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Editor's
Notes:
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F. X. Browne, Inc. president Dr. Frank
Browne, P.E. has an article in the September/October 2006 issue of the
Reporter (PA Society of Professional Engineers). Check it out here.
The NJ Highlands Regional Master Plan was
due for release on November 30, beginning a 60-day public comment period. All
interested parties should visit the NJ
Highlands Council website to view the Plan and obtain information on
the public hearing schedule and how to submit written comments.
From all of us at F. X. Browne,
Inc. to all of you,
Happy Holidays, and thanks for your readership.
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Topic of
the Month
Annual Holiday Carol Corruption
It
has become a tradition
at Lake and Watershed News to craft a watershed-related holiday poem as our
little gift to our readers. Please enjoy this
year's installment, and get ready to Deck the Streams! Happy holidays, and may
peace be with you.
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Robocow Returns!
http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/flash/robocow2/en/robocow2_e.htm
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Robocow! The award winning star of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s
educational video, Operation H2O, is back with a sequel: Robocow: The
Aquifer Connection. The second video identifies
problems and solutions concerning urban and rural groundwater.
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News Clips
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PA DEP Proposes Changes to Stormwater Permitting
Requirements
The PA DEP is asking for public
comments on proposals that it said would streamline permitting
requirements under the NPDES Post-Construction Stormwater Permit
Program. More...
Cobbs Creek Stormwater Demonstration Projects
Celebrate Grand Opening
A
“green ribbon” cutting was held recently to celebrate the Upper
Darby Township’s Second Ward Park Stormwater Demonstration
Projects opening in Delaware County. More...
New “Mud Busters” Program Helps Document Pollution
Problems
Citizens concerned that runoff of muddy,
sediment-filled rainwater from construction sites is damaging local
waterways can help solve the problem by joining the Chesapeake Bay
Foundation’s (CBF) Team Mud Busters. More...
NJ Proposes New Rules to Improve Beach
Access
The NJ DEP has released draft rules that would provide for public access to
beaches, clarify public and private rights in tidal waters, and
leverage public investment in shore protection. More...
PA DEP Initiates Legal Action
Against Nine Municipalities For Stormwater Violations
The PA DEP has issued administrative
orders to nine municipalities in Chester, Delaware and Montgomery
counties that failed to comply with federally mandated Phase II
Stormwater Permitting Regulations. More...
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Policy Update
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EPA has published a new Ground
Water Rule to protect public groundwater water systems from fecal
contamination and other microbial pathogens. The approach uses sanitary
surveys, triggered source water monitoring, corrective actions, and
compliance monitoring. |
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The Chesapeake Executive Council is
seeking motivated young residents from Virginia, Maryland, the District
of Columbia, and Pennsylvania with a strong interest in providing
perspectives on restoring/preserving the Chesapeake Bay and its
tributaries to fill vacancies in their Young
Delegates program. |
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The USDA and EPA's Office of
Water signed a partnership
agreement to establish and promote water quality credit trading
markets through cooperative conservation. |
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The New York State Environmental Board and the Inactive Hazardous Waste
Disposal Site Regulation Review Board approved new
regulations governing DEC's environmental remediation programs. This measure will
foster the cleanup and
redevelopment of contaminated sites throughout the state.
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The
New York DEC has
released the new Snowmobile
Plan for the Adirondack Park. The plan will serve as a guide for
the development of new trails and eliminate other trails that are no
longer needed. |
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PA
DEP is inviting
public comments on Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDLs) for nine
watersheds in Cambrian, Indiana and Somerset counties. |
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New Jerseyans overwhelmingly voted
'yes' on
all three statewide ballot questions. In addition, of the 30 open space
referenda on ballots around the state, 20 or 67% were approved. |
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EPA
is requesting
nominations of chemical and microbial contaminants for possible
inclusion in the third drinking water Contaminant Candidate List (CCL
3). Nominations must be requested by December 15. |
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Fisheries
policy and resource managers and other partners from across the United
States have developed the first National
Fish Habitat Action Plan, which provides strategies to protect,
restore and enhance fish habitats in watersheds and waterways across
the country. |
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A PA DEP committee agreed on
retooled regulations for
wastewater treatment plants to comply with the Chesapeake Bay
Tributary Strategy. In the key change, DEP proposes to regulate
treatment plants based on actual flows instead of numbers projected
for 2010. |
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PA
DEP is accepting
comments on the draft “Trading of Nutrient and Sediment
Reduction Credits- Policy and Guidelines” that provides revisions to
the Interim Final Policy. Public comments will be accepted until
December 15. |
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PA
Governor Rendell announced
a $27 million investment to finance 153 projects through Pennsylvania’s
traditional Growing Greener Program and the voter-approved Growing
Greener II bond initiative. The grants will be used to clean up
streams and rivers, address serious environmental problems at
abandoned mine sites and revitalize communities across the
state. |
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Allegheny
County residents were asked by the PA Department of Agriculture this
week to report
any locations where Kudzu is growing under a pilot program to
eradicate the invasive weed. |
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Boxing Day?
The day after Christmas is known as Boxing
Day, celebrated in Australia, Britain, New Zealand, and Canada. The origins of the
celebration are found in a long-ago practice of giving cash or durable
goods to those of the lower classes. Gifts among equals were exchanged on
or before Christmas Day, but donations to those less fortunate were
bestowed the day after. The name may come from the opening of church poor
boxes that day, or maybe from the earthenware boxes with which boy
apprentices collected money at the doors of their masters' clients. http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/boxing.asp
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Does Santa even LIKE
cookies?
In the US, cookies and milk
are standard Santa fare. Here are examples of some different Christmas Eve traditions
around the world:
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United Kingdom
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England is where the tradition
of stockings originated. Usually a glass of sherry and
a mince pie are also left out for Father Christmas (he works hard, after
all!)
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Germany and the Netherlands
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Children leave their shoes or
boots outside the door for St. Nicholas, or Sinterklaas, on St. Nicholas'
Eve (December 5) filled with hay for the horses pulling the sleigh.
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Denmark
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Elves called Juul Nisse come
out of the attic to help the gift bringer, Julemanden, who arrives in a
sleigh pulled by reindeer. Children put a saucer of milk or rice pudding
out in the attic for the elves.
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Syria
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Each family prepares a bonfire
in their home's courtyard. All gather around to observe the particular way
that the fire spreads through the wood as it will determine the luck of
the household for the coming year. The family sings psalms while the
bonfire rages and, when it finally dies down, they make wishes while they
take turns jumping over the embers.
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Australia (Santa Claus)
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Santa often arrives on a
surfboard as Christmas falls during the summer, and revelers tend to
picnic on the beach. I wonder what one leaves for a surfing Santa?
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Link Of
The Month
EPA Watersheds at Work Website
EPA's Watersheds at Work website spotlights
interesting watershed projects that are making a difference. This month's
"Spotlight" is on the Cumberland Basin Targeted Watersheds Grant
Project in Tennessee
and Kentucky. The Cumberland River Compact's (CRC) Building Outside
the Box (BOB) Targeted Watersheds Grant project is promoting
sustainable building techniques and low impact development
principles through partnerships and education. Other past
"Spotlight" watershed stories can be viewed on the site, and have
included the Upper Susquehanna River in New York/Pennsylvania, San Pedro
Creek in New Mexico, and Rock Creek in Washington DC. http://www.epa.gov/adopt/spot.html
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Worst Holiday Spending
Blunders
According to MP Dunleavy of MSN Money, many of us feel the pressure to
shower our loved ones with the perfect gifts during the holidays.
Here is a sampling of the "13
Worst Holiday Spending Blunders."
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Equalizing to excess: You get each of your kids (or parents or siblings)
an equal distribution of presents. Except . . . maybe you should get Mom
a couple of extra little things, since Dad's cashmere sweater obviously
cost a bundle. But now Mom has three presents and Dad only has one . . .
repeat until broke.
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 Surprise-gift
guilt: Your boss, friend, co-worker or neighbor gives you an
unanticipated gift. D'oh! You dash out to the store and add yet another
item to your overwhelmed holiday budget.
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FedEx folly: You bought your niece in Nebraska a great new CD but waited
so late to mail it that you're spending more on shipping than the gift
cost.
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Debt
of 1,000 gifts: Getting everyone, I mean everyone, a little gift: all of
your co-workers, the woman who cleans your house, the neighbor who
jump-started your car in 1986, your baby-sitter, your dentist, etc.
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Art fair amnesia: December is upon you, so you dash out and do all your
shopping -- completely forgetting that you already bought half the
presents at that crafts fair in July. (Ed. note: Sigh, too true, too
true...)
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New
Tools and Publications
EASI Database Joins PA Watersheds Data System
The Pennsylvania Organization of Watersheds and
Rivers (POWR) has announced that the
Environmental Alliance for Senior Involvement (EASI) database has been included
in the PA Watersheds Data System. With the addition of this database, there are
now over 600,000 records from 39 watershed associations and monitoring groups. This database includes water quality and
quantity data, as well as physical attribute data for 591 EASI sites in Pennsylvania.
The monitoring dates range from 1998 up to early 2006. http://www.pawatershedsdatasystem.psu.edu
EPA Wetland Program Development Grants Case Studies Posted
EPA´s Wetland
Program Development Grants (WPDGs) Case Studies are now available on the web. The
WPDGs are the primary mechanism through which EPA supports
state and tribal efforts to build programs that protect valuable wetland
resources. EPA selected current and former grant recipients from across the
country that utilized the grant program to support wetland program development
on a broad scale. The case studies highlight numerous approaches to wetland
protection from a diverse group of grantees, including 25 individual stories
from 11 state agencies; five tribes; three multi-agency work groups; two
counties; one state park; one university; and two non-government organizations. http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/WPDG_Case_Studies
2006 State of the Bay Report Shows Slight Improvement
With just four years to go before the court-ordered
deadline to remove the Chesapeake Bay from the nation’s dirty waters list,
the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF) 2006 State of the Bay report shows
modest improvement, with the health index up two points to 29 this year, still
far from the goal of 40 by 2010. Much of the improvement was driven by Mother
Nature, with near record low spring rains. Even with the improvement, the
health of the Bay gets an unacceptable “D” grade. http://www.cbf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=exp_sub_resources_publications_sotb06
Penn State Offers Water Quality Credit Trading "Primer"
Water quality specialists in Penn State's College of
Agricultural Sciences have authored "A Primer on Water
Quality Credit Trading in the Mid-Atlantic Region," a publication
explaining water-quality trading programs. The pamphlet explains how
dischargers may buy and sell credits that are generated by reducing pollution
beyond state and federal requirements. It provides information needed
to understand the benefits and challenges of water-quality credit trading, the
mechanics of a trade and the questions that should be asked as states develop
their programs. http://agenvpolicy.aers.psu.edu/
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Newsletter
Editor/ Design and Layout:
Rebecca Buerkett |
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Corporate
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