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Water Headlines for March 15, 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:
EPA releases new manuals to help small public water systems comply with drinking water regulationsAs part of its Simple Tools for Effective Performance (STEP) series, EPA has developed new manuals to help small public water systems understand the Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (Stage 2 DBP) and Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment (LT2) Rules. "EPA is committed to helping small and rural communities continue to provide safe and affordable drinking water for their citizens," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, Assistant Administrator for Water. In addition to providing an overview of the rules, the manuals provide step-by-step guidance on how small systems (those serving fewer than 10,000 people) can comply with the rule. The manuals also provide helpful worksheets and examples of actions systems might take to comply with the rules. The documents serve as EPA’s official compliance guide for small public water systems, as required by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of 1996. The Stage 2 DBP manual is available on the EPA website at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/disinfection/stage2/compliance.html. The LT2 manual is available at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/disinfection/lt2/compliance.html. Both documents and other STEP guides are also available on EPA's small water systems at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/smallsys/ssinfo.htm. Six Wetlands Stewards Win 2007 National Wetlands AwardsSix citizens have been recognized nationally for their on-the-ground wetland conservation efforts and decades-long dedication to protecting these important natural resources. A diverse panel of wetland experts assembled at the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) earlier this month to select the winners of the 2007 National Wetlands Awards. This year’s Award winners hail from all regions of the country and exemplify the extraordinary commitment and innovation that is so instrumental to conserving wetlands in the Nation's communities. "These wetland champions are restoring and protecting one of America’s greatest natural assets through education, conservation, and dedication," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Water. "These profiles, both in courage and in stewardship, show us all how to meet the President’s national goal of increasing, not simply maintaining, the quantity and quality of our wetlands." Collectively, the award winners have conserved thousands of wetland acres and have mobilized hundreds of other individuals to contribute to wetland conservation. In May, they will take a well-deserved break from their efforts to receive their awards at a ceremony on Capitol Hill. For more information on the National Wetlands Awards Program, the 2007 awardees, or the May awards ceremony, please contact Jared Thompson at the Environmental Law Institute at (202) 939-3247 or wetlandsawards@eli.org. Information is also available online at http://www2.eli.org/nwa/nwaprogram.htm. May 2007 Water Quality Standards Academy in Arlington, VirginiaOW will hold the Water Quality Standards Academy Basic Course on May 7-11 in Arlington, Virginia. This is a comprehensive, highly-structured introduction to all program aspects including interpretation and application of water quality standards regulation, policies, and program guidance and development of water quality criteria. The 5-day course is designed for those with fewer than six months experience with water quality standards and criteria programs, but it is also a valuable refresher course for veterans of water quality management programs. You can pre-apply online at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/standards/training.htm . State Onsite Wastewater Management Programs Receive EPA RecognitionOn February 28, 2007, state onsite wastewater program managers from AL, AZ, FL, IA, NC, NJ, OK, and RI were recognized by the EPA for their role in improving management of onsite systems in their states by adopting EPA’s Voluntary National Guidelines for Management of Onsite and Clustered (Decentralized) Wastewater Treatment Systems. OWM’s Deputy Director, Judy Davis, presented each state manager with a plaque and appreciation letter signed by Assistant Administrator Ben Grumbles at the annual State Onsite Regulators Alliance (SORA) Conference in Reno, Nevada. For more information about EPA’s Decentralized Wastewater Program, go to http://cfpub.epa.gov/owm/septic/index.cfm or contact Joyce Hudson at 202-564-0657, hudson.joyce@epa.gov. Open Comment Period for the Draft National Coastal Condition Report IIIThe draft National Coastal Condition Report III was released on March 9, 2007 for a 60-day comment period. The Report describes the ecological and environmental conditions in U.S. coastal waters. It summarizes the condition of ecological resources in the estuaries of the United States and highlights several exemplary Federal, State, Tribal, and local programs that assess coastal ecological and water quality conditions. EPA expects to release the final report in the March, 2008. The draft Report presents three main types of data: 1) coastal monitoring data, 2) offshore fisheries data, and 3) assessment advisory data. For the first time, an analysis of changes over time in estuarine condition from 1990-2002 are presented for the nation's estuaries and by region. We recognize that work is still needed in formulating simple yet accurate indicators of coastal condition. Your input to the draft Report regarding data completeness, the choice of indicators, the methodologies used to synthesize data, rating scores for each indicator, the choice of spatial scales, temporal scale analyses, and the overall report presentation is important to us in preparing this and future reports. Only through cooperative interaction of key Federal agencies, coastal States, Tribes, local agencies and non-governmental organizations and the public will our effort to gauge and manage the health of America's coastal ecosystem be successful. Submit your comments to EPA Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2007-0019 by May 8, 2006. For more information visit: http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/nccr3/index.html. WaterSense FactoidHave you ever questioned which saves more energy - turning off your faucet or turning off your lights? Let WaterSense shed some light on the subject! Running your faucet for 5 minutes is equivalent to running a 60 watt light bulb for 14 hours! 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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