WaterSense Factoid

The amount of water leaking from plumbing fixtures in U.S. homes could exceed more than 1 trillion gallons a year. Water leaked still requires electricity to pump, supply and treat it, but it ls not being used beneficially - that is a real waste of energy resources! If one out of every ten American homes addressed their leaky plumbing fixtures, not only would it save lots of water but it could also save more than 400 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, avoiding approximately 315,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions - that is equivalent to taking nearly 55,000 cars off the road. Check http://www.epa.gov/watersense for more information.

Source: Water Headlines for May 17, 2007. Benjamin H. Grumbles, Assistant Administrator, Office of Water, US Environmental Protection Agency

Free Watershed Academy Webcast on Long-Term Stewardship of Wetland Mitigation Sites

EPA's Watershed Academy is proud to present a free Webcast on... Long-Term Stewardship of Wetland Mitigation Sites - Registration Required.

• Wed., May 23, 2007 Two-hour audio Web Broadcast
• Eastern: 1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.Central: 12:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.Mountain: 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
• Pacific: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
  

Land trusts and other conservation organizations often take over the long-term stewardship responsibilities for wetlands, streams, and other aquatic resources that are restored, enhanced, created, or preserved as compensatory mitigation under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Before taking on such responsibility, these organizations should be well armed with the skills necessary to navigate the Section 404 program. This Webcast will discuss the basics of the Section 404 program as well as the basics of compensatory mitigation, including mitigation policy, mitigation methods, and mitigation mechanisms. Speakers will also provide an overview of the roles and risks of becoming involved in mitigation. Finally, speakers will provide a review of methods to evaluate stewardship tasks, calculate an adequate long-term stewardship endowment, and guarantee long-term funding.

Instructors:
Palmer Hough, US EPA Wetlands Division
Palmer Hough is an Environmental Scientist at EPA Headquarters in Washington, DC, where he serves as EPA's Wetlands Regulatory Program team leader and as EPA's national lead on wetlands mitigation issues. Before coming to headquarters, he worked on wetlands regulatory, protection and planning issues across the southeastern U.S. for EPA's Region IV Office in Atlanta, Georgia.
Rebecca Kihslinger, Environmental Law Institute
Rebecca Kihslinger is a Science and Policy Analyst at the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, DC. Dr. Kihslinger has an extensive background in marine research and has published on the effects of hatchery rearing practices on salmon development and the behavior of marine animals including bat rays and steelhead trout.
Deborah Rogers, Center for Natural Lands Management
Deborah Rogers is the Director of Conservation Science for the Center for Natural Lands Management, a nonprofit based in California. Dr. Rogers' research has focused on the genetic diversity of native plant species and better understanding how to conserve that diversity to support adaptation and species longevity. She also founded and directs the Monterey Pine Forest Ecology Cooperative, a nonpolitical forum for transferring scientific information to management and regulation of coastal California forest ecosystems. Her expertise on these topics has been valued internationally and she is an Associate Editor of the Native Plants Journal.

The Watershed Academy
The Watershed Academy is a focal point in EPA's Office of Water for providing training and information on implementing watershed approaches. The Academy sponsors live classroom training and online distance learning modules through the Watershed Academy Web at www.epa.gov/watertrain. For more information, visit www.epa.gov/watershedacademy.

Registration Registration for this Webcast opens May 9, 2007. You must register in advance to participate in the Webcast. To register, visit www.clu-in.org/live. The Webcast will be a Web-based slide presentation with a companion audio portion. There are two options for accessing the audio portion of the Webcast: by phone OR by streaming audio broadcast (not both). When registering, you will be able to select the audio option you prefer to accompany the Web-based slides. If you choose the streaming audio option, you will not be able to participate by telephone. However, you will be able to submit questions online for the presenters to answer during the Webcast. Closed-captioning is available. Upon registration, you will receive complete participation instructions. Please note that there are a limited number of toll-free phone lines available, so register early to guarantee your spot. Because of the limited number of spaces, we strongly encourage you to reserve a conference room and invite your colleagues and other partners to participate. If you register after that limit is reached, you will be added to a waiting list. After the Webcast is over, an audio version of the Webcast will be available—visit www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts for more information.

Questions?
Visit www.clu-in.org/live or contact Helen Siverling at helen.siverling@tetratech-ffx.com or 703-385-6000. The materials in this Webcast have been reviewed by EPA staff for technical accuracy. However, the views of the speakers and the speaker's organization are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of EPA. Mention of any commercial enterprise, product, or publication does not mean that EPA endorses them.

Thanks to Anne Weinberg, US EPA, for the heads-up.

Mercury Reduction Plan for New York and New England Waters - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation

Mercury Reduction Plan for New York and New England Waters

A draft plan has been released for reducing mercury in the waters of New York State and New England to eliminate fish-consumption advisories caused by mercury from air deposition. Seven states—New York, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont—collaborated with the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) to produce the draft plan entitled, 'Northeast Regional Mercury Total Maximum Daily Load' (TMDL). In New York State, the draft TMDL is not anticipated to place any additional economic or regulatory burdens on municipalities. The intent of the draft plan is to serve as a starting place for initiatives to control atmospheric deposition to levels where fish-consumption advisories are no longer necessary.

Read the entire DEC Press release or read the draft Northeast Regional Mercury TMDL at the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) website.

Spring 2007 Newsletter: The California Runoff Rundown

The Spring Issue of The California Runoff Rundown - A Newsletter of the Watershed Education Foundation - is available on-line as a PDF. Nice layout, useful stories.

In This Issue: Tax to Improve Stormwater Treatment Wins in
Santa Monica; Empire Strikes a Gold Mine of Water Issues; Nonpoint Source News; TMDL Roundup; Urban Runoff News

For more on the Water Education Foundation, see www.watereducation.org

Click on Title link to view entire article. Thanks to Jane Dauffenbach of Aquarius Systems for the submission.

New EPA Tool to Accelerate Watershed Planning

New EPA Tool to Accelerate Watershed Planning

Release date: 04/18/2007

The Environmental Protection Agency has released the Watershed Plan Builder, an interactive, Web-based tool to improve efforts by states and local communities in protecting and restoring local water resources. The tool will help local watershed organizations develop integrated watershed plans to meet state and EPA requirements and promote water quality improvements. . .

Click on Title link to view entire article. Thanks to Jane Dauffenbach of Aquarius Systems for the submission.