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WaterNews for December 9, 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:
Great Lakes Collaboration Meeting held in ChicagoThe final Great Lakes Protection and Restoration Strategy will be released at “Summit II” on Monday, Dec. 12, 2005 in Chicago, Ill. The Great Lakes Interagency Task Force was established by President Bush through an Executive Order on May 18, 2004 to establish of two major efforts: A “Great Lakes Interagency Task Force” (IATF), and the promotion of a “Regional Collaboration of National Significance” for the Great Lakes. On Dec. 3, 2004, a Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Conveners Meeting was held in Chicago, Illinois, where the Conveners signed the “Great Lakes Declaration” and “Framework” documents affirming the commitment to the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration process and the development of a comprehensive strategy to further protect and restore the Great Lakes. The “Framework” document signed on Dec. 3rd established eight issue area strategy teams, comprised of representatives from all sectors of the Great Lakes community, as the working bodies responsible for drafting action plans that will be used for the development of the Great Lakes Strategy. The Strategy Teams completed their draft documents in late June, and a draft strategy document was released for public review and comment at “Summit I” on July 7, 2005, in Duluth, Minnesota. The 60-day public comment on the draft strategy ended Sept. 8, 2005. In addition, six public meetings were held in locations throughout the Great Lakes basin in order to obtain further public input. The Executive Committee and Issue Area Strategy Teams met on Oct. 6-7, 2005 in Rochester, New York to review public comments and begin finalizing the strategy. EPA's Watershed Academy Sponsors Webcast on Stormwater Phase IIEPA's Watershed Academy sponsors monthly Webcasts to offer free training and information for watershed practitioners around the globe. On Nov. 16, the Academy hosted a Webcast on Stormwater Phase II requirements featuring Nikos Singelis from EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management. The Webcast attracted more than 370 participants from 39 states and Canada. Audio versions of this and past Webcasts are available at: http://www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts. The next Webcast, Introduction to Trading for Water Quality Protection, is slated for Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2005. Registration is available on a first-come/first-served basis and opens approximately one week prior to each seminar. Each Webcast includes a Web-based slide presentation with a companion audio portion that can be accessed either by phone or by streaming audio broadcast. Because of the growing popularity of these Webcasts, EPA encourages participants to reserve a conference room and invite others. For more information, please visit http://www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts. Comments Sought on Proposed Permit for Stormwater DischargesEPA is seeking comments on a proposed reissue of the Stormwater Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP). The new permit contains several changes from its predecessor, including:
As part of the reissue process, EPA is publishing a notice of the proposal in the Federal Register and is accepting public comments for a 45-day period. During the comment period, EPA will hold one public meeting at the agency's Washington, D.C. headquarters on Dec. 20, 2005, to answer questions about the MSGP. The MSGP regulates stormwater discharges from 29 categories of industrial facilities in states, territories and other areas not authorized to implement EPA's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. For further information, including a copy of the proposed MSGP, visit the NPDES website at: http://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/msgp. 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.
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