 |
||
|
Water |  |
 |
||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
Water Headlines for March 8, 2007Benjamin 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:
New EPA Guidance to assist State and EPA Regional Underground Injection Control (UIC) ProgramsEPA has released final guidance to assist State and EPA Regional UIC Control programs in processing permit applications for pilot and other small scale carbon dioxide (CO2) geologic sequestration projects which capture CO2 from an emission source (e.g., a power plant) and inject it into deep subsurface rock formations for storage. "We are taking the proactive step of releasing early guidance to help ensure that underground injection of CO2 is done in an environmentally responsible manner to protect underground sources of drinking water and public health," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, Assistant Administrator for Water. "The data we collect from pilot projects will help us as we work to develop a long-term management framework for commercial-scale geologic sequestration." The practice is part of a portfolio of technologies and technical approaches under consideration to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere. EPA is recommending that pilot, and other small geologic sequestration projects designed to test various technologies and assumptions related to the safe and effective injection of CO2, be permitted by the UIC Program as Class V Experimental Technology Wells or as Class II wells where the injection is being conducted to enhance oil and gas recovery. The guidance will assist UIC Program Directors and permit writers as they evaluate applications for the appropriateness of injection sites, the area of review, well construction, operation, monitoring, and site closure in order to protect underground sources of drinking water and public health. The guidance and more information about geologic sequestration can be found at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/uic/wells_sequestration.html. Clean Water Mercury Listing Guidance IssuedEPA is providing information regarding a voluntary approach for listing waters impaired by mercury mainly from atmospheric sources under Clean Water Act section 303(d). "We believe that the 5m approach will help foster state mercury reduction programs that, together with our efforts at the national and international levels, will ultimately restore mercury-impaired waters," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, Assistant Administrator for Water. States that have in place a comprehensive mercury reduction program may put their waters impaired by mercury from air sources in a subcategory "5m" of their 303(d) lists and defer development of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs). The approach uses Clean Water Act tools to encourage state and regional mercury reduction programs, and recognizes early actions by states to address their mercury sources and achieve environmental results sooner. For more details visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/mercury5m/. National Water Program Creates Climate Change WorkgroupThe National Water Program is establishing a Water Program Climate Change Workgroup, including representatives of Headquarters water program offices, EPA Regional water offices as well as representatives of the Office of Air and Radiation and the Office of Research and Development, to improve understanding of climate change impacts on water resources. As part of this effort, the Workgroup will take steps to develop a Strategy later this year identifying appropriate, effective and practical actions EPA water program managers can take to adapt program implementation to climate change as well as to support mitigation and research efforts. A copy of the memo is available at www.epa.gov/water. FY 2008 Draft Water Program Guidance Released for CommentThe National Water Program has released Draft FY 2008 Water Program Guidance for public review and comment. The Draft Guidance describes FY 2008 program priorities and strategies for accomplishing the environmental goals established in the new EPA Strategic Plan. Comments on the draft Guidance are due by April 6th. The Guidance is available at: http://www.epa.gov/ocfopage/npmguidance/index.htm. CSO-101 Web cast Scheduled for March 21A two-hour web-workshop to help communities and utility managers understand the fundamental requirements of EPA"s Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control Policy is scheduled for March 21, 2007 at 12:00 pm (EDT)/ 9:00 pm (PDT). The CSO Control Policy issued in 1994 established a national approach under the NPDES program for controlling discharges into the nation's waters from combined sewer systems. The workshop will be particularly valuable for those individuals new to the regulatory side of CSO control and to those looking for a comprehensive refresher on this topic. The discussion will include an overview of: the roles of permittees, NPDES permitting and enforcement authorities, and state water quality standards authorities; the nine minimum controls and elements of LTCPs; and Phase I and Phase II permit requirements. Advanced registration is required. Visit http://www.epa.gov/npdes/training/ to register and for more information about this and other NPDES workshops. Poster Sessions at the Sustainable Water Infrastructure ConferenceMore than 500 people have registered for the Paying for Sustainable Water Infrastructure Conference scheduled for March 21-23 in Atlanta, Georgia. Organizers are still accepting and encouraging submissions to participate in poster sessions. Posters will cover innovations related to sustainable water infrastructure and will be limited to technical project displays. For more information and an application, visit http://www.payingforwater.com/program/ . The Conference will bring together stakeholders from all levels of government and the private sector to explore creative methods to pay for sustainable water infrastructure today and into the future. It is the first conference of its kind to address the challenge of integrating the many diverse tools and strategies to pay for sustainable water infrastructure. With 28 sessions in four tracks, topics covered will focus on innovations that reduce costs and increase investment in drinking water and wastewater systems and programs. For more information about the conference and to register, visit our website at: http://www.payingforwater.com/ . 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)
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
