Water: Watersheds
Watershed News: July 2007
Watershed News is a publication of EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds. It is designed to provide timely information to groups working at the watershed level.
In this month's newsletter
1) Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 National Wetland Program Development Grants
2) Estuary Habitat Restoration Cost Share Projects
3) Delaware Estuary Watershed Grants Program
4) New Funding Sources added to the Catalog of Federal Funding
5) Nonpoint Source Outreach Toolbox
6) Cobbossee Lake Restored: 35 Years of Sustained Work Succeeds
7) EPA's Watershed Academy to sponsor free July 18th Webcast on Acid Mine Drainage and Art
8) ICMA to present July 25th Webcast: Protecting Water Quality While Meeting Smart Growth Goals
9) Annual Secchi Dip-In June 23rd to July 15th, 2007
10) Center for Watershed Protection's New Site Design Handbook Available as Free Download
11) Survey of the Nation's Lakes Commences
12) EPA Releases First National Coastal Condition Report
13) EPA Solicits Comments on National Dredging Policy
14) EPA Dedicates Headquarters Courtyard Showcasing Green Infrastructure Techniques
15) National Academy of Public Administration Urges EPA to Lead Clean Up of Polluted Water Runoff
16) Upcoming Conferences and Workshops
Funding Opportunities
Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 National Wetland Program Development Grants
The FY07 EPA Headquarters Wetland Program Development Grants (WPDG) Request for Proposals is now open and posted on grants.gov at: http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?oppId=14575&mode=VIEW. This grant program funds projects that are national in scope or projects that develop model approaches that can be used as a training tool. In addition to the overall wetland goals, the program can be used to link wetland issues to smart growth, conservation planning, stormwater management, etc. Proposals are due August 10, 2007.
Estuary Habitat Restoration Cost Share Projects
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is soliciting project proposals for estuary habitat restoration projects on behalf of the Estuary Habitat Restoration Council. Applications will be accepted until close of business on August 20, 2007. Further information can be found at http://www.usace.army.mil/cw/cecw-p/estuary_act/index.htm. [broken link]
Delaware Estuary Watershed Grants Program
Under the 2007 Delaware Estuary Watershed Grants Program, grants of $20,000 to $75,000 will be awarded on a competitive basis to projects that provide for physical restoration of habitat and/or demonstrate innovative or regional approaches for improving the Delaware Estuary watersheds. Public or nonprofit private agencies, institutions, and organizations in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are eligible to apply. Applications must be postmarked by July 27, 2007. For more information, visit http://www.nfwf.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Browse_All_Programs&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=3796.
New Funding Sources added to the Catalog of Federal Funding
The Catalog of Federal Funding Sources for Watershed Protection website is a searchable database of financial assistance sources (e.g., grants, loans, cost-sharing programs) available to fund a variety of watershed protection projects. Thirteen new funding sources were recently added. The Catalog can be accessed at www.epa.gov/watershedfunding.
Watershed Tool of the Month
Nonpoint Source Outreach Toolbox
EPA's new Nonpoint Source (NPS) Outreach Toolbox is intended for use by state and local agencies and other organizations interested in educating the public on nonpoint source pollution or stormwater runoff. The Toolbox contains a variety of resources to help develop an effective outreach campaign. The Toolbox contains a product catalog of more than 700 TV and radio public service announcements, print ads and other products focusing on nonpoint source pollution. Most of the products, many of which are free, can be customized to be used in your watershed. The Outreach Toolbox can be found at www.epa.gov/nps/toolbox.
Spotlight: Watersheds at Work
Cobbossee Lake Restored: 35 Years of Sustained Work Succeeds
Cobbossee Lake had a long history of nuisance algae blooms that turned its once sparkling clear, trout-filled water murky green. Nonpoint source pollution in Cobbossee Lake's watershed, as well as pollution from upstream lakes, delivered excess phosphorus into the lake. Elevated phosphorus levels promoted algal blooms, which discouraged recreation, spoiled aquatic habitat, and caused the lake to not meet water quality standards. After 35 years of restoration work, including upstream alum treatments and widespread installation of best management practices, Cobbossee Lake exhibits remarkably improved water clarity. The lake has been free of nuisance algae blooms for the past 10 years and now attains water quality standards. This impressive recovery prompted the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to remove Cobbossee Lake from Maine's section 303(d) impaired waters list in 2006. For more information about this success story, visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/Success319/state/me_cobb.htm.
Webcasts
EPA's Watershed Academy to sponsor free July 18th Webcast on Acid Mine Drainage and Art
EPA's Watershed Academy sponsors free monthly Webcasts for watershed practitioners from around the globe. On Wed., July 18, 2007, Dr. Allan Comp will discuss a project called AMD&ART, winner of the 2005 Phoenix Award for community involvement. AMD&ART successfully combined both good science and good arts to make a difference in eastern coal country. Dr. Comp, volunteer founder/director of the now-completed project, will discuss how he mobilized a community and a team of scientists, artists and VISTA volunteers to implement treatment systems that also serve as recreational sites, art parks, educational centers, and historical sites. For more information or to access archived audio versions of past Webcasts, please visit www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts.
ICMA to present July 25th Webcast: Protecting Water Quality While Meeting Smart Growth Goals
On July 25, 2007 (2:00-3:30 pm Eastern) the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) will sponsor a Webcast on how two very different communities - San José, California and Barnstable, Massachusetts - protect water quality while meeting smart growth goals for economic growth and development. The following speakers will discuss the political, economic, and regulatory aspects of their programs.
- Laurel Prevetti, assistant director, Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement, San José , California
- Paul Niedzwiecki, assistant town manager, Barnstable , Massachusetts
- Geoff Anderson, director , Development, Community and Environment Division, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (moderator )
Education and Outreac
Annual Secchi Dip-In June 23rd to July 15th, 2007
The annual Secchi Dip-In, now in its 14th year, is a network of volunteer programs, each supplying data for local programs, which together provide continent-wide and world-wide water quality information. To date, Dip-In volunteers have provided data on more than 1,800 waterbodies for five or more years. Stream, estuary, and marine volunteer programs, as well as lake and reservoir programs, are all invited to participate. Data are accepted from all types of turbidity instruments, not only Secchi disks, and can also include temperature, pH, oxygen, chlorophyll, and total phosphorus. If your program has never participated, please enroll your organization so that an identification number can be assigned to your volunteers. For more information, including a press release that you can modify, visit: http://dipin.kent.edu/.
News
Center for Watershed Protection's New Site Design Handbook Available as Free Download
In an effort to ensure that every community is equipped with the tools it needs to facilitate environmentally-friendly growth, the Center for Watershed Protection has made its Better Site Design Handbook available for free download. This offering completes the comprehensive suite of documents on Better Site Design produced by the Center, including: "Consensus Agreement on Model Development Principles to Protect Our Streams, Lakes and Wetlands" booklet, outlining nationally recommended design principles; the "Redevelopment Roundtable Consensus" document, designed to promote more environmental-friendly redevelopment and infill projects; and nine consensus documents resulting from various local site planning roundtables held in the Chesapeake Bay area. The Better Site Design Handbook outlines 22 guidelines for more environmentally-friendly development. It provides detailed rationale for each principle, everything from basic engineering principles to actual vs. perceived barriers; examines practices in local communities; details the economic and environmental benefits; and presents case studies from across the country. Download all these free resources by clicking this link: http://www.cwp.org/PublicationStore/bsd.htm. [broken link]
The Better Site Design Handbook is available for purchase in hard copy for $35 by visiting the Center e-store.
Survey of the Nation's Lakes Commences
EPA, states, and tribes are conducting a nationwide survey this summer of the condition of the nation's lakes. The survey will help citizens and governments measure the health of our waters, take actions to prevent pollution, and evaluate the effectiveness of protection and restoration efforts.
Designed to estimate the percentage of lakes that are in good, fair, or poor condition, the survey will serve as a scientific report card on America's lakes. It will examine ecological, water quality, and recreational indicators, and assess how widespread key stressors (such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and acidification) are across the country. A total of 909 lakes - representing five size classes and distributed relatively evenly across the lower 48 states - are included in the survey. EPA intends to issue a report on the findings in 2009. For more information visit: www.epa.gov/owow/lakes/lakessurvey, or email questions to: lakessurvey@epa.gov.
EPA Releases First National Coastal Condition Report
EPA has released its first National Estuary Program Coastal Condition Report, which ranks the condition of ecological resources in the 28 estuaries of EPA's National Estuary Program (NEP). This report serves as a foundation for EPA's efforts to protect, manage and restore coastal ecosystems.
Overall, the NEPs are in fair condition and scored better than or equal to all other non-NEP U.S. estuaries despite significant population pressures. The information in the report is based upon EPA-sponsored monitoring data collected from 28 NEPs between 1999 and 2003 as well as monitoring data collected by the individual NEPs. The NEP estuaries were rated individually, regionally, and nationally using four primary indicators of estuarine condition: water quality, sediment quality, benthic (bottom) condition, and fish-tissue contaminant concentrations. The complete NEP Coastal Condition Report can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/nepccr/index.html.
EPA Solicits Comments on National Dredging Policy
EPA is requesting comments on the National Dredging Policy as it relates to the US Marine Transportation System. Comments are due by Aug. 6 th. For more information, including a link to the Federal Register notice, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/ndt/review.html. [broken link]
EPA Dedicates Headquarters Courtyard Showcasing Green Infrastructure Techniques
On June 4, 2007, EPA held a dedication ceremony to unveil the new Ariel Rios South Courtyard project showcasing green infrastructure techniques (low impact development practices) such as rain gardens, permeable concrete, and a cistern, to lessen sewer overflows or runoff from storms. Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles spoke at the dedication and explained how the Agency is managing stormwater and its pollutants by using or mimicking natural systems to help absorb, infiltrate, evaporate, or reuse excess stormwater instead of using traditional infrastructure that collects, stores and transports, water through large, buried sewer systems. For more information about the project, please visit www.epa.gov/owow/nps/lid/stormwater_hq.
National Academy of Public Administration Urges EPA to Lead Clean Up of Polluted Water Runoff
A new report by a National Academy of Public Administration panel urges EPA to lead new partnerships to effectively clean up America's 40,000 polluted waters. These waters continue to be a serious national problem because of inadequate attention to reducing agricultural and urban runoff. The Panel's recommendations provide a blueprint for implementing important new practices for controlling urban and agricultural runoff. The complete report can be found at http://www.napawash.org/index.html.
Upcoming Conferences and Workshops
Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual Conference: Conservation Challenges in a Changing Landscape
July 21-25, 2007, Tampa, FL. For more information, see www.swcs.org.
Coastal Zone '07
July 22-26, 2007, Portland, OR. For more information, see www.csc.noaa.gov/cz.
10th Annual Southeast Watershed Roundtable: Sustaining Our Water Infrastructure through Watershed-Based Approaches
August 1-3, 2007, Braselton, Georgia. Presenters from around the Southeast and beyond will showcase communities, utilities and industries blending innovative strategies for water supply, waste-water and watershed management, based on the EPA´s Four Pillars of Sustainable Water Infrastructure: Better Management; Full Cost Pricing; Water Efficiency; and Watershed Approach. For more information, visit http://www.southeastwaterforum.org/index.asp.
3rd International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology
August 6-9, 2007, Houston, TX. The objective of the Conference will be to provide a major interdisciplinary forum for presenting new approaches from relevant areas of environmental science, to foster integration of the latest developments in scientific research into engineering applications, and to facilitate technology transfer from well-tested ideas into practical products, waste management, remedial processes, and ecosystem restoration. For more information, see www.aasci.org/conference/env/2007.
International Conference on Karst Hydrogeology and Ecosystems
August 13-15, 2007, Bowling Green, KY. For more information, see http://hoffman.wku.edu/karst2007/k2007.html.
International Conference on Water Resources Management
August 20-21, 2007, Honolulu, HI. For more information, see www.iasted.org/conferences/home-578.html.
StormCon'07
August 20-23, 2007, Phoenix, AZ. The sixth annual North American Surface Water Quality Conference and Exposition - StormCon is a source for NPDES Phase II training in all aspects of stormwater management for municipalities, consultants, highway and heavy construction contractors, . developers, regulated industries, and special sites, such as ports and airports. For more information, see http://stormcon.com/sc.html.
National Nonpoint Source Monitoring Workshop: Monitoring For Decision Making
August 26-30, 2007, Austin, TX. For more information, see www.rivers.txstate.edu/NPS07.
Wetlands 2007 - Watershed-wide Strategies to Maximize Wetland Ecological and Social Services
August 27-29, 2007, Williamsburg, VA. This national symposium will examine scientific, legal and management tools to protect and restore headwater wetlands and streams through watershed management plans. Such plans can sustain and improve the ecological and social services provided by wetlands and related water resources. For more information, see http://aswm.org.
Regional Water Symposium-Sustainable Water, Unlimited Growth and Quality of Life: Can We Have It All?
August 29-Sep 1, 2007, Tucson, AZ. For more information, see www.swhydro.arizona.edu/symposium.
10th Annual River Symposium and Environmental Flows Conference
September 3-6, 2007, Brisbane, Australia. This year's symposium will focus on the emerging field of river management and Environmental Flows. The program will feature presentations on innovative practices and case studies from all over the world and a wide range of perspectives on managing river flows for people and ecosystem health. For more information or to register, visit http://www.riversymposium.com.
Be sure to check EPA& Watershed Funding Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/funding.html
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