United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office Of Water
(WH556F)
EPA840-N-93-Q02
Winter 1993
&EPA Watershed Events
• An EPA Bulletin on Integrated Aquatic Ecosystem Protection •
In This Issue...
Overviews of Watershed Protection
Activities in Various Federal
Agencies
News Bits . .-..,.
EPA Highlights
Recent Releases
Watershed Events is intended to
update interested parties on the
development and use of watershed
protection approaches.
Watershed protection approaches are
integrated and holistic. That is, they
consider the primary threats to
human and ecosystem health within
the watershed, involve those people
mostconcernedorabletotake actions
to solve those problems, and then
take corrective actions in a
comprehensive manner.
Questions and comments about
WatershedEvents should be directed
to coreditors:
Janet Pawhikiewicz, (202) 260-9194
Anne Robertson, (202) 260-9112
Off ice of Wetlands, Oceans and
Watersheds
U.S.EPA
v401MStreet;SW
Washington; D.C. 20460
<£|) Printed on Recycled Paper
A Note From Gary Margheim,
SCS Deputy Chief for Programs
The Soil Conservation Service (SCS)
has developed a Strategic Plan for the
90''s which establishes a major focus on
water management. The,'plan calls for
leadership initiatives, an enhanced wa-
tershed approach, technology advance-
ments, and education.
The Agency will be delivering water
management assistance on a watershed
basis using a total resource manage-:
ment approach. Total resource manage-
ment means considering all related re-
source needs in a watershed including
soil, water, air, plants, and animals, in
relation to economics, sociology, and
cultural concerns. This watershed as-
sistance process will involve local people
in identifying and solving local water
and related resource concerns in an in-
tegrated manner in concert with both
State and Federal levels of government
as well as the private sector. SCS will
provide staff to facilitate this process in
selected areas to the extent that staff
resources permit.
Emphasizing water management on a
watershed, basis responds to the public's
call for a more locally driven approach
with coordinated assistance and sup-
port from State and Federal agencies.
This newapproachwillstrengthen SCS's
leadership role in water management,
enhance our technicalability to address
Note—Continued on Page 8
Controlling Nonpoint Source
Pollution: A Cooperative Ven-
ture Between the NOAA and
EPA by Ellen Gordon, NOAA
In 1990, Congress passed the Coastal
Zone Act Reauthorization Amend-
ments, including §6217, entitled,
"Protecting Coastal Waters." The
goal of this section is "to restore and
protect coastal waters" through de-
velopment and implementation of a
Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control
Program (CNPCP)byeachstate with
a Federally approved coastal zone
management program.
The statute and legislative history
make clear that the central purpose
of §6217 is to strengthen the links
between Federal and State coastal
zone management and water qual-
ity programs in order to enhance
state and local efforts to manage
land use activities which degrade
coastal waters and coastal habitats.
Congress has mandated cooperation
between the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) and the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), an extraor-
dinary step that appears, so far, to be
working. The two agencies have, in
a joint effort, drafted guidance to the
states on how to shape their pro-
grams to gain Federal approval
(from both NOAA and EPA), as well
NOAA—Continued on Page 8
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Page 2
Watershed Events
Winter 1993
SCS Supports 275 Water-
shed Projects
The Soil Conservation Service
(SCS) administers programs
which address the Nation's water
resource and related environmen-
tal needs on a watershed basis.
These programs respond to the
public's concern about watershed
protection, water conservation,
erosion damage reduction and
water quality, especially as related
to potential nonpoint sources of
pollutionassociated with produc-
tion agriculture. Project needs
are addressed under the Small
Watershed Protection and Hood
Prevention Program and through
the U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture (USDA) Water Quality Ini-
tiative. Annual funding for these
projects is approximately $150
million.
Currently, 275 watershed protec-
tion projects are fully operational.
Of these, 185 are watershed pro-
tection projects under the author-
ity of PL-566 which address is-
sues that include nonpoint source
pollution and water quality. Both
technical and financial assistance
are provided to sponsors and
landowners based onanapproved
watershed plan. The remaining
90 projects fall under the USDA
Water Quality Initiative. For
these, SCS provides technical as-
sistance to 74 hydrologic unit ar-
easand 16 demonstration projects.
In addition, SCS gives technical
support to six defined regional
program areas and 18 estuaries of
national significance.
control efforts. States have iden-
tified 43 new high priority water-
sheds with local leaders ready to
take action. These projects are in
the final stage of plan preparation
which documents the pollution
control practices to be installed.
Additional water quality projects
are planned to be added in future
years through SCS ongoing pro-
grams and in a partnership ar-
rangement with EPA for future
defined regional programs and
designated national estuaries.
Benefits associated with water-
shed protection and water qual-
ity projects include but are not
limited to: the protection of na-
tive cold water fisheries; the pro-
tection of environmentally sensi-
tive aquifers; wildlife habitat res-
toration; flood protection; and
reduced pollutant inputs into
lakes, streams, estuaries, and res-
ervoirs. Contact Tom Wehri, (202)
720-9484.
Forest Service Efforts to
Protect Water Resources
The Forest Service is responsible
for managing approximately 191
million acres of public lands that
have been reserved from the pub-
lic domain for the purpose of en-
suring favorable conditions of
water flow, and to furnish a con-
tinuous supply of timber. In ad-
dition, Congress has directed that
these lands are to be managed for
multiple use purposes including,
timber, range, recreation, miner-
als, wildlife, fish, soil and water.
All watershed projects undergo In 1992/ the Forest Service
State level review through the launched a new policy on ecosys-
clearinghouse process and are tem management. This policy
compatible with State pollution
emphasizes public involvement,
conservation partnerships, and
land manager/scientist partner-
ships. Ecosystem management
encompasses the protection and
restoration of the integrity of soil,
air, water, biological diversity,
and ecological processes.
To protect and restore water re-
sources, the Forest Service has an
active Watershed Improvement
Program that targets over 35,000
acres annually, treating those
National Forest lands adversely
affected by past uses and events.
In addition, the Forest Service has
an affirmative program to pro-
tect, wisely use, and improve valu-
able wetlands in the National For-
ests. The Forest Service's Wet-
lands policy recognizes wetlands
as specific management areas in
the National Forests. The goal is
to preserve and enhance the natu-
ral and beneficial values of wet-
lands and to avoid adverse im-
pacts which may be associated
with their destruction, loss, or
degradation.
Nonpoint source pollution that
may result from land manage-
ment activities is controlled by
designing practices that are ex-
pected to meet water quality ob-
jectives. Monitoring is used to
ensure that such practices are
implemented and are effective.
Land management design crite-
ria are adjusted where necessary.
This program is coordinated with
individual states to ensure com-
pliance with State water quality
requirements. In addition, the
Forest Service provides technical
assistance through the State For-
esters for managing nonpoint
sources from state and private
lands.
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Winter 1993
Watershed Events
Page 3
ASCS Helps Farmers and
Ranchers Protect Water-
sheds
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) Agricul-
tural Stabilization and Conserva-
tion Service (ASCS) provides cost-
sharing under the Agricultural
Conservation Program to farm-
ers and ranchers in USDA Water
Quality Initiative project areas.
The Initiative is a coordinated ef-
fort involving 11 USDA agencies
working with State and local gov-
ernments, and other Federal agen-
cies (primarily the Environmen-
tal Protection Agency, the U.S.
Geological Survey, and the Na-
, tional Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration) to protect ground
and surface water from contami-
nation by agricultural nutrients
and pesticides. A major part of
this effort includes education and
provision of technical and finan-
cial assistance to farmers and
ranchers in selected priority wa-
tersheds to solve agriculturally
related nonpoint source water
quality problems. Since 1988,228
projects - 74 Hydr'ologic Unit Ar-
eas, 16 Demonstration Projects,
and 138 Water Quality Special
Projects - have been initiated in 48
states. Manyof these projectswere
selected from areas identified by
States as their most severe water.
quality problem areas in response
to section 319 of the Federal Wa-
ter Pollution Control Act.
ASCS provided $23 million for
cost-sharing with landowners in
the three types of Water Quality
Initiative projects in fiscal year
(FY) 1992, and has provided over
$70 million in cost-sharing for Ini-
tiative projects since 1988.
As part of the Agricultural Con-
servation Program, ASCS, with
the cooperation of the Soil Con-
servation Service and the Exten-
sion Service, administers the
newly implemented Water Qual-
ity Incentive Projects (WQIP).
Under WQIP, farmers and ranch-
ers receive incentive payments
from ASCS, generally on a per-
acre basis, for 3 to 5 years to adopt
source reduction management
practices in areas where water
quality is impaired by agricultural
activities. WQIPs are similar to
USDA Water Quality Initiative
projects, but provide financial as-
sistance for management mea-
sures only, such as nutrient and
integrated pestmanagementprac-
tices.
In FY 1992, $6.75 million were
allocated to initiate the WQIP in
ongoing Water Quality Initiative
Project areas. For FY 1993, $15
million have been allocated for
farmers and ranchers in 106 new
projects, located in 42 states. The
project areas, generally water-
sheds with an average size of
45,000 acres, were selected from
proposals submitted by States in
cooperation with local govern-
ment agencies and State and local
representatives of the participat-
ing Federal agencies. Contact Alex
Barbarika, (202) 720-7093.
NEWS BITS
* CZARA Guidance Signed - On
January 12, Martha Prothro, Acting
Assistant Administrator for Water,
and W. Stanley Wilson, Assistant
Administrator for Ocean Services
and Coastal Zone Management at
NOAA, signed off on the Manage-
ment Measures Guidance iand the
Programlmplementation Guidance
forSection62i7ofthe Coastal Zone
Act Reauthorization Amendments
of 1990 (CZARA guidance). The
Guidance was published™ theFed-
eral Register on January 19. This
Guidance specifies technology-
based management measures to be
used by the States in developing
Coastal Nonpoint PoEution Con*
trol Programs aimed at restoring
and protecting coastal waters Con-
tact Stu Tuller, (202) 260-7112,
* Clean. Lakes Program
Issued « Qti November 30, thefinal
FY199$CteanLakesProgramGuid-
ancewasissued. Thisantvualguid-
ance establishes the program pri-
orities and procedures for award-
ing the $4.0 million Clean Lakes
appropriation in FY 1993, This is
the second year O WOW haslmple-
mented a more decentralized {Re-
gional) approach in awarding the
funds, whichallowstheStates more
latitude in building statewide pro-
gram capacity, Contact Tim Icke,
(202)260-2640.
* Wetlands and Watershed Man-
agement Act Proposed - m Janu-
ary, the Association of State Wet-
land Managers (ASWM) issued a
draft of its Wetlands and Water-
shed Management Act of 1993, a
proposal to revise the Clean Water
Act This proposal promotes a fed-
eral, state, and local partnership to
evaluate, plan, regulate, manage,
restore, and protect wetlands on a
watershed basis. This bill also
strives to provide greater certainty,
predictability, fairness,and flexibil-
ity for private landowners. Con-
tact ASWM, (518) 872-1S04
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Page 4
Watershed Events
Winter 1993
USGS Operates National
Water-Quality Assessment
Program (NAWQA)
In 1991, following a 5-year pilot
effort to test and refine assess-
ment concepts, the Congress ap-
propriated funds to the U.S. Geo-
logical Survey (USGS) to begin a
multi-year transition to a fully
operational NAWQA program.
The goals of the program are to:
(1) describe the status and trends
in the quality of a large represen-
tative part of the Nation's ground
and surface water resources, and
(2) develop an understanding of
the natural and human factors
affecting the quality of these re-
sources.
This information, obtained on a
constituent basis, will provide
sound nationally consistent wa-
ter-quality information on which
water resources decisionmaking
at all governmental levels can be
based. To meet its goals, the pro-
gram will integrate water-quality
informa tionat local, regional, and
national scales. Investigations of
surface- and ground water re-
sources of major regional hydro-
logic systems will be conducted
on a rotating basis for 60 key ar-
eas located throughout the Na-
tion. In 1991, assessment activi-
ties began in 20 areas. Twenty
additional areas are planned for
assessment activities in 1994 and
in 1997.
A wide range of major water-qual-
ity issues will be addressed by the
NAWQA program. One concern,
which will be addressed on a na-
tional level during the early years
of the program, is the relation of
pesticides in the Nation's water
resoruces to agricultural
managment practices, factoring in
climate, geology, and types of soil.
Information on the principal fac-
tors affecting ground and surface
water contamination by pesticides
will be useful to land and water
resource policy makers and man-
agers. Contact Patrick Leahy,
(703) 648-5012.
Intergovernmental Task
Force Developing Frame-
work for Monitoring
The Intergovernmental Task
Force on Monitoring Water Qual-
ity (ITFM), which the Environ-
mental Protection Agency (EPA)
chairs and the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) serves as vice
chair, began in 1992 to develop an
institutional framework for na-
tionwide integrated monitoring.
The primary objective is to pro-
vide better information on water
resources and to use existing wa-
ter monitoring resources more
efficiently and effectively. The
ITFM consists of 20 members from
ten Federal agencies and from ten
State agencies. Four task groups
address the following problems:
the nationwide institutional
framework, environmental indi-
cators, data collection methods,
data management and informa-
tion sharing, and assessment and
reporting. More than 90 Federal
and State staff members sit on the
five task groups. The ITFM is a 3-
year effort; it will disband in fa-
vor of full implementation activi-
ties in December 1994.
The ITFM is also producing
"building block" products for use
by individual monitoring pro-
grams. Draft products to date
include a national monitoring vi-
sion and principles, an optimal
monitoring program outline, a
matrix for choosing environmen-
tal indicators, environmental in-
dicator selection criteria, and an
automated directory to water re-
sources information.
The ITFM categorized the reasons
for water resource monitoring into
five major areas:
• Evaluating status and trends
• Characterizing existing and
emerging problems
• Developing management and
regulatory programs
• Evaluating program effective-
ness
• Conducting emergency re-
sponse monitoring.
This task force will recommend
ways to improve efforts under-
taken in each area. In its first year,
the ITFM concentrated on the sta-
tus of and trends for ambient
water quality.
To improve status and trends data,
the ITFM recommends creating
an integrated, voluntary, nation-
wide monitoring strategy build-
ing upon the existing monitoring
players and stations. , Players
would jointly provide status and
trends information on water re-
source quality across the Nation.
To implement the strategy, sta-
tions would use consistent or com-
parable monitoring methods,
measure common parameters,
store the data with enough infor-
mation to allow others to use it,
and participate in an integrated
nationwide water quality report.
The ITFM recommendations will
be carried out by a new national
committee that will set guidelines
and establish comparable meth-
ods and procedures. Monitoring
will be carried out on a regional
basis. A pilot project in Wiscon-
sin, which is organized into river
basins, is the first test of the ITFM
recommendations. Contact Mary
Belefski, (202) 260-7061.
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Winter 1993
Watershed Events
Page 5
Bureau of Reclamation's
Watershed Protection Ef-
forts by Judy Troast, Bureau of
Reclamation
Watershed Protection and Man-
agement is being addressed as
part of a number of Bureau of
Reclamation efforts. In June of
1992, Reclamation completed its
Strategic Plan which lays out a
framework for how Reclamation
will manage its projects through
the coming decade. Protecting
the environment is identified as
one of Reclamation's highest pri-
orities. Protection of water re-
sources at the watershed level has
been incorporated into the strate-
gies for a number of elements of
the Plan, including water quality,
instream flows and wetlands and
riparian habitat. Implementation
Plans will detail how the strate-
gies will be carried out.
Reclamation is working in con-
junction with other Federal and
State agencies, and outside groups
to address a variety of environ-
mental problems at the river ba-
sin/watershed level. Specific pro-
grams include Colorado River Sa-
linity Control Program; Recovery
Implementation Program for En-
dangered Fish Species in the Up-
per Colorado River Basin; and the
Department of the Interior's Na-
tional Irrigation Water Quality
Program.
Reclamation is examining re-op-
eration (changing the amount of
water released by a dam) of a
number of its projects to improve
protection of water resources at a
watershed level. Re-operation of-
ten involves complex problems
and decisions concerning how the
many needs for water (flood con-
trol, irrigation, municipal/indus-
trial, fish and wildlife protection)
will be met. Reclamation is work-
ing with other Federal and State
agencies and has a very active
public involvement program for
these efforts. Some of the more
complex projects which Reclama-
tion is currently working on in-
clude re-operation of the Central
Valley Project in California, re-
view of system operations on the
Columbia River; and re-operation
of Glen Cany on Dam on the Colo-
rado River. Contact Judy Troast,
(202) 208-4442.
Partners in Flight - Aves de
las Americas Protection of
Migratory Birds Benefits
Water Resources
Partners in Flight is an innovative
public-private partnership to pro-
tect neotropical migratory birds
that breed in North America and
.winter in Central and/or South
America. Partners in Flight was
established under the auspices of
the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation in 1990 through the
execution of memoranda of agree-
mentamonga number of key Fed-
eral agencies and conservation
and research organizations. Par-
ticipating Federal agencies in-
clude the Bureau of Land Man-
agement, the Forest Service, the
Department of Defense, the Envi-
ronmental ProtectionAgency,and
the Fish and Wildlife Service.
The impetus for Partners in Flight
came from the concern for de-
clines in the populations of
neotropical migratory birds. The
causes of these declines are com-
plex and not fully understood,
but habitat loss and related prob-
lems are key issues. International
efforts will focus on Canada, a
major breeding area, and Mexico,
Central America, and the
Carribean, the major overwinter-
ing grounds. The objective of this
program is to create the first inte-
grated federal, state, and private
program for research, monitor-
ing, and habitat management for
migratory nongame birds. Par-
ticipants will include public agen-
cies at all levels, foundations, pri-
vate organizations, and busi-
nesses in North America and the
neotropics.
Because neotropical migratory
birds depend upon healthy
aquatic habitats for some or all of
their life functions, actions by Part-
ners in Flight and watershed man-
agement efforts are mutually ben-
eficial. Increased interest in bird
conservation will help marshall
the resources and public support
needed to protect aquatic re-
sources since people often have
strong emotional ties to wild birds.
Thus, they are more likely to rally
to their protection, with spillover
benefits for water quality and
aquatic habitats. At the same time,
watershed management, with its
holistic approach, presents oppor-
tunities to incorporate protection
of neotropical migratory birds into
efforts to protect water and habi-
tat integrity. Contact Peter
Stangel, (202) 857-0166.
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Page 6
Watershed Events
Winter 1993
EPA HIGHLIGHTS
Watershed Protection Advo-
cated at EPA Administrator's
Confirmation Hearing
by Patty Scott U.S. EPA
Watershed protection themes were
very apparent at the confirmation
hearing for Carol Browner, EPA's
new administrator. Browner, who
formerly served as Florida's Envi-
ronmental Protection Secretary and
as an aide to then Senator Al Gore,
stressed the need for greater cre-
ativity and ingenuity in tackling
environmental problems. The need
to go beyond EPA's traditional
"command and control" approach
to water pollution was emphasized.
Geographic targeting, pollution
prevention and market incentives
were several themes that commit-
tee members advocated and
Browner endorsed.
Dave Durenberger (R-MN) was one
senator who championed water-
shed protection during Browner's
confirmation hearing. In his open-
ing statement he declared,
"It is time to realign priorities
and to give the ecological effects
of pollution more attention. ...
We have made a start on an
ecosystem approach under the
Clean Water Act with the work
in the Chesapeake Bay and the
Great Lakes and through the
National Estuary Program.
Adding a thorough watershed
planning component to the ba-
sic structure of the Clean Water
Act is an additional step we must
take. We need an integrated
view of each watershed if we are
to make the best choices using
our limited resources."
In her testimony, Browner noted
the importance of looking at re-
ceiving bodies of water as entire
ecosystems, including the flora and
fauna, when developing environ-
mental solutions. Browner ob-
served that the unique character of
theindividualsystemmustbe taken
into account and all considerations
brought to the table. She also con-
veyed that Florida has taken an
ecosystem approach with regard to
wetlands.
Another point espoused by several
committee members and echoed by
Browner was the concept that eco-
nomic growth and environmental
protection are not mutually exclu-
sive. Browner also supported the
view that new environmental tech-
nologies offer opportunities for job
growth, and she said EPA should
be a leader in their development
and use.
EPA Announces Grants for
Colonias Improvement
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) recently announced
the award of grants to two south-
western states (New Mexico and
Texas) for development of waste-
water treatment facilities in U.S.
communities known as "Colonias"
along the U.S. - Mexican border.
Through these grants, EPA will
promote improvement of both the
border ecosystem and public health
in the U.S. colonias and neighbor-
ing communities.
Colonias are unincorporated, low-
income, primarily Hispanic areas
with substandard housing. Most
colonias do not have sewer sys-
tems and must rely on poorly-built
septic tanks, privies, or outhouses
for wastewater disposal. About
280,000 people live in these impov-
erished communities and are sub-
ject to increased health riskbecause
of their exposure to untreated sew-
age.
Outbreaks of dysentery and hepa-
titis A are common in the U.S.
colonias. While these diseases are
considered Third-World diseases
in the rest of the U.S., the preva-
lence of water-borne illnesses per-
sists in these underserved develop-
ments along the border.
EPA awarded $50 million in match-
ing grants to the Texas Water De-
velopment Board and $10.65 mil-
lion to the State of New Mexico,
primarily for treatment facility con-
struction assistance. A portion of
the New Mexico funds are ear-
marked for construction of a dem-
onstration wastewater facility.
The demonstration facility planned
for New Mexico will use con-
structed wetlands technology,
based on the natural cleaning ac-
tion of plants and microorganisms
found in wetlands, to treat munici-
pal wastewater. The technology is
well suited for treatment systems
in the colonias because of its low
cost, minimal operation and main-
tenance requirements, and low en-
ergy consumption compared with
conventional water treatment sys-
tems.
These grants are part of the U.S. -
Mexico Integrated Border Environ-
mental Plan (IBEP), which involves
all levels of government, business
leaders, environmental groups, and
interested citizens from both the
U.S. and Mexico in a broad range of
projects and activities. IBEP's goal
is to improve environmental con-
ditions in the border area. Contact
Eliot Tucker, (202) 260-5842.
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Winter 1993
Watershed Events
Page 7
RECENT RELEASES
An Approach to Improving Deci-
sion Making in Wetlands Restora-
tion and Creation - This report
presents a summary of the approach
that EPA's Wetlands Research Pro-
gram has developed to improve
decision making in wetland resto-
ration and creation projects. Con-
tact the Wetlands Hotline, 1-800-
832-7828.
Management Measures Guidance
and Program Implementation
Guidance for Section 6217 of the
CoastalZoneActReauthorization
Amendments of 1990 -The Manage-
ment Measures Guidance.specifies
technology-based management
measures to be used by the States in
developing Coastal Nonpoint Pol-
lution Control Programs aimed at
restoring and protecting coastal
waters. The Implementation Guid-
ance addresses the processes and
criteria that apply to development
and approval of State coastal zone
nonpoint source programs. Con-
tact Dov Weitman, (202) 260-7088.
Managing Nonpoint Source Pollu-
tion - This report focuses on the
state of the national effort to con-
Jtrol nonpoint source (NPS) pollu-
tion as of October 1, 1989. This
report contains the findings of the
state NPS assessments and dis-
cusses the state programs that are
addressing the problems identified
in the assessments; the related ac-
tivities of EPA, other federal agen-
cies, and other organizations; and
achievements to date on control-
ling NPS pollution. Contact Ann
Beier, (202) 260-7108.
Monitoring Guidance for the Na-
tional Estuary Program - This
document provides the National
Estuary Program (NEP) with guid-
ance on how to design, implement,
and evaluate a monitoring pro-
gram. Contact Joe Hall, (202) 260-
9082.
A Synoptic Approach to Cumula-
tive Impact Assessment - A Pro-
posed Methodology - This report
describes the steps of conducting a
synoptic assessment and illustrates
the use of synoptic information
through four case studies. The syn-
optic approach is designed to assist
wetland regulators in assessing the
cumulative effect of individual
wetland impacts within the land-
scape and is intended for situations
in which time, resources, and infor-
mation are limited. Contact the
Wetlands Hotline, 1-800-832-7828.
Third National Citizens'Volunteer
Monitoring Conference Proceed-
ings - These proceedings include
detailed summaries of over 25
workshops, panel discussions, and
technical sessions. Topics include
collecting quality volunteer moni-
toring data; sharing volunteer data
with State and local governments;
volunteer nonpoint source moni-
toring; environmental education
and community outreach; and wa-
tershed walking. Contact Alice
Mayio, (202) 260-7018.
Total Maximum Daily Load
(TMDL) Case Studies-TMDLs pro-
vide for more stringent water qual-
ity-based controls when technol-
ogy-based controls are inadequate
to achieve State water quality stan-
dards. • As of January 1993, seven
TMDL case studies have been pub-
lished. Each case study discusses
the problem, TMDL development,
pollution control implementation,
and follow-up monitoring. Con-
tact EPA's Watershed Branch, (202)
260-7074.
Water Quality Videos - Eight vid-
eos designed to provide informa-
tion about the role and the impor-
tance of water quality standards
and criteria programs in the effort
to clean up the Nation's waters are
now available on loan from EPA.
The video titles are:
• "Economic Consideration in
Water Quality Standards"*
• "Water Quality Standards on
Indian Lands"*
• "Introduction to Water Qual-
ity Standards"
• "Antidegradation Policy: A
Means to Maintain and Protect
Existing Uses and Water Qual-
%"
• "Development of Water Qual-
ity Criteria and Its Relationship
to Water Quality Standards"
• "Enumeration Methods for E.
Colt and Enterococci"
• "Water Quality-based Ap-
proach to Pollution Control"
• " Water Quality Standards and
401 Certification"
*Just released November 1992.
ContactFrancesDesselle, (202)260-
1320.
The Watershed Protection Ap-
proach: Annual Report 1992 - This
report summarizes activities in EPA
Headquarters and Regions to adopt
and implement watershed manage-
ment. More than 30 project sum-
maries are included. Contact Anne
Robertson, (202) 260-9112.
Watershed Protection: Catalog of
Federa I Programs - This catalog is a
directory of federal programs that
contribute to and participate in wa-
tershed management. Contact
EPA's Watershed Branch, (202) 260-
7074.
•
Wetlands Education System - A
computer-aided instructional pro-
gram with windows-driven text
and illustrations about wetland
functions, values, and policy. This
program is available on disk, and a
VGA card is needed to run it. Con-
tact the Wetlands Hotline, 1-800-
832-7828.
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Note—Continued from Page 1
water issues, and provide our customers with quality water-
shed assistance.
SCS State Conservationists, in cooperation with our Federal,
State, and local public and private partners, are currently
developing individual State water management strategic
plans to identify watershed boundaries; develop a priority
setting process; more actively involve conservation districts;
provide training in watershed assistance; market the water-
shedapproach;andimplementneededorganizationalchanges.
We will combine and integrate these State plans by the end of
this fiscal-year. The implementation of this national initiative
will be a major redirection for many of our Agency's program
activities, including water quality, water quantity, and land
management assistance, on a watershed assistance basis.
For some time, SCS has been taking a more holistic approach
to natural resource management. SCS employees have col-
laborated with EPA staff to assure Agency efforts are coordi-
nated and that they complement and support State and local
programs for watershed planning and implementation. We
enjoy and appreciate the teamwork we are experiencing with
our EPA partners.
Implementing our SCS Water Management Strategic Plan
demonstrates our commitment to help local citizens better
manage water quality and quantity to meet our Nation's
evolving needs.
NOAA—Continued from Page 1
as what type of management measures must be in-
cluded. If a state does not develop an approvable
program, financial penalties can be administered
under both §306 of the CoastalZone Management Act
and §319 of the Clean Water Act.
States are in the earliest stage of developing their
CNPCPs. NOAA and EPA will be looking for evi-
dence of cooperation between all relevant state and
local agencies in developing the CNPCP. Tp be
approvable, the programs must include enforceable
policies that will ensure the implementation of ap-
propriate management measures. Contact Marcella
Jansen, NOAA's Office of Ocean and Coastal Re-
source Management, (202) 606-4181.
"Ourgreatest challenge in the next century
and beyond, will be to learn to live more
harmoniously with our fellow creatures
and to redefine our place within the com-
plexsystems thatgovemourearthlyhome."
John Williams, Conductor, The Boston
Pops Orchestra
United States Environmental
Protection Agency (WH-556F)
401M Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
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