December 19, 2011

1) EPA Extends Comment Period for the Proposed CAFO Rule
2) Success Spotlight: Fosdic Lake, Texas--Educating Residents and Collecting Household Hazardous Waste Items Reduces Pollutants in Fosdic Lake

1) EPA Extends Comment Period for the Proposed CAFO Rule
On October 21, 2011, EPA published a proposed rule that would require concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) to submit basic operational information to the Agency. EPA received requests from the public for additional time to submit comments, and is extending the public comment period to January 19, 2012. EPA proposed the rule in order to more effectively carry out its CAFO permitting programs on a national level and ensure that CAFOs are implementing practices to protect water quality and human health.

For information on the proposed rule, visit http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/afo/aforule.cfm.

2) Success Spotlight: Fosdic Lake, Texas--Educating Residents and Collecting Household Hazardous Waste Items Reduces Pollutants in Fosdic Lake
EPA's Clean Water Act 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 Fosdic Lake, Texas.

In 1995, the Texas Department of State Health Services banned the possession of fish taken from Fosdic Lake in Fort Worth because of high concentrations of potentially-harmful chemicals in fish tissue. As a result, Texas added Fosdic Lake to the state's list of impaired waters. In 2000, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and EPA approved a total maximum daily load for Fosdic Lake to address pollutants in fish tissue. Local, state and federal agencies coordinated data collection and education and outreach efforts in the city of Fort Worth to reduce the inflow of harmful chemicals into area lakes. Recent monitoring shows that the pollutant levels in fish from Fosdic Lake have diminished sufficiently to allow for their safe consumption, prompting the state to lift the fish possession ban in 2007.

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