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Water Headlines for July 7, 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:
EPA Proposes Regulatory Improvements to Control Lead in Drinking WaterOn July 6, 2006, EPA proposed important revisions tot he 1991 Lead and Copper Rule that would:
"This proposal reflects the administration's commitment to protect public health. These revisions will prescribe stronger requirements for water system operators and will ensure the American people have access to the fundamental public service of clean, safe drinking water," said Benjamin Grumbles, assistant administrator for water. The proposal is an outgrowth of EPA’s March 2005 drinking water lead-reduction plan. The agency developed the plan after analyzing the efficacy of the regulation and how states and locals were implementing it. The agency collected and analyzed lead information required by the regulations, reviewed the states' implementation, held five expert workshops about elements of the regulations, and worked to better understand local and state monitoring for lead in drinking water in schools and child-care facilities. The proposal will be published in the Federal Register in the near future. The proposal and information about lead in drinking water: http://www.epa.gov/safewater. EPA to Infuse Almost $1 Billion Into Drinking Water ProgramsStates, territories and tribes will share more than $940 million from three EPA grant programs to support the quality and security of the nation's drinking water. The water supplies for more than 270 million people will benefit from the funding. "This important Congressional funding advances President Bush’s commitment to states and communities for safe, sustainable, and secure water systems," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, assistant administrator for water. More than $837 million will support Drinking Water State Revolving Funds programs, which help states, territories and tribes finance infrastructure improvements to public water systems. Federal capitalization grants fund low-interest loans to public water systems. Eligible projects include upgrades to treatment facilities, certain storage facilities and distribution systems. Since the program began in 1997, public water systems have received more than $9 billion in low-interest loans. Concurrently, the agency has proposed allotting $841,500,000 in the proposed FY 2007 budget. Another $98 million in grants will fund the Public Water Supervision System. This system operates under the Safe Drinking Water Act and provides resources to implement and enforce drinking water regulations and programs. At the same time the agency is announcing tentative allotments of $99,099,000 in the proposed FY 2007 budget. Finally, EPA will provide $5 million in FY 2006 counter-terrorism grants to states and territories. The grants will help provide drinking water utilities with technical assistance and training to improve the readiness of first responders at drinking water systems, including practicing emergency response and recovery plans. States are also encouraged to develop strategies to help utilities implement security enhancements. States, territories, and tribes may apply for funding through their EPA regional offices. More information: Public Water Supervision System: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/pws/grants/ FY06 Five-Star Challenge Grants Award AnnouncementEPA and its partners the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Association of Counties, the Wildlife Habitat Council, and its latest sponsor Southern Company announced on July 5 that the Five Star Restoration Challenge Grant Program has awarded more than $518,000 to 39 community-led wetland and streamside restoration projects nationwide. The Five Star Challenge Grants Program develops knowledge and skills in young people through restoration projects that involve multiple and diverse partners, including local/state/federal government agencies, community groups, businesses, schools, youth organizations, and environmental organizations. Consideration for funding are based upon the project’s ecological benefits, educational and training opportunities for students, and social and economic benefits to the community. Since 1999, Five Star has supported nearly 400 projects in all 50 States, DC, two territories, and several Tribes and has engaged over 18,000 volunteers and students while restoring over 8,200 acres of wetlands and around 95 miles of streams. In addition to federal funding, Southern Company has joined the Five Star partnership with a five-year, $1.2 million contribution to support restoration projects. For more information about 5-Star, visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/restore/5star/ or contact Myra Price at 202-566-1225. 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)
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