November 28, 2011

1) Office of Water's Senior Advisor Blogs on Tribal Water Perspectives and Place-Based Knowledge
2) Success Spotlight: Hempstead Harbor, NY – Multifaceted Program Restores Shellfish Harvesting in Northern Hempstead Harbor
3) EPA Staff Share Tips for Golf Channel's Green Week

1) Office of Water's Senior Advisor Blogs on Tribal Water Perspectives and Place-Based Knowledge
The Office of Water's Senior Advisor, Ellen Gilinsky, posted a blog on her trip to the 2011 National Tribal Water Quality Conference near Santa Fe, New Mexico. In the blog, Ms. Gilinsky shares her experience with the sessions and insights on people and place-based approaches to water protection. To read the blog, visit: http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2011/11/28/posuwageh-%e2%80%93-the-water-meeting-place-%e2%80%93-provides-inspiration/

2) Success Spotlight: Hempstead Harbor, NY – Multifaceted Program Restores Shellfish Harvesting in Northern Hempstead Harbor
EPA's Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 319 Program provides funding for restoration of nonpoint source-impaired water bodies. Success stories are posted at: http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/success319/. This week's success spotlight shines on Hempstead Harbor in New York.

Hempstead Harbor is located off the Long Island Sound in Nassau County, New York. Stormwater runoff, boater waste, waterfowl, and failing septic systems were suspected to be the primary sources of fecal coliform bacteria, with wastewater discharges also contributing. As a result, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) added the northern segment of Hempstead Harbor to the state's 1998 list of impaired waters for exceeding the fecal coliform bacteria water quality standard for shellfish harvesting.

The Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee, a partnership between state and federal agencies, Nassau County, local municipalities and citizen groups, led the development of the Water Quality Improvement Plan in 1998 as well as the Harbor Management Plan in 2004. Since 1995 the committee has coordinated efforts to address the nonpoint and point sources of pollution. Significant efforts to control and manage runoff were initiated prior to the permitting of municipal separate storm sewer system entities in the surrounding watershed. Stormwater management practices carried out prior to the permitting included extensive education and outreach efforts, implementation of municipal stormwater management program plans, and waterfowl management. These nonpoint source control efforts, together with securing the designation of the Harbor as a Vessel Waste No Discharge Zone, the installation of sewers, and the addition of point source controls, helped improve the harbor's condition.

Over the past five years, water sampling has shown that fecal coliform bacteria levels meet the state's water quality standards for a certified (open) shellfishing area. As a result, DEC will propose that the northern segment of the harbor be removed from the state's impaired waters list in 2012. After being closed for 40 years, the Hempstead Harbor reopened with shellfish harvest yields in June of this year. 

For more information on this story, visit: http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/success319/ny_hempstead.cfm

3) EPA Staff Share Tips for Golf Channel's Green Week
Golf courses have stepped up to better protect the environment, including improvements to water conservation, wildlife habitat protection and fertilizer and pesticide management. In celebration of Green Week, Golf Channel's news show, Morning Drive, interviewed EPA staff about these improvements. For the video: http://silo.mediasilo.com/weblink/C69FEB0E9FC8F3774A35405A142B6725/15844/