News Links and News of Interest

National Lakes Assessment

Watershed Academy Presents a Webcast on January 5, 2010 on the Draft Findings of the National Lakes Assessment

EPA’s Watershed Academy will present a Webcast on January 5, 2010 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. eastern time on the first-ever assessment of the condition of the nation’s lakes--the National Lakes Assessment: A Collaborative Survey of the Nation’s Lakes.

POTW Nutrient Reduction Workshop January 12-14, 2010

EPA Regions 4 and 5 to Host POTW Nutrient Reduction Workshop January 12-14, 2010 EPA Regions 4 and 5, along with regional co-sponsors, are hosting a Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) Nutrient Reduction and Efficiency Workshop. The workshop is targeted to POTW operators, superintendents and managers with infrastructure responsibilities, and state and federal agency nutrient managers. This workshop presents a unique opportunity for exhibitors to meet with managers and operators of POTW facilities--the people who will be required to meet more stringent environmental regulations while still providing the service at a lower cost and higher efficiency.

Learn more about the workshop: http://hudson.tetratech-ffx.com/potw/index.htm

January 12-14, 2010
Evansville, Indiana

Preliminary 2010 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan

Preliminary 2010 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan On December 28, 2009 EPA published in the Federal Registerthe Agency’s preliminary 2010 plan regarding developing and revising technology-based water pollution control regulations, called effluent guidelines. The preliminary plan is a requirement of the Clean Water Act, and describes the Agency’s ongoing efforts to develop effluent guidelines. The preliminary plan does not contain regulatory requirements, rather it presents a process EPA is using to identify industries for further investigation and analysis. EPA will use these additional analyses to determine whether to revise or establish new effluent guidelines.

In this preliminary 2010 plan, EPA states its decision to initiate an effluent guidelines rulemaking for the Steam Electric Power Generating industry due to the potential hazard to human health and the environment from the industry’s pollutant discharges. The Agency is also publishing this preliminary plan to update the public and interested stakeholders on the results of detailed studies of the Coalbed Methane Extraction and Health Care Industries and a preliminary category review for the Ore Mining and Dressing (Part 440) category.

Groundwater

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, MARCH 13, 2008 --
In Missouri, approximately 94 percent of public water supplies depends on groundwater for their drinking water. An estimated 2.2 million Missourians are drinking and relying on this valuable and renewable resource every day.

This week, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources joined its partners in celebrating National Groundwater Awareness Week. Groundwater is found below the Earth's surface at depths where all the open spaces in the soil, sediment or rock are completely filled with water. Groundwater in Missouri is generally of very high quality and, for the most part, free of contamination.

The Department of Natural Resources encourages citizen to become aware of the importance of groundwater and to help protect it. "If you live south of the Missouri River, chances are your drinking water comes from groundwater," said the department's Division of Environmental Quality's Director, Daniel R. Schuette. "Caring for this valuable resource is imperative to ensure public health and economic viability is protected."

Missourians can help protect groundwater supplies by following these simple tips:

• Never dump toxic or hazardous fluids into the ground or down a toilet. These substances can ultimately contaminate groundwater.
• When using fertilizers and pesticides, follow the directions and use only the amount recommended on the product label.
• Recycle used oil.
• Use soaps and household cleansers that are nontoxic and biodegradable.
• Properly locate and construct wells.

The department encourages anyone installing a drinking water well to hire only reputable, licensed well drillers. The department provides guidance on the proper construction and location of wells and can provide a list of well drillers certified to drill in Missouri. Improperly constructed wells can create a direct conduit between the surface and the underground water supply that may result in contaminated groundwater.

For more information, call the Department of Natural Resources at 1-800-361-4827 or (573) 751-5331. For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

Erosion

Mar 26.2008
Lake Sun Leader

Hopes washed away: Gravois Community Betterment Association had asked for help dealing with flooding,embankment erosion along Route 5. No one showed up Tuesday

By Deanna Wheeler/Lake Sun GRAVOIS MILLS - Frustration is the first word to describe the emotions that members of the Community Betterment Association are feeling after being stood up by officials from several agencies.

Members said they had verbal confirmation that representatives from AmerenUE, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would attend their meeting Tuesday morning to help the association lay out a plan for flooding issues the village has been struggling with for a number of years.

As the rain poured down outside, it only added to their urgency and disappointment with the no-shows.

'Anytime we have heavy rains like this,' association member Frank Hurley said, pointing out the window, 'we have problems. We haven't had a real gully washer to see what real damage can happen in a number of years, since about 1993.'

More than 50 years ago, the land immediately west of the Gravois Mills bridge was owned by a man in the gravel business. Needing a flat place to keep the piles of gravel, he kept it at the foot of the creek, Paul Jensen explained.

'This was way before anybody heard about permits or conservation or anything like that,' Jensen said, estimating it happened sometime in the 1960s or 70s.

The leftover gravel formed a sandbar. The water from Collins Spring has to flow around it, through two 90-degree turns to make it under the bridge before feeding into the lake, Hurley explained. Anytime you bend water like that, it puts a lot of pressure on the riverbanks.

'A creek can only carry so much volume. If its filled with gravel or something else, it reduces the amount of volume it can hold. It puts pressure on the banks and that pressure has to go somewhere,' he said. And with pressure, is erosion.

Collins Spring ' referred to by locals as 'the creek' ' winds its way parallel to Troutdale Road before hitting those two turns. Years ago, the water rose so fast during a storm, that felled trees were picked up and carried off before anybody could stop it, Hurley said, recounting a memory. The turns in the creek caused the logs to crash into the riverbank holding up Route 5. He said he has had to push logs aside to clear a path under the bridge because it was blocked with so much debris. The association fears the next big storm will wash the land right out from under Route 5 and disable the town.

Flooding is also a common occurrence for businesses and homeowners along Collins Spring, Waters Edge Motel owner Bob Swengrosh said. The two sharp turns in the spring's path is unnatural in water flow, Hurley said. As it hits those turns, it is forced to slow down, which causes the spring to back up. Hurley said the best solution is to dig out the gravel sandbar to straighten out the creek. It would help prevent the creek from backing up and stop the pressure on the banks.

Unsure about how to progress with plans, the association asked various officials to attend the meeting to help with information and direction. Without enough influence to attract officials to their meeting to help with questions, association members wondered how far they'll get in the permitting process. 'Conservation and Corps of Engineers are the biggest obstacles. But once you get the permit from the Corps, you're in the clear,' Jensen said. 'Full steam ahead, you're still looking at a year minimum. A lot can happen between now and then.'

AmerenUE and the conservation department were not available for comment.

Contact this reporter at deannaw@lakesunleader.com