U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 Bulletin - EPA 910/9-92-043
February 2009
Columbia River Basin Faces Continued Threat from Toxics
EPA Report Seen as "Call to Action" for Governments, Tribes, Public
Another problem highlighted in the Report is a general
lack of monitoring for toxics in many locations, making
it difficult to know if toxics are increasing or decreasing
over time.
There are many other contaminants in the Basin. They
include arsenic, dioxins, radionuclides, pesticides,
industrial chemicals, and "emerging contaminants"
such as Pharmaceuticals. This report does not
characterize those contaminants, but EPA plans to
address them in future work.
The report also highlights important federal, state, tribal
and local efforts to reduce toxics already underway in
the Basin. It concludes with six broad Toxics Reduction
Initiatives intended to improve understanding about
the health of the Basin and strengthen coordination for
efforts to reduce toxics. The report can be viewed at
The first comprehensive look at toxic contamination www.epa.gov/region 10/columbia/sorr.html.
in the Columbia River Basin has been released by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Columbia
River Basin State of the River Report for Toxics
compiles data on four widespread contaminants:
Mercury
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its
breakdown products
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame
retardants.
A team of more than 20 federal and state agencies,
tribes, local governments and organizations drew this
latest portrait of the toxic threats faced by the Columbia
River Basin. The Basin drains nearly 260,000 square
miles across seven U.S. states and a Canadian
province. The report calls for a coordinated effort by all
levels of government, Tribes, interest groups and the
public to address the complicated problem.
Toxics are present at levels that could harm people,
fish, and wildlife. Federal, tribal, state, and local efforts
have reduced levels of some toxics such as PCBs and
DDT. However, in many areas, they continue to pose
risk.
While some populations of important Basin species like
bald eagles and ospreys have rebounded over the past
two decades, some toxics such as mercury and PBDEs
are increasing in wildlife and fish.
In This Issue...
EWS
SPOTLIGHT
CALENDAR
EPA News to update
you on agency activities,
pages 1-4.
Tools to clue you in on
resources, publications,
opportunities, and ser-
vices, pages 5-8.
Waterwords covering
water related issues,
page 8.
Spotlight to showcase
success stories and envi-
ronmental stars, page 9.
Ecosystem to provide
news that goes beyond
water topics, page 10.
Calendar to highlight
environmental events,
page 11.
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EPA Authorizes Alaska to Run Water Permits Program
EPA recently approved the Alaska Department of
Environmental Conservation's (ADEC) application to
run the NPDES permit program in the state.
The NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System) program is a key part of the federal Clean
Water Act. The program controls water pollution
by regulating sources that discharge pollutants to
waters in the United States. While the approval gives
the State of Alaska responsibility for water quality
permitting, EPA will continue its government-to-
government relationship with Tribes as it oversees the
state's permitting program.
By seeking and accepting the NPDES program,
Alaska's environmental regulators gain the authority
to both write wastewater discharge permits for local
businesses and industry, and enforce those permits to
ensure compliance with permit conditions.
Alaska's authority to write permits will be phased-in
over three years. EPA will continue to write permits
for those facilities that Alaska has yet to assume.
Permits previously issued by EPA will remain in effect
and become State APDES permits, administered and
enforced by ADEC.
For information, contact Christine Psyk, EPA, at
(206) 553-1906, or psyk.christine@epa.gov. For
information about EPA's NPDES program, visit: http://
cfpug.epa.gov/npdes/index.cfm. For information
about Alaska's NPDES Program, visit EPA's Region
10 NPDES website at http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/
water.nsf/NPDES+Permits/Permits+Homepage.
EPA Enforcement Reduces Pollution in Pacific Northwest, Alaska
In fiscal year 2008, EPA enforcement work in the
Pacific Northwest and Alaska helped reduce or treat
almost 22 million pounds of pollution. EPA did 1183
inspections which led to 142 completed enforcement
actions. These efforts resulted in facilities investing
over $57 million in plant and process improvements
to ensure compliance. FY '08 more than doubled the
pollution reductions of FY '07.
According to Elin D. Miller, EPA's regional administrator,
the Agency's robust enforcement and compliance
program helps protect public health and inspires
responsible behavior in the regulated community.
"Our enforcement results speak for themselves,"
said Miller. "We've increased our inspections, more
than doubled the pounds of pollution reduced or
treated, and required more than $57 million in process
improvements to ensure future compliance. This
translates directly into better health protection for both
the environment and local communities."
Here's a snapshot of EPA's regional enforcement record for the past three years:
FY06
FY07
FY08
Total
inspections:
1299
976
1183
Pollution reduced/treated
(in pounds):
26,429,316
9,100,000
21,244,945
Total penalties
assessed:
$3,567,324
$4,115,000
$3,050,796
For more regional enforcement program results: http://epa.gov/region10/offices/oec/2008results.htm
Watertalk February 20(ğ
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Protecting People Who Eat More Fish:
Fish Consumption Rate Review Project
Progress is underway for the Oregon Fish
Consumption Rate Review Project. Oregon
Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) has
been collaborating with the Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Indian Reservation (Umatilla Tribe) and
EPA Region 10. The team has been reviewing the fish
consumption rate used to set Oregon's human health
criteria.
The rate at which humans consume fish is used
to develop water quality criteria to protect human
health. Oregon's current fish consumption rate of 17.5
grams per day is based on EPA's default rate. The
default rate is derived using data from studies of the
general public. However, in several studies of tribal
communities within Oregon and the Pacific Northwest,
the rate of fish consumption is shown to be much
higher. This difference between fish consumption rates
of tribal communities and that of the general public
prompted the Umatilla Tribe to seek further review of
Oregon's fish consumption rate.
Jannine Jennings, Manager of EPA's Water Quality
Standards Unit, says, "We are working to change a fish
consumption rate so it reflects the dietary patterns of
tribal communities. This will help ensure that they do
not bear a disproportionate share of health risk from
contaminants."
The first phase of the review recently culminated in the
Oregon Environmental Quality Commission directing
ODEQ to:
revise the fish consumption rate to 175 grams per
day;
propose rule language that will allow ODEQ
to implement the revised standards in permits
and other Clean Water Act programs in an
environmentally meaningful and cost effective way;
propose rule language or develop other strategies to
reduce the impacts of toxic substances in Oregon's
waters coming from non-point source discharges;
consider the costs and benefits of the fish
consumption rate and the latest data and scientific
analysis.
ODEQ is working closely with EPA, the Umatilla Tribe,
and other stakeholders to develop the proposed rule,
which will undergo public review and comment. Final
rule language adoption is expected within 18-24
months. More information can be found at: www.deq.
state.or.us/wq/standards/toxics.htm, or by contacting
Melinda McCoy, EPA, 206-553-6102; email mccoy.
melinda@epa.gov.
Get Watertalk Electronically
Save trees and limit mailbox clutter! Sign up now for the Watertalk
List-Serv. You'll get your Watertalk electronically every quarter. It's
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removed from the hard copy mailing list.
Page 3
Watertalk February 2009
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How Healthy Are America's Coasts?
EPA Assessment Provides Check-up
The overall condition of the nation's coastal waters
has improved slightly, based on a recently released
environmental assessment. The National Coastal
Condition Report III (NCCRIII) is the third in a series of
environmental assessments of U.S. coastal waters.
The report is a collaboration of EPA; National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS); U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service; coastal states; and the National Estuary
Program. It assesses coastal conditions using five
indicators: water quality, sediment quality, the health of
bottom-dwelling invertebrate species, coastal habitat
loss as indicated by changes in wetland area, and fish
tissue contaminants.
The overall condition of America's coasts is rated as
"fair," based on the five indicators. Overall condition
in U.S. coastal waters has improved slightly since the
1990s. To learn more go to www.epa.gov/owow/
oceans/nccr/.
Rule Requires control of Manure, Wastewaterfrom Animal Feeding Operations
EPA has finalized a rule helping to protect the nation's
water quality by requiring concentrated animal feeding
operations (CAFOs) to safely manage manure. EPA
estimates CAFO regulations will prevent 56 million
pounds of phosphorus, 110 million pounds of nitrogen,
and 2 billion pounds of sediment from entering streams,
lakes, and other waters annually.
This is the first time EPA has required a nutrient
management plan for manure to be submitted as part
of a CAFO's Clean Water Act permit application. The
regulation also requires that an owner or operator of a
CAFO that actually discharges to streams, lakes, and
other waters must apply for a permit under the Clean
Water Act. EPA provides an opportunity for CAFO
operators who do not propose to discharge to show
their commitment to pollution prevention by obtaining
certification as zero dischargers.
EPA worked closely with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture during rule development and will work
closely with states during implementation. The deadline
for newly defined facilities to apply for permits is
February 27, 2009. For more information, visit www.
epa.gov/npdes/caforule.
Watertalk February 2(XW
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Grant Opportunity:
West Coast Estuaries, Feb. 19 Deadline
EPA Region 10 has issued a request for grant
proposals for the West Coast Estuaries Initiative.
EPA is soliciting proposals to support the protection
and restoration of high valued aquatic resources in
coastal areas threatened by growth pressure. The
grant program emphasizes local, holistic watershed
protection and management approaches. Grant funds
will assist local and tribal governments in managing
land uses while protecting watershed functions and
values. Successful projects will match proposed
activities to the appropriate watershed scale to ensure
environmental results. EPA plans to award a total of
$2.8 million dollars. Up to ten awards will be made,
ranging from about $400,000 to $600,000.
Entities of local governments, special purpose districts,
and federally recognized Indian tribes west of the
Cascades in Oregon and Washington and in Cook Inlet
near Anchorage, Alaska are eligible to apply. State
agencies, institutions of higher learning, and non-
governmental entities are not eligible to directly receive
these grant awards; however, EPA encourages tribes
and local governments to solicit their participation as
local collaborators. Proposals are due by February
19, 2009. For details, contact Daniel Steinborn,
EPA Puget Sound Estuary Program, (206) 553-
2728, steinborn.daniel@epa.gov. Or, visit the
website: http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/
Office+of+Water/WEI08RFP.
Community "CARE" Grant
Proposals Due March 16
March 16, 2009 is the deadline for community
groups to submit proposals for Community Action
for Renewed Environment (CARE) grant awards
that range from $75,000 - $295,000. EPA plans
to award about $3 million nationally. CARE grants
are to help grantees form partnerships, identify
and understand varied sources of risk from toxic
pollutants; and then prioritize and work to reduce
risks through collaborative action.
Eligible groups include: public non-profit institutions/
organizations, federally-recognized Indian tribal
governments, Native American organizations,
private non-profit institutions/organizations, quasi-
public nonprofit institutions/organizations both
interstate and intrastate, local governments (not
state), colleges, and universities.
Information sessions for cooperative agreement
applicants will take place through Internet
Webcasts, on February 24 and 27, 2009. To
register, go to: www.cluin.org/studio/seminar.
EPA Region 10 CARE co-leads are Sally Hanft
at (206) 553-1207 and Davis Zhen at (206) 553-
7660 (or toll-free 1-800-424-4372). The request for
proposals and examples of funded CARE projects
in Washington, Alaska, and Oregon can be found
at: www.epa.gov/CARE.
EPA Website Goes Mobile:
m.epa.gov
Why not blog on important environmental issues
while on the go? EPA recently launched one of the
first government websites tailored specifically for cell
phone users: http://rn.epa.gov.
The world is getting more mobile, with estimates
of more than 250 million cell phones in use in the
U.S. - and now EPA can go with you. The site has
been tailored to load fast on a small screen. Services
available on m.epa.gov include:
how to contact EPA
environmental information by ZIP code
EPA news releases
Greenversations blog, including the question of the
week
links to other government mobile websites.
Over the coming months, EPA will add more features.
We invite readers to help us improve - there's a
feedback form right on the home page. EPA's mobile
site: http://rn.epa.gov.
Watertalk February 2009
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Video Shows Green Practices to Partnership Helps You
Manage Stormwater Learn How to Save Water
EPA and the U.S. Botanic Garden have produced
an online video, Reduce Runoff: Slow It Down,
Spread It Out, Soak It In. The video highlights green
techniques such as rain gardens, green roofs, and rain
barrels to help manage stormwater runoff.
The film showcases green techniques being used
in urban areas to reduce the effects of stormwater
runoff on the quality of downstream receiving waters.
The goal is to mimic the natural way water moves
through an area before development by using design
techniques that infiltrate, evaporate, and reuse runoff
close to its source. (See Rain Garden article on
page 10.)
The innovative stormwater management practices
manage urban stormwater runoff at its source. The
techniques are very effective at reducing the volume
of stormwater runoff and capturing harmful pollutants.
Using vegetated areas that capture runoff also
improves air quality, mitigates the effects of urban heat
islands, and reduces a community's overall carbon
footprint.
The video highlights green techniques displayed at
the U.S. Botanic Garden's 2008 "One Planet - Ours!"
exhibit and at EPA in Washington, D.C., including
recently completed cisterns. To watch the video: www.
epa.gov/nps/lid.
If you live in the Puget Sound region, you may have
seen a bus drive by with a large picture of a little girl,
a deer and a flower all drinking from a glass of water.
The caption reads: "We all share the same water.
Water is a shared resource. Please use it wisely!" This
advertisement is one way the Partnership for Water
Conservation (PWC) is raising awareness that our
water is a precious resource shared by many, and that
it is important we all conserve - rain or shine!
PWC is a non-profit organization committed to
increasing water conservation in 11 counties of the
Puget Sound region and is a partner in the EPA's
WaterSense program. PWC's mission is to ensure
that the region's water meets the needs of people
and business as well as our environment, especially
keeping adequate amounts of water in our rivers and
streams. The Partnership is a coalition of public and
private groups and individuals including -citizens,
businesses, water utilities, and those with concerns
about the environment. To learn how to conserve water
or to get involved, visit www.partners4water.org.
Possible Violation of
Environmental Law?
If you have seen what appears to be a violation of
environmental laws and regulations, visit www.epa.
gov/tips. This webpage gives you a tool to report
possible environmental violations. Because different
activities fall under different jurisdictions, the page
gives examples of situations and who to call. The
webpage also helps you tell the difference between
environmental violations and emergencies.
Visit Watertalk online at www.epa.gov/rlOearth/watertalk.htm
Watertalk February 2009
Page 6
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Call for Presentations
Community Involvement
Training Conference
EPA is soliciting presentation proposals for its 2009
Community Involvement Training Conference. The
conference will be held in Seattle, WA, August
18-20, 2009. The conference brings together
EPA staff and partners who plan and implement
environmental community involvement, partnership,
outreach, and educational programs. For details
or to submit a proposal, visit www.epa.gov/
ciconference. Or, contact Freya Margand,
EPA, margand.freya@epa.gov, (703) 603-8889.
Proposals are due February 20, 2009.
Water and Land Use in the
Pacific Northwest
The State of Washington Water Research Center,
in partnership with USDA-CSREES Regional Water
Program, EPA Region 10, and natural resource
based departments from the Pacific Northwest
States, is calling for presentations. The conference
will take place in Stevenson, WA, November 11-
12, 2009. Learn more at www.swwrc.wsu.edu/.
Proposals are due February 20, 2009.
Bright
Ideas!
eCycle: Take your old computers \^^ or other
electronics to a local recycling center.
This helps keep lead, cadmium, and other toxics
out of the landfill. Find eCycling centers near
you. www.epa.gov/ecycling/live.htm
Shop for an Energy-Efficient TV: Televisions
that meet the new energy efficiency rating are
available in stores nationwide. (Many people will
be shopping also for a new TV for the upcoming
change to digital broadcasting.)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/
names/hq_2008-10-30^Energy_Efficient_
Televisions
Slay Your Energy Vampires: Electronics and
adapters can consume electricity even when
they are not being used. Unplug power adapters
or battery chargers when not connected to the
device. Look for EnergyStar-rated electronics
when shopping. The average U.S. household
spends $100 per year to power devices when
off or in standby mode, http://yosemite.epa.
gov/opa/admpress.nsf/names/hq_2008-10-
27_energy
Join the Greenversation: Each week we ask you
a question related to the environment and invite
you to share your thoughts.
http://blog.epa.gov/
For Municipalities:
Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure
EPA is developing a series of documents, collectively called the Municipal
Handbook, to help local officials implement green infrastructure programs. Each
15-20 page issue covers a very specific issue related to establishing and carrying /
out a comprehensive program.
Available issues include: Funding Options, Green Infrastructure Retrofit
Policies, Green Streets, and Rainwater Harvesting Policies. Handbook
installments coming in 2009 will cover operation and maintenance, municipal
incentives, and more. Find the handbook online at: www.epa.gov/
greeninfrastructure. Click on Municipal Handbook on the left menu bar.
Page 7
Watertalk February 2009
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Guidebook of Financial Tools
The Guidebook of Financial
Tools: Paying for Sustainable
Environmental Systems offers
an overview of financial tools that
decision-making officials may
find useful. It references over
300 tools that can be used to pay
for environmental systems. It
is divided into ten sections that
present information on traditional
means of raising revenue,
borrowing capital, enhancing credit, creating public-
private partnerships, ways of lowering the costs of
compliance, encouraging pollution prevention, paying
for community-based environmental protection,
financing brownfields redevelopment, and
improving access to capital for small businesses, local
governments, and the environmental goods and service
industry. Check it out at www.epa.gov/efinpage/
guidebook.htm.
Clean Water Act:
Learn More
The Clean Water Act is the nation's cornerstone law
for protection of our waterways. That law recognizes
that citizens are central to the effort to protect the
nation's waters. EPA's Watershed Academy Web
provides some helpful resources for people who
want to become more familiar with this law. A simple
introduction to the act is provided, as well as a "Fact
or Fiction Quiz" so you can test your knowledge,
and a glossary. The entire text of the act is
available through this site, too. Visit www.epa.gov/
watertrain/cwa.
The Cost of Bottled Water
Tap water is a tremendous
value for families and
communities, typically costing
less than half a penny per
gallon. Bottled water is often
an important and convenient
choice for consumers and the
traveling public, but it certainly
has its costs.
Bottled water comes with
its own carbon footprint and
environmental impacts. It
takes a lot of energy to
manufacture, transport, and
store bottled water. Experts
estimate the plastic bottle
manufacturing process alone
consumes 17 million barrels
of oil a year.
Street litter and marine debris are costly concerns,
as well. Marine debris is a major pollution problem
affecting the world's oceans, coasts, and watersheds.
Although impacts may be more visible at the local
beach, marine debris is a national and international
problem. Anything can become marine debris.
Extremely light-weight items, like plastic bottles, are
more likely to become marine debris than heavier items
because they can easily be carried by wind from one
location to another.
Think globally and drink locally. Tap into the savings
and recycle for the streams' sake. Learn more at
EPA's Water on Tap website: http://www.epa.gov/
safewater/wot/index.html.
WaterSense Factoid
If every home in the United States installed
WaterSense labeled faucets or faucet aerators in the
bathrooms, it would save 60 billion gallons of water
annually. It would save households more than $350
million in water bills and about $600 million in energy
costs to heat their water. Additionally, water and
waste water utilities would save 200 million kilowatt-
hours of electricity normally used for supplying and
treating that water. The WaterSense website has
a complete list of WaterSense labeled products at
http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pp/index.htm.
Watertalk Februair 2009
Page 8
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IGKT
Communities Get Public Health Protection Awards
Two communities in Region 10 recently received 2008 Sustainable Public Health Protection Awards for activities
using the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). Congratulations to the City of Castleford, in Idaho, and
Pasadena Park Irrigation District #17, in Washington!
Castleford used_a DWSRF disadvantaged assistance
loan to help fund a
$1.6 million arsenic
treatment and water
system rehabilitation
project. Despite the
challenges of being
a smaller community
with limited finances,
Castleford was one
of the first Idaho
communities to
address compliance with a lowered arsenic standard.
The loan helped construct a new well, new water lines,
and an arsenic treatment facility.
"*RKSATION DISTRICT NO.V
Pasadena Park Irrigation District #17 had a 1940's
era cast iron water main
leaking in over 240 places.
This problem was costing
the system about $45,000
per year in wasted electricity
for pumping. The leaks
also posed a public health threat due to the potential
for cross connection contamination. Pasadena Park
signed a DWSRF loan for $379,684 to replace the
water main and install water meters. The project
eliminated the public health threat and greatly improved
the system's efficient use of water.
Since the program began in 1997, the Region 10 DWSRF program has provided more than $656 million in low
interest loans to water systems. The infrastructure projects funded by the DWSRF have helped ensure that the
8.5 million people served by these systems continue to receive clean and safe drinking water. For details, contact
Rick Green, EPA, at (206) 553-8504, 1-800-424-4372, or green.richard@epa.gov.
Water Competition Coming to Anchorage
a water project can self-nominate for the competition
by entering online. By May, judges select one winning
project from each state. Winners and their science
teachers get a free trip to the U.S. national competition.
The national winner joins the international competition
in August in Stockholm, Sweden. For details, visit
www.sjwp.org.
High School science buffs, get ready! Alaska Water
Wastewater Management Association will host the
Stockholm Junior Water Prize in Anchorage, AK, June
25-27, 2009. The Stockholm Junior Water Prize is
"the world's most prestigious youth award for a water-
related science project." Students in grades 9-12 with
Watertalk February 2009
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Beneficial Landscaping
Rain Gardens Help Protect Our Streams
Classroom and Installation Workshops, King County, Washington
(article adapted with permission from Stewardship Partners)
As our area grows, increasing amounts of native
forest and prairie lands are replaced by roads, roofs,
driveways, and other hard or impervious surfaces.
Rainfall that formerly was caught in the forest canopy
or soaked into the soils now becomes stormwater
runoff flowing across the landscape.
This creates two problems. Flooding can occur as
too much water flows into yards, streets, and parking
lots. In addition, stormwater can wash pollutants into
local creeks and rivers, and ultimately Puget Sound.
While modern developments include highly engineered
solutions for stormwater management, rain gardens
offer a low impact development approach that enables
homeowners to help protect streams and wetlands.
Rain gardens work like a native forest by capturing and
infiltrating stormwater. They can help slow down and
soak up rain in ail kinds of climates. Rain gardens:
reduce flooding by absorbing water from impervious
surfaces; filter oil, grease, bacteria from pet waste, and
toxic materials before they can pollute waterways;
help to recharge the aquifer by increasing the quantity
of water that soaks into the ground;
and provide wildlife habitat.
In a nutshell, rain gardens are modest depressions
in the landscape of people's yards where water is
directed. Rain gardens are typically excavated to a
depth of about two feet. Then a mix of amended,
compost-rich soil is placed in the depression, filling
it to a level about 6-12 inches below the surrounding
landscape to enable ponding to occur during periods of
heavy rain. This soil and compost mix soaks up water
which is rapidly retained.
Rain gardens are finished off with plants that do well
in both wet winter and dry summer conditions. While
many of these plants are Northwest natives, a number
of nonnative ornamentals may also be used to create a
colorful, attractive landscape.
Rain gardens are easy to create but they must be built
carefully. They have to be designed to accommodate
the correct amount of rainfall. Soil conditions must also
be assessed during the design to determine the depth
of the soil and compost mix.
EPA's Nisqually River Targeted Watershed Grant to
the Nisqually River Foundation, along with funding
from Washington Department of Ecology, supported
Stewardship Partners in training and installation of
three large rain gardens in the Nisqually watershed.
This new poster designed by John Pitcher shows how a
rain garden can be incorporated into yards and landscapes.
Publisher: Good Nature Publishing.
More Rain Garden Resources
Rain Garden Webcast, a streaming audio version
of Internet training which took place in December
2008, for public viewing and listening, www.epa.gov/
watershedwebcasts/ (look up rain garden webcast)
tomtit
Rain Garden Handbook
for Western Washington
Homeowners, funded in
part by EPA, http://www.
pierce.wsu.edu/Water
Quality/LID/Raingarden
introduction.pdf.
EPA's National Green Infrastructure Webpage,
which offers basic information, technical resources,
case studies, and funding tools, www.epa.gov/
g reen i nf rastructu re.
Watertalk February 2009
P./.S.V 10
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CALENDAR
March
March 8-14:
Ground Water Awareness Week,
www.ngwa.org/public/awarenessweek/index.
aspx
March 16:
Northwest Conference on Climate Change,
Environmental Law Education Center, Portland,
Oregon, www.elecenter.com
March 22:
World Water Day, www.worldwaterday.org/
April
April 1-3:
Working Collaboratively for Sustainability
Conference: Research Meets Practice, Seattle
University, John Dienhart, dienharj@seattleu.
edu, (206)296-5714.
April 5-11:
National Week of the Ocean,
www.national-week-of-the-ocean.org/
April 9:
Washington's Innovation Summit 2009:
Innovating to Sustain our Future, Bellevue, WA,
http://watechcenter.org/?s=1603
April 18-26:
National Park Week,
http://usparks.about.com/od/
nationalparksus/a/natlparkweek.htm
April 22:
Earth Day,
www.epa.gov/earthday
May
American Wetlands Month, http://www.epa.
gov/wetlands/awm/
May 3-9:
National Drinking Water Week,
www.awwa.org
May 4-6:
Managing Water Resources and Development
in a Changing Climate: AWRA Conference,
Anchorage, AK, 907-479-8891,
www.awra.org/meetings/Anchorage2009/
index.html
May 11-14:
National Conference for Nonpoint Source and
Stormwater Outreach: Achieving Results with
Tight Budgets, Portland,
www.epa.gov/nps/outreach2009
Build Your Own Rain Garden
To learn how you can add a rain garden to your yard's
landscape, sign up for a free, hands-on classroom
workshop on rain garden design and construction.
King Conservation District, Stewardship Partners,
Native Plant Salvage Project, Seattle Tilth, Seattle
Aquarium, Seattle Public Utilities, NW Environmental
Education Council and King County Department
of Natural Resources and Parks are offering Rain
Gardens: The Key to Managing Rain Water and
Protecting Puget Sound classroom workshops. An
installation workshop will be scheduled later in the
spring.
The rain garden classroom schedule:
Tuesday, March 3, Renton
Tuesday, March 17, Downtown Seattle
Thursday, March 26, Wallingford
Thursday, April 23, South Seattle
Workshops will be held in the evening and registration
is required. Contact Stewardship Partners to
register, for details, or to learn about possible classes
in Pierce and Thurston Counties: (206) 292-9875 or
email ba@stewardshippartners.org. Visit www.
stewardshippartners.org.
II
Watertalk February 2009
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Watertalk
February 2009
Watertalk is published quarterly by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 10. Watertalk seeks to be a useful tool for those who protect
water resources and ecosystems in communities of the Greater Pacific
Northwest, by providing practical resources and relevant agency news.
You are invited to contribute items for publication. Submittal deadline is the
15th day of the month before publication.
Watertalk articles can be used in other publications.
Please give credit to Watertalk.
For mailing list changes, or to contact the editor, call Andrea Lindsay at (206)
553-1896 or l-800-424-4EPAx!896, or e-mail lindsay.andrea@epa.gov.
Mention of trade names, products or services does not convey, and should
not be interpreted as conveying, official EPA approval, endorsement or
recommendation.
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Please recycle or share with a friend.
In This Issue...
Columbia River Basin Call
to Action
Fish Consumption study
Grant Opportunities
Environmental Tools and
Tips
Raingardens
Environmental Events
And More...
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