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Water Headlines for July 23, 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 Extends Clean Water Act Deadlines for Animal Feeding OperationsEPA announced a final rule extending certain compliance deadlines from July 31, 2007 to Feb. 27, 2009 for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). One extension applies to water pollution permit application deadlines for certain facilities that EPA defined as CAFOs for the first time in 2003. The other extension relates to when CAFOs that have a Clean Water Act permit are required to develop and implement their nutrient management plans (NMPs). An NMP is a plan that specifies the amount of manure that can be applied to crops so the potential for nutrient runoff to water bodies is minimized. The extensions of the deadlines originally promulgated in the 2003 rule are necessary to ensure that EPA finalizes its 2006 CAFO rule in response to a court decision before the compliance dates come into effect. These extensions will allow EPA time to respond adequately to a wide array of public comments on the court decision and will also provide time for states and the agricultural community to adjust to the new requirements of the 2006 proposal once it becomes final. The action being announced today will not affect other aspects of the CAFO water permitting program. It solely addresses timing issues associated with the court ruling. For further information, visit EPA's Animal Feeding Operations Web page: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/afo/caforulechanges.cfm. Know a Water Efficiency Leader (WEL) Leader?EPA is accepting nominations for the 2007 Water Efficiency Leader (WEL) Awards to recognize organizations and individuals that demonstrate leadership and innovation in water efficient- products and practices. Winners will be chosen by a panel of national water experts and based on three criteria: leadership, innovation, and water saved. "Ben Franklin said: ‘We know the wealth of water when the well runs dry’." said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles. "EPA's WEL program taps into that wisdom and spreads the word about water efficiency leadership to protect precious resources and cut water waste." The Water Efficiency Leader Awards help foster a nationwide ethic of water efficiency, which is critical to the growing U.S. economy and quality of life. Water and energy are closely linked. An example of this is that running a hot water faucet for five minutes consumes as much energy as using a 60-watt light bulb for 14 hours. The importance of water efficiency also is reflected in WaterSense, a voluntary partnership begun by EPA to educate consumers about making smart water choices that save money and maintain high environmental standards without compromising performance. Nominations are being accepted until August 17, 2007. It is anticipated that the winners will be announced in late fall 2007. For more information and to enter award nominations go to: http://epa.gov/water/wel/2007_application_process.html Lake Manassas Showcased as Part of National Lakes SurveyOn July 18, EPA along with Virginia environmental agencies demonstrated techniques being used around the country this summer to survey the condition of the nation’s lakes. The "Survey of the Nation's Lakes" is a federal and state partnership to assess conditions by studying 909 lakes, ponds and reservoirs whose profiles are representative of all lakes in the United States. Lake Manassas is one lake that is being sampled as part of the national lakes survey, and is also the main drinking water supply for the City of Manassas. "EPA and states are teaming up to complete a first-ever national survey of America's lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. Our scientific report card will measure the health and well-being of these well-loved water bodies and help citizens and governments take new actions to prevent pollution and increase effectiveness," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, EPA’s assistant administrator for water. "As an addition to Virginia's active water quality monitoring program, this study will provide useful information about the general health of our lakes and ponds," said David K. Paylor, director of Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. "The survey includes new study areas and will collect data that has not normally been collected by most states." In Virginia, EPA’s mid-Atlantic regional biology team working with the state’s Department of Environmental Quality staff will conduct the water quality sampling, habitat assessments, and other data collection. The nationwide survey is designed to estimate the percentage of the nation’s lakes that are in good, fair, or poor condition. It examines ecological, water quality, and recreational indicators, and will also assess how widespread stressors including nitrogen, phosphorus, and acidification are across the country. Participants in the hands-on demonstration at Lake Manassas included Benjamin H.Grumbles, EPA, Preston Bryant, Virginia’s secretary of Natural Resources and David K. Paylor, director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The report on the lakes survey will be released in 2009. For more information on the lakes survey visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/lakes/lakessurvey/ . This study is part of a larger EPA effort to assess coastal waters, rivers and wetlands. A similar survey, for wadeable streams, was completed in 2006. The plan is to repeat the surveys on a five-year cycle to analyze the success of efforts to manage and improve overall water quality. Review of the National Dredging Policy and National Dredging Team's 2003 Action AgendaAt the request of the Cabinet-level, interagency Committee on the US Marine Transportation System (CMTS), the National Dredging Team (NDT) is conducting a review of the National Dredging Policy and the NDT's 2003 Action Agenda to reaffirm the adequacy of the Policy and Action Agenda in support of the U.S. Marine Transportation System. Dredging plays a critical role in the marine transportation system. The marine transportation system consists of waterways, ports, and intermodal landside connections that move people and goods to, from, and on the water. Navigational dredging supports the marine transportation system's effectiveness, reliability, and safety for the movement of people and commerce. In order to encourage broad participation in this review, a request for comments was published on June 22, 2007, in the Federal Register. The public comment period closes on August 6, 2007. To view the Federal Register notice and to find out more about this review, please visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/ndt/review.html. Stormwater and the Clean Watersheds Needs SurveyThis year, EPA will begin working with stormwater Phase I and II communities and state permitting authorities to better document stormwater capital needs (costs for stormwater infrastructure that will be needed over the next twenty years) in the Clean Watersheds Needs Survey (CWNS). The CWNS is a report to Congress (issued every four years) on the capital needs for wastewater, stormwater, and nonpoint sources. While stormwater has been a listed category in the CWNS for some time, reporting of these needs by Phase I and II communities has been very limited. In preparation for the 2008 CWNS, EPA would like to work closely with community stormwater managers to better document and report these important needs. In order to help improve reporting and reach out to local government managers, EPA is announcing a series of webcasts on the CWNS process. The first few webcasts will provide an overview of the CWNS and the process used to document and report capital project needs. In the early fall, there will be a webcast targeted toward Phase I and II stormwater managers. We encourage you to attend these webcasts so that your capital needs for stormwater infrastructure are documented and recognized in the next CWNS and presented to Congress. For more information on these free webcasts, visit http://www.epa.gov/cwns/cwns2008.htm. 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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