owow
Office of Wetlands, Oceans & Watersheds
QUARTERLY HIGHLIGHTS
December 1991
A Note from Bob Wayland
Our new Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Wa-
tersheds (O WO W) inherited responsibilities for
a number of diverse but interrelated program
areas: nonpointsourcepollution; coastal, marine,
and wetlands protection; and key surface water
monitoring and water quality assessment ac-
tivities. While it will be a challenge to continue
meeting the separate program goals established
by our predecessors, I believe we will have suc-
ceeded only if we make substantial progress in
advandngEPA 's new agenda for ecological risk
management and habitat protection.
And,Ibelievewearemostlikely to makeprogress
on this broader mandate by focusing and inte-
grating our efforts on a watershed basis. It was
very gratifying to see participants at our na-
tional meeting in Charlottesville begin to rally
around the watershed approach as a way to
advance multiple program objectives with a
new synergy.
Another ingredient to our success will be de-
veloping a customer focus. Our survey of how
well Headquarters is supplying services to the
Regions and our meeting in Charlottesvilk took
us a long step in that direction. Wearefollowing
through (see "The Check is in the Mail"). At
Headquarters, we are now engaged in a struc-
tured dialogue with "customers" among the
broad community of State and local government
organizations, environmental groups, and the
regulated sector—especially in agriculture.
See Note, p3
WPA Gains Momentum
Thanks to support from all Regions and Office of Water (OW)
offices, we have moved closer to meeting our short-term goals for
the Watershed Protection Approach (WPA). The Watershed Pro-
tection Projects proposed for implementation in FY92 and the
criteria for making the selections clearly demonstrate that the
Regions, States, and other Federal agencies have experience and
expertise in this approach and are, in fact, already using it in
selected watersheds. With the signing of the WPA Framework in
October by all four OW office directors, all OW offices have joined
the effort to look for integrated methods to address water quality in'
our nation's watersheds. OWOW is well along in the development
of a "marketing kit" for use in promoting the WPA with State, local,
public and private stakeholders. On December 13, representatives
from all four OW offices and the Regions met to review our
accomplishments, thus far, and plan for long-term implementation
of watershed protection. Contact: Janet Pawlukiewicz (FTS) 260-
7166.
"The Check's in the Mail"
In response to the results of our customer survey and follow-up
discussion at the OWOW National Program Meeting, we are taking
steps to improve the process used to allocate funds to OWOW's
Regional programs. At the Water Management Division Director's
meeting held during the week of November 18, we distributed a
summary of the allocation process for all major OWOW line items
involving the distribution of Regional funds from Headquarters.
The summary noted where the process has been improved between
FY91 and FY92. It also presented a preliminary matrix of all
Headquarter and Regional allocations in an effort to convey the
overall funding picture to the Regions as early as possible. During
FY92, we plan to work with the Regions to further refine the process
and implement the changes for FY93. Contact: Bemie Mason (FTS)
260-8580.
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OWOW Quarterly Highlights
December 1991
Wetlands Action Strategy Update EPA Staff Serve As Citizen Monitors
With continuing support from the Regions, we are
making steady progress toward meeting our goals and
objectives for the Wetlands Action Strategy. Wetland
Action Plans for implementation in FY92 are being
submitted by the Regions. These plans are being devel-
oped for the priority Regional "Hot Spots"-Western
New York; Eastern Shore of Maryland; Tidewater Vir-
ginia; Coastal Georgia; Lower Mississippi River Valley;
Louisiana; Irrigated Valleys of the Mountain West; and
the North Slope of Alaska. In addition, Headquarters
staff are working on several fronts related to State 404
assumption and increasing the States' role in wetlands
protection.
Through these and other efforts we hope to dispel some
of the antagonism to wetlands protection reflected in
the press and in legislative proposals to curtail EPA's
wetlands programs. Contact: Glenn Eugster (FTS) 260-
6045.
Congressional Wetlands Hearings
House and Senate Subcommittee hearings on wetland
issues have provided a forum for us to:
• describe the importance of wetlands;
• acknowledge legitimate concerns about the
Section 404 program and efforts to address
them;
• refute exaggerated or erroneous charges about
Section 404; and
• describe important non-regulatory efforts to
enhance wetlands protection.
On October 16, Bob Wayland testified before the House
Merchant Marine and Fisheries Subcommittee on Fish-
eries and Wildlife Conservation and Administrator
William Reilly testified before the House Public Works
and Transportation Subcommittee on Water Resources
on October 22. The hearings covered a wide array of
issues including the proposed revisions to the Federal
delineation manual, mitigation banking, classification
schemes and improving the permitting process. The
subcommittees' members were particularly concerned
with the need to address the "takings" issue. Contact:
Glenn Eugster (FTS) 260-6045.
In celebration of "Coastweeks," more than 60 EPA
Headquarters volunteers became citizen monitors by
helping to collect and catalog trash found along the
beach at the Delaware Seashore State Park on Saturday,
September 21. For the past four years, the former Office
of Marine and Estuarine Protection and current OWOW
have provided funding to the Center for Marine Con-
servation (CMC) to coordinate cleanups along our
nation's beaches during "Coastweeks." Last year, a
total of 108,749 volunteers collected 2,645,283 pounds
of trash along approximately 3,700 miles of coastal
area. Contact Marcy O'Dell (FTS) 260-1904.
Recognizing the tremendous potential of these volun-
teer efforts in collecting data for future trend assess-
ments, OWOW, along with the Izaak Walton League,
the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and Clean Water
Action, is sponsoring the "Third National Volunteer
Water Monitoring Conference" in Annapolis, Maryland
from March 29-April 2. The conference will teach a
broad array of stakeholders how to develop and
implement their own citizen monitoring programs.
Contact: Alice Mayio at (FTS) 260-7018.
WQ Data Systems to Get "Face Lift"
More than 125 users of STORET and other EPA water
quality data systems met with staff from the Assess-
ment and Watershed Protection Division and Office of
Information Resources Management (OIRM) staff, in
Dallas, September 11-13, to discuss modernizing the
systems. As recommended at the conference, we are
assembling teams of experts to address issues such as
quality assurance and quality control, communications,
data standards and in-house software files. Many
thanks to all who continue to support this effort. A
synopsis of the symposium is available by contacting
Robert King at (FTS) 260-7028.
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OWOW Quarterly Highlights
December 1991
What is the Future for the
National Estuary Program ?
The Oceans and Coastal Protection Division has taken
a number of steps to look at the future of the National
Estuary Program (NEP). A grant has been provided to
the Urban Institute to develop and pilot test methods to
aid EPAand theStatesindefiningandassessingprogress
in the NEP. State, local, and other Federal agencies will
be involved in the development of these methods. The
assessment will be useful for determining successes
and shortcomings, adjusting the program where needed,
and providing required reports to Congress. It should
substantially enhance our ability to implement resource-
based, multi-jurisdictional efforts in the future.
We have in hand three "unsolicited" nominations for
additional estuaries to be designated and several more
are rumored to be in preparation. NEPs which have
completed, or will soon complete, their Comprehensive
Conservation and Management Plans (CCMPs) are
seeking continued technical and financial support. Can
we meet all these expectations? How can we best
protect coastal areas which are not designated estuaries?
Exploring these questions, we prepared and distrib-
uted an issue paper on the NEP, based on discussions at
the OWOW National Program Meeting. The issues
addressed include: EPA's role in oversight and man-
agement of the CCMPs once they have been approved;
whether or not new NEPs should be recognized and
supported; and the extent to which EPA should contrib-
ute to the implementation of actions recommended in
the CCMPs. This paper was discussed at the November
Water Management Division Director's meeting and at
a meeting of the NEP Coordinators December 10-12.
We hope to obtain decisions from Agency management
by early in 1992. Contact: Mark Curran (FTS) 260-8483.
"Quarterly Highlights" is prepared by the Office of
Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds (OWOW). Its
purpose is to share information with our Headquarters
and Regional counterparts on major events that
occurred during the past quarter, to provide an update
on special topics, and to advise you of key personnel
changes and upcoming activities. Any questions or
suggestions concerning "Quarterly Highlights"
should be directed to Paula Monroe of OWOW at
(FTS) 260-6582.
Extended Comment Period for
Wetlands Manual
The comment period for the proposed Federal Manual
for Identifying and Delineating Jurisdktional Wetlands has
been extended to January 21, 1992. This action was
taken in order to provide concurrent review of the
proposed Federal Manual and the proposed rule
making, which was published in the Federal Register
on December 19,1991. The proposed rule would codify
some parts of the proposed Federal Manual, specifically
those dealing with the three criteria (i.e., hydrology,
soils, and vegetaton), the indicators of these criteria,
exceptions, problem areas, and disturbed areas. The
Federal agencies involved have agreed that, although
the former comment period on the proposed Federal
Manual ended on December 15 and announcement of
the extended comment period was not published until
December 19, all comments received by January 21 will
be accepted. Contact: Mike Fritz (FTS) 260-6013.
Reorganization of OCPD
Just in case you haven't heard, effective October 17, the
Oceans and Coastal Protection Division was reorga-
nized to better implement existing resources and to
create a balance of functions within the Division. Un-
der the new organization, the Division has three
Branches: Coastal Technology Branch, Karen Klima,
Chief; Marine Pollution Control Branch, John Lishman,
Chief; and Coastal Management Branch, Mark Curran,
Chief.
*>*<*
"Note" Continued
Should we consider those we regulate, or whose behavior we
want to change, "customers?" At a recent meeting, Jim
McCormick gave several Headquarters managers a new
perspective on supplier/customer relationships by telling a
story at my expense. He told the group I'd been caught
speedingand asked them howl, as a customer of law,enforce-
ment, could get maximum satisfaction in this unhappy
circumstance. They suggested, "A courteous trooper...a
quick transaction so I could be on my way promptly (at a safe
speed)...a clear explanation ofwhylwas apprehended and the
consequences." .-"i
I found this an instructive perspective—one we will consider
as we become more sensitive to our customer's needs-
whether our customers be the Regions, the States, sister
offices, or "XYZ Company permit applicants."
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