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WATER NEWS
Water Headlines for July 2008
EPA Re-Issues Permit for Construction Site Stormwater - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is re-issuing a stormwater Construction General Permit (CGP), which expired July 1, 2008, for a two-year time period. The permit will apply only where EPA is the permitting authority, which is in five states (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Idaho and Alaska); Washington, D.C.; most territories; and most Indian country lands.
The CGP regulates the discharge of stormwater from construction sites that disturb one acre or more of land, and from smaller sites that are part of a larger, common plan of development. The permit requires operators of the construction sites to use stormwater controls and develop stormwater pollution prevention plans to minimize the discharge of sediment and other pollutants associated with construction sites in stormwater runoff.
Under the re-issued permit, new dischargers include new construction sites that start construction on or after the effective date of this permit and those that have already started construction, but do not have coverage under the 2003 CGP. Sites that have coverage under the 2003 CGP must continue to comply with the provisions of that permit and do not need to apply for coverage under this new permit.
The permit uses most of the same terms and conditions as EPA's 2003 permit. EPA is coordinating the permit with a second effort that is underway to establish national clean water standards, known as an effluent limitation guideline, for the construction and development industry. Upon finalization of the guideline, EPA plans to include its provisions into a new and improved five-year CGP to be reissued no later than July 2010.
For more information on the Construction General Permit: www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/cgp
Contact: Enesta Jones, (202) 564-4355 / jones.enesta@epa.gov
EPA Awards the Water Quality Standards Forum Cooperative Agreement -
EPA has awarded a cooperative agreement to Water Environment Federation (WEF) to conduct the Water Quality Standards (WQS) Forum. The WQS Forum is a four-year, $400,000 cooperative agreement aimed at providing information sharing and technical solution transfer between the states, U.S. territories, authorized tribes, and EPA on WQS issues. (Authorized tribes are those EPA has found eligible to administer WQS programs in the same manner as states under the Clean Water Act.)
The key elements of the cooperative agreement are:
- - Development of a state/territory/tribe-only WQS Forum (including at least ten representatives, one from each EPA region) that involves monthly conference calls and at least one face-to-face meeting per year;
- - Development of a state/territory/tribe-EPA workgroup (including Forum members and select EPA participants) that meets face-to-face at least once per year and holds bimonthly conference calls; and
- - Development of a training and information dissemination strategy to enhance knowledge of WQS topics identified by the Forum.
For more information, contact Janita Aguirre at 202-566-1149.
Response and Recovery Efforts Continue In the Midwest - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is coordinating the joint efforts of numerous federal agencies, state and local governments, non-profit organizations and the private sector as they continue to work together in response to ongoing flooding and the recovery efforts in the Midwest.
EPA Responds to Mid-West Disasters with a Special Flooding Section - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cautions the public and all responders about the potential hazards of flood waters. Every effort should be made to limit contact with flood water due to potentially elevated levels of contamination associated with raw sewage and other hazardous substances.