EPA Action: EPA provides smart growth assistance in six states

In other news below:
-- EPA reaches agreement with GE to reduce exposure to PCBs in Upper Hudson floodplain
-- Magna Water Company receives EPA award for water treatment improvements
-- EPA, Inter-American Development Bank commit to closer cooperation
-- EPA selects Rhode Island environmental organization to receive water monitoring equipment loan
-- EPA expands efforts to protect coastal waters and New York/New Jersey Harbor
-- U.S., Mexican, Canadian environmental leaders promote green building and pollution tracking tool for citizens
-- EPA puts performance measurement to work for real-world change
-- EPA provides over $250,000 for environmental monitoring of Maine's coastal beaches
-- Clay Rural Water System receives EPA award for water supply improvements
-- Proposed changes to Indiana drinking water rules will better protect public health
-- Report gives Great Lakes health a mixed review
-- Landmark settlement aims to clean up raw sewage discharges in Allegheny County

• EPA provides smart growth assistance in six states
WASHINGTON, DC, July 12, 2007 -- Communities in six states will receive customized technical assistance from EPA to help them put the principles of more efficient, affordable, and environmentally sensitive growth into action. The communities were selected under a competitive, nationwide application process that drew 67 submissions from 30 states. Under a federal contract, each community will receive approximately $45,000 in direct assistance from a team of national experts organized by EPA and other partners to work with local leaders. Team members will have expertise in disciplines relevant to each community's unique needs. The projects will start this summer...

• EPA reaches agreement with GE to reduce exposure to PCBs in Upper Hudson floodplain
NEW YORK, NY, July 11, 2007 -- EPA has reached an agreement with General Electric Company (GE) requiring them to reduce exposure to PCBs in four general areas along the Upper Hudson River where elevated levels of PCBs in floodplain soils could potentially present an unacceptable risk to public health and the environment. The work, expected to begin next month, will be performed by GE on about a dozen public and private properties in the towns of Fort Edward, Northumberland and Greenwich and in the village of Schuylerville. EPA will oversee GE's work. The agreement requires GE to reimburse EPA for the cost of overseeing the work...

• Magna Water Company receives EPA award for water treatment improvements
DENVER, CO, July 10, 2007 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today presented a Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) award to the Magna Water Company in Utah for a project to design and build a treatment plant that will enhance water safety for its customers...

• EPA, Inter-American Development Bank commit to closer cooperation
WASHINGTON, DC, July 9, 2007 -- Highlighting their shared commitment to economic growth and environmental progress in the Americas, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Luis Alberto Moreno today signed a Letter of Intent in Washington to protect the environment while promoting economic growth. EPA and IDB are already exploring ways to cooperate on cleaner fuels, methane reduction, and improved environmental governance for the region...

• EPA selects Rhode Island environmental organization to receive water monitoring equipment loan
BOSTON, MA, July 2, 2007 -- EPA New England announced recently that several New England environmental organizations have been selected to receive loans of water monitoring equipment. Using this equipment, volunteers will assess the water quality conditions of New England lakes, rivers and estuaries with the data collected. Over the years, volunteers have been successful in raising awareness of failing septic systems, illicit discharges of sanitary sewerage, and nonpoint source runoff...
Also see:
-- "EPA selects Vermont environmental organization to receive water monitoring equipment loan"
-- "EPA selects Massachusetts environmental organizations to receive water monitoring equipment loans"
-- "EPA selects Connecticut environmental organizations to receive water monitoring equipment loans"

• EPA expands efforts to protect coastal waters and New York/New Jersey Harbor
NEW YORK, NY, June 28, 2007 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled today an expanded New York Bight Coastal Monitoring program to study the ocean and collaborate with state and local governments to protect the coastal waters of New York and New Jersey. Using helicopters, ships and cutting edge technologies, the Agency's scientific assessments will go farther than ever...

• U.S., Mexican, Canadian environmental leaders promote green building and pollution tracking tool for citizens
MORELIA, Mexico, June 27, 2007 -- Highlighting their shared commitment to environmental progress in North America, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson today joined his Mexican and Canadian counterparts to launch new collaborative environmental initiatives on green building and tracking pollution in North America. The officials were gathered in Morelia, Mexico for the 14th Council Session of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), an organization created by Canada, Mexico and the United States to address regional environmental concerns...

• EPA puts performance measurement to work for real-world change
WASHINGTON, DC, June 26, 2007 -- Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency introduced a new performance management tool called the Quarterly Management Report (QMR). The QMR is helping the agency deliver real results by applying business principles to solve the nation's environmental challenges. The QMR is updated every three months and consists of roughly 60 national and regional priorities. During regular meetings with senior headquarters and regional managers, the agency uses performance measurement to review quarterly progress, identify successes and make adjustments that lead to more and better environmental results...

• EPA provides over $250,000 for environmental monitoring of Maine's coastal beaches
PORTLAND, ME, June 22, 2007 -- EPA's New England office has provided $254,730 to the Maine Healthy Beaches Program, to continue efforts to monitor water quality conditions at Maine beaches to ensure that people enjoying the beach are also enjoying healthy water conditions. This EPA funding was made available through the federal Beach Act of 2000, which requires coastal states to monitor beaches and notify the public about water quality. EPA's Clean New England Beaches Initiative has helped states and local beach managers take the next steps of finding and eliminating pollution sources that cause beach closures...

• Clay Rural Water System receives EPA award for water supply improvements
DENVER, CO, June 20, 2007 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today presented a Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) award to the Clay Rural Water System in Union County, S.D., for improvements to the water supply for its customers. The South Dakota DWSRF provided a $4.3 million loan at a low interest rate to fund the creation of a sub-system to serve rural users and four housing developments in Union County. To create the sub-system, the Clay Rural Water System purchased and upgraded the waterworks assets of one of the affected housing developments and then constructed distribution lines to serve the remaining three housing developments and rural water users. The project improved the water supply for two of the housing projects that had previously violated primary standards for radium...

• Proposed changes to Indiana drinking water rules will better protect public health
CHICAGO, IL, June 14, 2007 -- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 seeks comments on its tentative decision to approve three changes to Indiana's drinking water regulations that will enhance protection of public health. The changes are required under amendments to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. As EPA adopts new drinking water regulations, states such as Indiana that administer their own programs must adopt rules at least as stringent...

• Report gives Great Lakes health a mixed review
CHICAGO, IL June 7, 2007 -- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Canada today released the 2007 State of the Great Lakes Highlights Report at the International Joint Commission meeting in Chicago. Overall, the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Great Lakes ecosystem is mixed, with some conditions improving while others are getting worse...

• Landmark settlement aims to clean up raw sewage discharges in Allegheny County
PITTSBURGH, PA, May 31, 2007 -- In a landmark settlement with federal, state, and county authorities, the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) has agreed to a comprehensive plan to greatly reduce the annual discharge of billions of gallons of untreated sewage into local waterways. Under the proposed consent decree, ALCOSAN has agreed to a multi-year strategy to upgrade the sewage systems serving Pittsburgh and 82 surrounding municipalities. The settlement also requires ALCOSAN to pay a $1.2 million penalty for past Clean Water Act violations, and to undertake $3 million in environmental projects...

Among other recent EPA announcements:
• Federal Advisory Committee to examine detection and quantitation approaches in Clean Water Act programs
• Establishment of the Total Coliform Rule Distribution System Advisory Committee
• Clean Water Act Section 303(d): Availability of 52 Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)
• Notification of public meetings of the Science Advisory Board Hypoxia Advisory Panel
• Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Nonattainment New Source Review (NSR): Removal of Vacated Elements

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