Ground Water Protection Unit (GWPU)

Sole Source Aquifer Protection Program
Underground Injection Control
Underground Storage Tanks

Ground Water Protection Unit Staff List

• EPA invites public comments on the draft Underground Injection Control (UIC) permit and associated aquifer exemptionfor BP Exploration (Alaska) to construct and operate of one Class I non-hazardous industrial waste injection well at the Milne Point Unit about 10 miles northwest of the main Prudhoe Bay field complex. Comments are due by November 1, 2004. EPA will issue no separate public notice and may finalize the permit as drafted if no substantive comments are received by the close of the public comment period.
• EPA Region 10 Sponsors New Drinking Water Protection Program. EPA Region 10 has started a new program to support efforts to protect drinking water supplies on tribal lands. Evergreen Rural Water of Washington carries out the program in order to protect the health of Native American communities. A facilitator is supplied to make sure that local goals are set based on the unique needs of each community. The facilitator can assist in susceptibility assessments; grant applications, public education campaigns, drafting regulations, and emergency planning. For more information call Evergreen Rural Water of Washington, Oregon Association of Water Utilities, or the Idaho Rural Water Association: Washington Area Tribes (800) 272-5981, Oregon Area Tribes(503) 873-8353, Idaho Area Tribes (800) 962-3257
• A new guide that provides information about motor vehicle waste fluid management is now available to the public. For a CD Rom version of the Small Entity Compliance Guide - "How the New Motor Vehicle Waste Disposal Well Rule Affects Your Business" please contact Kirk Robinson or call him at (206) 553-2104.
• EPA awarded 40 $100,000 USTfield grants to states and Indian tribes nationwide for site assessment and cleanup of releases from USTs. On July 1, 2002, 10 of those grants were awarded to local government and Indian tribes in Region 10. Check out the EPA HQ USTfields web site for further details or contact Mike Shepherd, EPA, for more information.
• New Storm Water Webpage: EPA Region 10 announces the creation of a new Storm Water Webpage.
• UST Fields Pilot Project: EPA Region 10's UST fields pilot project was a site in Portland, Oregon (November 2, 2000).
• Operating and Maintaining Underground Storage Tank Systems: Practical Help and Checklists.
• EPA/IHS Tribal Large Capacity Onsite Sewage System Evaluation Project: EPA and Indian Health Service (IHS) have teamed up to evaluate the performance and identify possible impacts to ground water quality from large capacity on-site sewage systems (designed to serve 20 or more people) which are being used at Pacific Northwest area Tribal Casino's, offices or schools..
• Columbia Basin Ground Water Management Area: EPA has been involved with the Washington Department of Ecology and the local communities within Grant, Adams, and Franklin Counties to develop a Ground Water Management Area to reduce nitrate contamination in ground water.
• Tribal Drinking Water Protection Program webpage.

• Ground Water Protection Technical Forum
• Ground Water Report to Congress (10/99)
• Ground Water: The Hidden Resource
• More Ground Water Links
• Storm Water Issues
• US Geological Survey - Drinking Water Programs Webpage