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Water Headlines for August 20, 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:
$13 Million to Flow to 16 Watershed GroupsOn the shore of Tacoma's Commencement Bay in Washington, after a Puget Sound Federal Caucus meeting, EPA's Assistant Administrator for Water today announced 16 organizations are finalists eligible to apply for a total of $13.36 million through EPA's Targeted Watersheds Grants Program. The selected organizations will implement a variety of activities to improve the health of their watersheds. "These award-winning projects show the power of cooperative conservation and environmental innovation to protect watersheds across America," said Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles. "EPA's seed money will help grow grass-roots partnerships that support and sustain clean water and healthy ecosystems." EPA initiated the Targeted Watersheds Grant Program in 2002 to encourage successful community-based approaches to protect and restore the nation's watersheds. Watershed health is important to providing clean, safe water where Americans live, work and play. Since 2003, more than $40 million has been provided through Targeted Watersheds Grants. This year's finalist projects include plans to restore and enhance wetland and riparian habitats, support agricultural best-management practices, promote low-impact development, as well as a variety of innovative and incentive-based programs to mitigate toxics and promote financial sustainability.
The organizations invited to apply for the grant money made available today are: More information on the finalists: http://epa.gov/twg/implementation.html. EPA releases guidance to help public water systems comply with the Ground Water RuleIn July, EPA released three documents to assist states and public water systems understand requirements of the Ground Water Rule (GWR). The GWR, which was finalized in November 2006, will provide for increased protection against microbial pathogens in public water systems that use ground water as a source of drinking water. Public water systems need to begin actions to comply with the GWR in December 2009. Complying with the Ground Water Rule: Small Entity Compliance Guide, provides a step-by-step guide to the GWR requirements and how they apply to small public water systems. The Consecutive System Guide for the Ground Water Rule describes the specific responsibilities of both wholesale providers and consecutive systems which purchase water from wholesalers and provides recommendations to help them meet those responsibilities. The Ground Water Rule Source Water Monitoring Methods Guidance Manual includes information about the basis for ground water monitoring, how to determine the appropriate fecal indicator for monitoring, and how the different analytical methods work. Electronic versions of the guidance documents are available on the EPA website at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/disinfection/gwr/compliancehelp.html. N-STEPS Webcast: More Statistical Tools for Making Sense of Data - Scheduled for Wednesday, August 29
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm EDT Web and Audio broadcast 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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