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Editor's
Notes:
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Thank You
Thank you to all the soldiers, past and
present, who have fought to keep our country free.
15th Annual Secchi Dip-In and Lakes
Appreciation Month
The 15th Annual Secchi Dip-In will
take place between June 28 and July 20, and coincides with Lakes
Appreciation Month during the month of July. The Dip-In is a network of
volunteers that collects Secchi disk and other water quality data from
water bodies around the world. Because volunteers
contribute data year after year, trends in transparency are able to be
tracked over time. For cumulative results of past dip-ins, visit http://dipin.kent.edu/results.htm
Storm Drain Stencilers Sought
The Philadelphia Water Department and the Partnership for the Delaware
Estuary are seeking
volunteers to help improve water quality in the Schuylkill and
Delaware rivers by installing storm drain emblems proclaiming "Yo!
No Dumping! Drains to River." Training and materials will be
provided at no cost.
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Topic
of the Month:
New Model Streambed Allows Researchers to
Study Stream Restoration
As we reported in a previous
article, hydrologists are beginning to reexamine traditional
thinking about stream restoration. Although stream restoration projects
are becoming more common, they are not always successful and more
studies need to be done to enhance long-term success. More...
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Climate Ready Estuaries
The Delaware Estuary and five other estuaries across the United States
are part of a new U.S. EPA program called “Climate
Ready Estuaries.” The six estuaries will be case studies for
local action to protect sensitive coastal ecosystems and economies
from the potential effects of climate change.
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News Clips:
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Environmental Groups, Legislators Urge PADEP to Adopt Forest Buffer
Rule
The Pennsylvania Campaign for Clean Water
recently launched its “Buffers 100” initiative to urge the
PADEP to propose new regulations that would require
minimum 100-foot buffers on new development on all rivers and streams in
the Commonwealth. More...
DNA Evidence Exposes Bullfrogs
Scientists have found a new way to detect
the presence of bullfrogs in waterbodies without ever seeing a single
frog. More...
NJ Building-Permit Extension Bill
Approved
Avidly supported by business and labor
but opposed by environmentalists,
legislation to extend the life of building permits for
stalled residential and commercial development projects has been
approved the
New Jersey Assembly and Senate. More...
Pennsylvania Mandates Zoning in Municipalities Along Appalachian
Trail
Municipalities along the Appalachian Trail will be required to have
zoning rules to protect the trail from adjacent development under a new
Pennsylvania law. More...
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Policy
Update:
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The
invasive algae, Didymosphenia geminata-commonly called Didymo,
was
found by anglers on the Gunpowder Falls in Baltimore County, MD this
spring. |
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The Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries Commission approved a Public Information Document for
review, which is the first step in amending its management plan for American shad along the East
Coast. The comment deadline is July 25.
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EPA is publishing a final
rule that clarifies water transfers are excluded from regulation
under the Clean Water Act's (CWA) National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program. |
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EPA is
approving 99 alternative test procedures for contaminants listed in the
drinking water regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act. |
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EPA
approved
the final "State of Delaware 2008 Combined Watershed Assessment
Report and Determination for the Clean Water Act List of Waters
Needing Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)." |
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The 2008
Action
Plan for Reducing, Mitigating, and Controlling Hypoxia in the
Northern Gulf of Mexico and Improving Water Quality in the Mississippi
River Basin builds upon the 2001 plan by incorporating emerging
issues, innovative approaches, and the latest science, including
findings from EPA's Science Advisory Board. |
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The U.S.
EPA is proposing
two general permits under the Clean Water Act that will cover
discharges incidental to normal operation of commercial and
recreational vessels. EPA is accepting comments and holding public
meetings.
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The
Virginia DEQ has released a report
containing an assessment of water quality from January 2001 to
December 2006, along with a statewide list of impaired waters.
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Tour our National
Treasures |
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History comes alive in the
National Treasure movies, and this summer you can visit the historic sites
where the movies were filmed. The National
Treasure tour includes sites such as the National Archives,
Independence Hall, and Liberty Bell Center. Tours of National
Treasure 2 sites include Ford's Theater, Mt. Vernon, the Library of
Congress, and the White House. The Mount Vernon Historical site is also
getting in on the action with its own National
Treasure Basement Tour.
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New Sustainable Stormwater Best Management Practices Website
The Water Environment Research Federation (WERF) recently unveiled a new
Web site
that gives landscape architects, designers, engineers, stormwater managers,
elected officials and the public creative new ideas on sustainable stormwater
practices. The site provides practical tools, frameworks for implementation and
planning aids that can be adapted to any community or project. http://www.werf.org/livablecommunities/
| Botanic
Garden Exhibit Highlights Sustainability
Now open and running through Columbus Day on the National Mall in
Washington, D.C., the United States Botanic Garden's summer
exhibition,
One Planet - Ours!, focuses on sustainability and demonstrates
ways that each of us and our communities can live for tomorrow, as well as
for today.
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EPA helped develop display panels on Green Infrastructure/Low
Impact Development that are inside the Conservatory building as well as
displays in the adjacent gardens. EPA's Greenscaping Program display
includes a rain barrel, composting bin, pervious pavement and other green
practices. EPA also collaborated
with Penn State University's Department to build a demonstration green
roof at eye-level.
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New Tools and
Publications:
New EPA Tool Will Help Keep More Beaches
Open
U.S. EPA has made a new tool available that will
help keep more beaches open for swimming. The Great Lakes Beach Sanitary Survey
Tool is designed help beach managers identify sources of bacterial contamination
at their beaches. It was developed and piloted at
beaches around the Great Lakes but can be effective at any beach. A beach
sanitary survey is an evaluation of the beach area and surrounding watershed for
existing and potential sources of pollution. Information collected may include
the number of birds at a beach, slope of the beach, location and condition of
bathrooms, amount of algae present, location of storm water outfalls and
soundness of residential septic tanks. http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches/sanitarysurvey
ASWM Posts New Website on State
Programmatic General Permits
The Association of State Wetland Managers (ASWM) has a new
Web page on state programmatic general permits (SPGPs), a common joint permitting tool developed by state agencies and Corps
districts. ASWM has highlighted a few states’ examples of
SPGPs and how those permitting programs have worked in the past as well as some
of what is being done to streamline the process for the public and agency staff.
In addition, the site includes informational links to a wide range of SPGPs,
regional general permits (RGPs) and similar programs throughout the country. http://www.aswm.org/swp/pgp/index.htm
EPA's First Green Streets Podcast Announced
EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds
has posted its
inaugural Podcast about Green Streets-- From Gray Funnels to Green
Sponges. The Podcast features a discussion on how to manage rainwater and snow
melt where it falls; in ways that can make great places, preserve water quality
and restore our nation's waterways. http://epa.gov/owow/podcasts/grayfunnelsgreensponges.html
New Impaired Waters and Total Maximum Daily
Loads Web Site Launched
EPA recently released a new Impaired Waters and
Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) homepage. The new Web page features an
overview of the Clean Water Act section 303(d) program activities, highlights
new resources, and provides easier access to program resources, such as EPA's
new Water Quality Assessment and TMDL Information (ATTAINS) Web site. The site
also features a new TMDL Stormwater Resources page that hosts several
stormwater-source TMDLs and case studies highlighting the innovative approaches
states are using to address stormwater. Additional pages that are coming soon
include a new TMDLs at Work page, which will highlight successful restoration
efforts where TMDL/303(d) activities were an important part of the process. http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl
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Newsletter
Editor/ Design and Layout:
Rebecca
Buerkett
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