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Editors Note:
It’s spelled just like it
sounds: LAKE CHARGOGGA GOGGMANCHAUGGAGOGG CHAUBUNAGUNGA MAUGG - the longest
place name in the country. Also known as
Webster Lake,
Massachusetts,
the name means “English knife men and Nipmuck Indians at the boundary or
neutral fishing place.” Inspired by this impressive moniker, we are
collecting more unique and interesting lake names. Please
email the newsletter editor with your entries and we will include a list
in our April newsletter!
Feature
Article
Decentralized
Wastewater: A Viable Option for Lakeshore Communities
By F. X. Browne, Inc.
President, Dr. Frank Browne, P.E.
As the
need for upgrading wastewater treatment facilities is increasing and costs
are rising, decentralized
treatment options are becoming more and more attractive, especially in
lakefront communities. More…
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News Clips
PA DEP, DCNR
Release Letter Comparing Growing Greener II and Green PA Proposals
The Pennsylvania departments of Environmental Protection (DEP) and
Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) have received numerous
requests for detailed analysis of the House Republicans' recently
released Green PA plan, as well as a comparison of that plan to Governor
Rendell's Growing Greener II initiative.
More…
Colorado
Scientists Find Chemicals in Rural Waters
Scientists have discovered that the byproducts of such everyday
compounds as anti-bacterial hand soap or bug spray are winding up in
streams and groundwater in remote spots in the Colorado mountains.
More…
River Erosion
Lowering Water Levels on Lake Michigan, Lake Huron
Lake Huron and Lake Michigan are losing vast amounts of water because of
erosion from a decades-old dredging project, according to a new study.
More…
Ping Pong Ball
Saves NY Wetland
A
floating ping pong ball and the threat of a lawsuit convinced the Army
Corps of Engineers that a small wetland in New York State qualifies for
federal protection. More…
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Policy Update
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The Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of
Pennsylvania, the US EPA and the PA DEP recently signed an agreement to
voluntarily disclose violations found through environmental compliance
audits conducted by member schools.
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/newsreleases/default.asp?ID=3253&varQueryType=Detail
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The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP) recently
announced their list of top priorities for 2005, including support for
legislation allowing a real estate transfer fee to be used to purchase
agriculture easements and open space lands.
http://www.pacounties.org/commissioners/cwp/view.asp?Q=496856&A=1155
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The US EPA and NOAA have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that
creates a formal partnership. The two agencies agreed to work together
to help coastal communities grow in ways that benefit the economy,
public health, and the environment.
http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/noaamoa.html |
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Between August 2003 and August 2004, 753 miles of
streambank and shoreline in the
Chesapeake Bay
watershed were planted with riparian forest buffers bringing the
cumulative total to 3,791 miles restored since 1996.
http://www.chesapeakebay.net/status.cfm?sid=83
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The NJ DEP announced $35 million for water reuse
projects. The projects will allow treated wastewater to be used to water
lawns at Atlantic City
casinos and flush toilets in two state parks.
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/newsrel/2005/05_0006.htm
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The US EPA announced the issuance of a final interpretive
statement and a proposed rule on clarification of Clean Water Act (CWA)
permitting requirements for the application of pesticides to or over the
nation’s waters.
www.epa.gov/npdes/agriculture. |
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Acting NJ Governor Codey signed legislation that provides
qualified developers liability protection against natural resource
damage claims at brownfield sites across the state.
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/newsrel/2005/05_0007.htm
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The US EPA released its draft National Whole Effluent
Toxicity Implementation Guidance for public review and comment. The
draft guidance document provides recommendations to states and EPA
regional offices on implementing whole effluent toxicity (WET) testing
in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.
http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/wet_draft_guidance.pdf
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California's state EPA
(Cal/EPA) was recently the first in the nation to agree to assess
cumulative impacts of multiple pollutants, and to adopt the
precautionary principle to guide all its work.
http://www.calepa.ca.gov/EnvJustice/ |
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The National Weather
Service has revised 40-year-old rainfall estimates for the Doylestown,
Quakertown and Willow Grove region of Pennsylvania. The new data say
that a 100-year storm lasting 24 hours could bring as much as a
half-inch more rain than previously thought.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-02172005-451733.html#top
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Why is Easter
on a Different Day Each Year and How Do They Figure That Out?
Easter has been celebrated without interruption since New Testament
times. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica:
...western Christians celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the
full moon (the paschal moon) that occurs on or next after the vernal
equinox on March 21. If the paschal moon (which is calculated from a
system of golden
numbers and epacts and does not necessarily coincide with the
astronomical full moon) occurs on a Sunday, Easter is the following
Sunday.
Using this method, Easter can only occur between March 22 and April 25.
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Disturbing Car
Facts
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In
the US, per person trips by car increased by 43 percent from 1980 to
1990. Population growth over the same time period was 15 percent.
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An average of 14
car trips are made per day per household in the US. |
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From 1960 to 1980,
two-vehicle households increased by 172 percent and three-vehicle
households increased by 1,000 percent. |
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Taxpayers pay a
$2.4 billion annual subsidy to provide street infrastructure through
property taxes. Over 80 percent of local government spending for car
infrastructure is raised through general fund taxes. |
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http://user.gru.net/domz/car.htm
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Link Of
The Month
National Recycling Coalition Online
Library
Wouldn't it be great if all
those consulting studies and reports paid for by recycling agencies around
the nation were online for everyone to share? Now they are! The National
Recycling Coalition’s Recycle Library consists of hundreds of reports, fact
sheets, and studies from organizations nation-wide. You can search more
than 500 reports in categories such as market development, source reduction,
collection techniques, economics, and much more. The library also includes
an assortment of Pennsylvania’s Recycling Technical Assistance Reports.
These reports cover a wide range of topics including evaluating and
improving recycling and composting programs, developing new facilities, and
establishing Pay-as-You-Throw programs.
http://www.recyclelibrary.com
F. X. Browne, Inc. can help
with the development and implementation of recycling programs in your
community. For more information, contact
info@fxbrowne.com.
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A
limerick packs laughs anatomical
Into space that is quite economical.
But the good ones I've seen
So
seldom are clean
And the clean ones so seldom are comical.
~Anonymous |
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New
Tools and Publications
Agroforestry Water Quality Brochure
The National Agroforestry
Center recently released a brochure, “Working Trees for Water Quality.” The
brochure has several easy-to-follow chapters, including water resource problems,
integrated watershed approach, restoring ecological services, and planning and
design. The section on water resource problems covers issues such as runoff and
pollutants, while the watershed section explores windbreaks, silvopasture, alley
cropping, green infrastructure, wastewater treatment, water breaks and riparian
forest buffers. Seven other brochures are available in the Working Trees series.
http://www.unl.edu/nac
Online "Growth and Water Resources" Training
Module
A new online, distance learning
training module called “Growth and Water Resources” has recently been posted on
EPA's Watershed Academy Web at:
http://www.epa.gov/watertrain/smartgrowth/. This training module explains
how changes in land use affect water resources. It also presents national data
on trends in development patterns and activities on land that have caused
increasingly significant challenges for achieving water quality standards.
PA Members Report on Cost-Effective Bay Cleanup
Methods
The legislative members of the
Chesapeake Bay Commission from Pennsylvania recently released copies of their
latest report identifying the most cost-effective steps to restore the
Chesapeake. "Cost Effective Strategies for the Bay: Smart Investments in
Nutrient Reduction," highlights six practices which can contribute significantly
to on-time achievement of the Bay's nutrient and sediment reduction goals by
2010. The six highlighted practices include sewage treatment plant upgrades and
five agricultural practices -- cover crops, conservation tillage, traditional
nutrient management, enhanced nutrient management, and diet and feed
adjustments.
http://www.chesbay.state.va.us/cost%20effective.pdf
New "How-To" Guide for Protecting Drinking Water
A new handbook has recently
been released by the Trust for Public Land (TPL) and the American Water Works
Association (AWWA). The Source Protection Handbook: Using Land Conservation to
Protect Local Drinking Water Supplies provides local governments, water
suppliers and agencies, and community drinking water advocates with the tools to
identify source water conservation opportunities, implement funded source water
conservation programs, and acquire and protect the lands that will help keep our
drinking water clean.
http://www.tpl.org/publications
New CD: "Songs of the Chesapeake Bay"
"Songs of the Chesapeake Bay"
is a new CD that brings together musicians and songwriters from around the
Chesapeake Bay
watershed, including nationally renowned acts such as Bruce Hornsby and Tom
Chapin. A portion of the proceeds from CD sales benefits four organizations that
work to preserve, protect, and educate people about the Chesapeake.
http://www.cbf.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=10055&JServSessionIdr001=wjhpdk2941.app26a
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Newsletter Editor:
Rebecca Buerkett
Design and Layout:
Dianne Brown
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Subscribe to this newsletter!
An email version
of F. X. Browne, Inc.'s Lake and Watershed
News is now available. To be added to our mailing list, please visit
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F. X.
Browne, Inc. – Environmental Consulting
F. X. Browne, Inc.
Engineers – Planners – Scientists
27 Years of Excellence & Innovation
Corporate
Office: Lansdale, PA
Pocono Office: Marshalls
Creek, PA
New York Office:
Saranac Lake, NY
For more information, call us at (215) 362-3878 or visit:
http://www.fxbrowne.com.
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