water utilities and consumers can best achieve water efficient use. Upcoming features being added to the site are state by state summaries and an on-line discussion forum.
EPA Issues Guide to Help Reduce Wastewater Nutrients
The Office of Water has released a new guide that will help municipal and utility owners and operators, engineers, local decision makers, and state permit writers and regulators plan cost-effective nutrient removal projects for municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Excess nutrients are a leading cause of water body impairment and can cause the growth of excessive algae and aquatic vegetation in receiving waters, leading to decreased oxygen levels. Excess ammonia nitrogen is toxic to fish and other aquatic species. Additionally the discharge of nitrates in wastewater can result in groundwater contamination.
The Municipal Nutrient Removal Technologies Reference Document presents detailed technical and cost information about existing nutrient removal technologies and information on emerging technologies. This document includes detailed process descriptions, performance and reliability data, and operating factors for processes that can remove nitrogen, phosphorus, or both from municipal wastewater. It also includes nine in-depth facility case studies from around the country and one in Canada.
Watershed Tool of the Month
New "Find Your Watershed" Widget Connects to EPA's Surf Your Watershed
Now, anyone with a Web site, including their own blog, can post the "Find Your Watershed" widget on their own Web page. This widget supports watershed education and outreach. By advertising this widget, partners can help drive traffic to EPA's Surf Your Watershed database, which helps people find their watershed, learn about its health, and connects them with organizations at work in their watershed. EPA's first widget, the "environmental tip of the day," released last spring, was seen 363,000 times in June after it was posted, which is more than any single page on EPA's Web site other than the home page.Spotlight: Watersheds at Work
Lake Como, Texas - Removing Legacy Pollutants Restores Fish Consumption Use
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) banned people from possessing fish taken from Lake Como because the tissues of these fish contained high concentrations of potentially harmful chemicals. The fish possession ban prompted the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to include Lake Como on the state's 1996 Clean Water Act section 303(d) list of impaired waters. In response to the water quality problem, local, state and federal agencies implemented a range of best management practices (BMPs) in the city of Fort Worth. Recent risk analyses by the DSHS have shown that fish tissue pollutant levels have diminished sufficiently to rescind the fish possession ban. The TCEQ determined that Lake Como is fully supporting its fish consumption use and removed the lake from the 2008 303(d) impaired waters list.
Webcasts
