 |
||
|
Water |  |
 |
||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
Water Headlines for April 28, 2006Benjamin 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:
Great Lakes Cleanup Projects Get New DirectionHow and where contaminated sediment will be cleaned up in the Great Lakes is the subject of a new rule announced by the EPA. Acting under the authority of the Great Lakes Legacy Act, the agency has outlined how projects will be identified, selected and evaluated to clean up the sediment and reverse the environmental harm to Great Lakes rivers and harbors. "The Great Lakes Legacy Rule is our roadmap for selecting the best, priority cleanup projects and leveraging public and private dollars to accelerate environmental progress," said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles. The cleanup of such "areas of concern" has been a priority of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration. The result will be healthier aquatic habitat and cleaner water for fish, wildlife and the 35 million residents of the Great Lakes region. Proposed funding for this effort has quintupled in four years. Congress appropriated $9.9 million in fiscal year 2004, $22.3 million in 2005, and $29.6 million in 2006 for Legacy Act cleanups. The president has requested $49.6 million in the proposed 2007 budget. Additional funding comes from state and local partners, who contribute at least a 35 percent match for each project. A request for projects will be issued within 90 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register. Proposals may be submitted at any time. Contaminated sediment is a significant problem in the Great Lakes basin. The United States and Canada have designated 41 areas of concern. In recent years, state and federal agencies have worked with local communities to clean up sediment through dredging and disposal, capping the contaminated material with clean material, allowing natural recovery of the materials in place, or a combination. From 1997-2004, approximately 3.7 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment were remediated from the Great Lakes Basin. Projects that have received funding under the program include the Ashtabula River in northeast Ohio; the Black Lagoon in the Detroit River; Ruddiman Creek in Muskegon, Mich., and Hog Island, near Superior, Wis. More information on Great Lakes Legacy Act: http://www.epa.gov/glla/ ; More information on Contaminated Sediments Program: http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/sediments.html FY 2007 National Water Program Guidance Now AvailableThe National Water Program Guidance for FY 2007 is now available on Internet at and at www.epa.gov/water/waterplan/ and at http://www.epa.gov/ocfopage/npmguidance/index.htm. The Guidance describes priorities for the National Water Program for FY 2007, outlines the strategy for accomplishing specific environmental goals in the coming year, and identifies measures of progress to be used to assess progress. EPA Regions will use the Guidance in working with States and Tribes to develop workplans and related materials and will use "targets" for measures in the Guidance as a point of reference for making "commitments" under the measures over the next several months. EPA Celebrates National Drinking Water WeekThe Office of Water will sponsor an event on the Woodrow Wilson Plaza outside of the Ronald Reagan Building on May 10, in Washington, DC. The event celebrates National Drinking Water Week, which runs from May 7-13, and EPA’s on-going recognition of the 30th Anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act. National Drinking Water Week was first sponsored by the American Water Works Association (AWWA). In the early 1990’s, AWWA formed a coalition with several organizations including EPA, USDA, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, the Water Environment Federation and the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators to celebrate the week nationally. May is American Wetlands MonthJoin the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in celebrating American Wetlands Month in May. This year’s theme, "It Pays to Save Wetlands," focuses on the economic and environmental benefits of wetlands, including cleaner water, less flood damage and more seafood. EPA and its partners in government, private industry and public interest groups have planned events nationwide highlighting the importance of protecting and preserving wetlands. To find out more about these entertaining and educational activities, see www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/awm/ or see Izaak Walton League of America’s calendar of events at www.iwla.org/. New Document Aimed at Improving Wetlands Monitoring ProgramsA new document, released by EPA, will help states and tribes develop consistent programs to improve wetland monitoring. The document outlines critical elements that programs should include. "Application of Elements of a State Water Monitoring and Assessment Program for Wetlands," follows EPA’s 2003 publication, "Elements of a State Water Monitoring and Assessment Program." The new document describes the 10 recommended elements of a wetland monitoring and assessment program including a program strategy, monitoring objectives and design, and data management. It further describes wetland-specific assessment approaches available to states and tribes. The purpose of the document is to increase the understanding of wetland quality by advancing the practice of wetlands monitoring and assessment. It provides information and illustrations of assessment approaches unique to wetlands while reiterating the basic structure of a monitoring program that includes wetlands. New guidance and more information about wetlands monitoring: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/monitor/ 7th Coastal & Estuarine Shallow Water Science & Management ConferenceJoin EPA on May 8-10, 2006, at the Holiday Inn-Boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J. for the Seventh Coastal & Estuarine Shallow Water Science & Management Conference. Based on the abstracts submitted the conference theme will be the interrelationship between shallow water habitats, water quality and adjacent land use. For more information on the conference visit http://www.WetlandsWorkGroup.org 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)
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
