Clean Water Blog

There’s a world of fun an adventure awaiting you and your family on the Mississippi River at Stearns County ‘s Mississippi River Park (seven miles north of Sartell on County Road 1), along with guided tours of Benton County’s Bend in the River Regional Park on Saturday, August 14.  A coalition of local and state organizations encourages Stearns and Benton county residents to “Take a Day OFF” on the Mississippi River. 

Take a Day O(utdoor) F(amily) F(un)* is a day-long sampler of outdoor recreational opportunities for those new to canoeing, archery, geo-caching, or nature hikes. ALL EVENTS ARE FREE, EQUIPMENT IS PROVIDED AND NO EXPERIENCE IS NECESSARY. 

The day is organized by the Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District, Stearns County Parks, Benton County, MN DNR and St. Cloud State University. 

For more details about the Take the Day OFF* (Outdoor Family Fun) on the Mississippi River, visit www.stearnscountyswcd.net, or call Kimberly Thielen Cremers at 320-251-7800 ext 161 

By Angela Gupta, University of Minnesota Extension 

ST. PAUL, Minn. (7/19/2010) — Minnesota now has more ash trees than any other state, a claim held by Michigan until emerald ash borer (EAB) arrived there and destroyed millions of ash beginning in 2002.  

Ash is an important part of Minnesota’s forest environment and our communities. It is also very common in wind and snow fencing around the state.  

University of Minnesota Extension recognized the serious impact EAB would have when it helped fund and develop the EAB First Detector program in 2007. The program trains dedicated citizens to look for the first signs of this invasive forest pest, and trainees were involved in the first discovery of EAB in Minnesota last year.  

Since 2007, Extension’s EAB education has broadened to include Forest Pest First Detectors, EAB Community Preparedness and numerous other training opportunities. Additionally, Extension has begun to develop ash management recommendations for private forest landowners. 

If you have ash trees on your property, now is the time to plan for a future with fewer ash trees. If you live within 15 miles of known EAB infestations in St. Paul, Minneapolis or Houston County, consider insecticides for your trees. If you live anywhere else in the state, you need to start preparing for a future without ash.  

Here are some helpful tips for homeowners: 

·         Think outside the box. Contemplate a wider choice of tree species appropriate to your site and needs.

·         Underplanting. Consider planting shade-tolerant trees beneath canopies of existing trees.

·         Diversify the species you select. Tree and plant diversity will help prevent future large-scale mortality the next time we discover a major pest attacking a tree species. When Dutch elm disease killed the elms, for example, many communities planted ash. It would be unfortunate if we replanted with only maple (a tree already overplanted in many communities) and then found Asian longhorned beetle, an insect that kills maple.

Extension’s forestry website at www.extension.umn.edu/go/1027 features resources for identifying trees suitable for your location. To learn more about emerald ash borer, visit Extension’ EAB website at www.extension.umn.edu/issues/eab.

Contact Information: EPA Press Office, press@epa.gov, 202-564-6794

WASHINGTON – On August 4, top Obama Administration officials will hold a listening session in Minneapolis on President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative to hear the public’s ideas for building a 21st century conservation and recreation agenda and reconnecting Americans with the outdoors. The listening session will be held at the University of Minnesota’s Ted Mann Concert Hall. Additional details on the session will be released in the coming days.

President Obama inaugurated the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative at a White House Conference in April. The conference brought together leaders from communities across the country that are working to protect their outdoor spaces and focused on developing and supporting innovative ideas for improving conservation and recreation at the local level.

The secretaries of the departments of Interior and Agriculture, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and chair of the Council on Environmental Quality have been asked by the president to lead this effort and to listen and learn from people all over the country. Listening sessions will engage a full range of stakeholders including tribal leaders, farmers and ranchers, sportsmen, community park groups, foresters, business people, educators, state and local governments and recreation and conservation groups. 

WHO: Representatives from U.S. EPA, CEQ, USDA, DOI and DOD will be present to hear your thoughts and to participate in a conversation with you about America’s Great Outdoors.

WHAT: America’s Great Outdoors Initiative listening session

WHEN: Wednesday, August 4, 4:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: University of Minnesota
Ted Mann Concert Hall
2128 Fourth Street South
Minneapolis, Minn. 55455

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) WaterSense program today is kicking off its national “We’re for Water” campaign to encourage  Americans to make simple choices that save water. The program, in collaboration with its partner, American Water, will spread the word about saving water by traveling cross-country, stopping at national landmarks and educating consumers about WaterSense labeled products.

WaterSense products use about 20 percent less water than standard models.  “Whether by replacing an old, inefficient plumbing fixture with a WaterSense labeled product or adopting more water-efficient behaviors, together we can help save water for future generations,” said Peter Silva, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. “WaterSense offers consumers simple tips that can help the environment and keep money in their pockets.”  

Consumers can start saving water today with three simple steps: check, twist & replace.                                                  

·         Check toilets for silent leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring in the tank; if the color shows up in the bowl indicating a leak, fixing it may be as simple as replacing the toilet’s flapper.                                                                                          

·         Twist on a WaterSense labeled bathroom faucet aerator to use 30 percent less water without a noticeable difference in flow.

·         Replace a showerhead with a WaterSense labeled model that uses less water and energy, but still has all the power of a water-hogging model.  WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by EPA, seeks to protect the future of our nation’s water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, new homes and services. In 2009, EPA’s WaterSense program helped consumers save more than 36 billion gallons of water and $267 million on their water and sewer bills.  

More information on the We’re for Water road trip:  http://www.epa.gov/watersense/wereforwater                                                               To take the “I’m for Water pledge:”  http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pledge                                                                                                       To learn about water-saving tips: http://www.facebook.com/EPAWatersense

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing minor amendments to its Clean Water Act (CWA) regulations to codify that under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program, only “sufficiently sensitive” analytical test methods, i.e., those that are capable of detecting and measuring the pollutants at, or below, the respective water quality criteria or permit limits, can be used when completing an NPDES permit application and when performing sampling and analysis pursuant to monitoring requirements in an NPDES permit.

This proposal is based on requirements in the CWA and existing EPA regulations. It also would codify existing EPA guidance on the use of sufficiently sensitive analytical methods with respect to measurement of mercury and extend the approach outlined in that guidance to the NPDES program more generally. Specifically, EPA is proposing to clarify the existing NPDES application, compliance monitoring, and analytical methods regulations. The amendments in this proposed rulemaking affect only chemical-specific methods; they do not apply to the Whole Effluent Toxicity methods or their use.

EPA and state permitting authorities use data from the permit application to determine whether pollutants are present in an applicant?s discharge and to quantify the levels of all detected pollutants.  These pollutant data enable the director of the permitting authority to make a sound reasonable potential determination and, if necessary, establish appropriate permit limits. It is critical, therefore, that applicants provide data that are measured with a precision and accuracy that will be meaningful to the decision making process.  The same holds true for monitoring and reporting relative to permit limits established for regulated parameters.

The public will have 45 days to comment on the proposed rulemaking after publication in the Federal Register.

For more information: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/. 

Committee Approves Series of Bills to Restore Water Ecosystems that Protect People, Wildlife, and the Economy

Members of America’s Great Waters Coalition are commending the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for passing a suite of restoration bills that will authorize needed funding, and bolster coordination and oversight to advance restoration plans for seven Great Waters across the country. The Committee also passed a reauthorization of the National Estuary Program to benefit smaller estuarine systems. The Committee passed the following bills with bipartisan support:

H.R. 4715 The Clean Estuaries Act
S. 2739 Puget Sound Recovery Act
S. 3073 Great Lakes Ecosystem Restoration Act
S. 1816 Chesapeake Bay Clean Water & Ecosystem Restoration Act
S. 3025 Columbia River Basin Restoration Act
S. 1311 Gulf of Mexico Restoration and Protection Act
S. 3119 Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Act
S.3539 San Francisco Bay Restoration Act

“These bills acknowledge the importance of America’s Great Waters, our nation’s crown jewels,” said Malia Hale, director of Restoration and Water Resources programs for National Wildlife Federation and co-chair of the America’s Great Waters Coalition. “Today’s Senate action is a critical step to lifting all boats and restoring the waters that millions of people depend on for their health, jobs and way of life—this effort will be vital in addressing the impacts of global warming.”

Each of the bills authorized investments for ongoing restoration projects—a key step in obtaining needed restoration dollars at a time when legislators must justify any additional appropriations. These investments represent money well spent, as they will ensure clean, clear streams for all Americans and a strong return on investment; in the Great Lakes, for example, a recent economic study determined that every one dollar invested in restoration yields two dollars in benefits.

These bills will help all levels of government manage major threats to water quality, such as non-point source pollution and invasive species. Some bills address major gaps in the Clean Water Act that have not been remedied nearly 40 years after it was signed into law. Declining water quality threatens hundreds of threatened and endangered species—such as the Brown Pelican in the Gulf of Mexico and the Orca in the Puget Sound—that these Great Waters support.

As clean, abundant water resources dwindle across the United States, it is important to understand the human impact on water supplies.

Gabriel Eckstein, director of the Texas Tech University Center for Water Law and Policy Center and George McCleskey Chair in Water Law at the Texas Tech School of Law, unveiled (May 13) the Micropollutants Clearinghouse website, www.micropollutants.org, one component of a three-year, EPA-funded study looking at pharmaceuticals, personal care products and other micropollutants in freshwater systems, focusing on the ongoing law and policy analysis.

He introduced the website while presenting at “Symposium on Land-Based Threats to Waters: Recent Trends, from Nutrients to Pharmaceuticals” in Washington, D.C.

The website is a publically accessible research resource on the legal, regulatory, institutional, policy and related scientific aspects of pharmaceuticals, personal care products and other micropollutants in freshwater systems, and contains a dynamic and robust database of documents, reports, information, analyses, articles and other materials.

“The long-term objective of the Micropollutant Clearinghouse project is to continue building on the existing knowledge of information and to expand the contents available in the clearinghouse on this important topic,” Eckstein said. “This is critical for developing and evaluating water laws, regulatory actions and policies relevant to the presence and effects of micropollutants in freshwater systems.”

The EPA project, which is in the final stages, has three components – development of the online clearinghouse of information; field study in Lubbock, Texas, looking at micropollutants coming out of Lubbock’s wastewater treatment process; and, law and policy analysis related to micropollutants in freshwater systems.