Who's Who in the Region 10 Office of Water and Watersheds

• Who's Who in the Drinking Water Unit
• Who's Who in the Watershed Protection Unit
• Who's Who in the Standards and Planning Unit
• Who's Who in the Watershed Restoration Unit
• Who's Who in the NPDES Permits Unit

EPA Region 10's Office of Water and Watersheds' mission is to:

Restore, maintain, and enhance the overall quality of the Region's water resources in order to protect the health and diversity of the environment for present and future generations.

Our environmental objectives are to:

• Protect diverse ecosystems and ensure healthy watersheds.
  
• Safeguard human health through vigorous protection of ground and surface waters and drinking water
  sources.
• Prevent and minimize the discharge of pollutants to land, air, and water.
• Promote stewardship for the Region's waters through education and public involvement.

We will use sound science and wise decision-making to accomplish these objectives by:
• Managing our programs through partnerships with state, local, tribal and federal governments.
• Providing technical assistance and programmatic support to build capacity with state and tribal
  agencies as well as other federal agencies.
• Targeting our efforts on greatest human health and environmental risks, by focussing available information on region's ground water and surface water quality.
• Applying water program authorities in an integrated manner to the highest priority ecosystems in the region.
• Encouraging innovative and cost-effective solutions to environmental problems.
• Integrating watershed programs to better enable the delivery of watersheds that meet water quality standards and increase the ability to deliver on-the-ground environmental results.


The Office of Water and Watersheds includes five operating units:


• The Drinking Water Unit deals with both surface and subsurface sources of drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act. This unit also deals with general ground water protection issues. Its work includes support for State Wellhead and Source Water Protection programs. The unit manager is Marie Jennings at jennings.marie@epa.gov or 206-553-1893. The web coordinator is Bill Chamberlain, chamberlain.william@epa.gov or 206-553-8515. The staff are listed in Who's Who in the Drinking Water Unit or by staff by subject. Key websites are the National Safe Drinking Water Website, Regional Drinking Water Website , National Groundwater Website and Regional Groundwater Website.


• The NPDES Permits Unit issues wastewater discharge permits in accordance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System regulations. The unit manager is Michael Lidgard or lidgard.michael@epa.gov or 206-553-1755. The web coordinators are Sharon Wilson, wilson.sharon@epa.gov and Brian Nickel, nickel.brian@epa.gov at 206-553-0325 and 206-553-6251 respectively for NPDES permits. Misha Vakoc, vakoc.misha@epa.gov at 206-553-6650 is the webcoordinator for stormwater permitting. The staff are listed in Who's Who in the NPDES Permits Unit. Key websites are EPA's National Wastewater Management Website and Regional Water Discharge (NPDES) Permit Website.


• The Standards and Planning Unit deals with water quality standards and impaired and threatened waterbodies. The Unit Manager is Paula Vanhaagen, at vanhaagen.paula@epa.gov or 206-553-2857. The web coordinator is Lisa Jacobsen, jacobsen.lisa@epa.gov at 206-553-6917. The staff are listed in Who's Who in the Standards and Planning Unit. Key websites include EPA's National Water Quality Standards and Criteria Website and Regional Standards and Planning Website.


• The Watershed Protection Unit deals with preserving watersheds through programs such as watershed collaboration and tools, Clean Water State Revolving Fund, coastal zone protection, and nonpoint source pollution. The acting unit manager is John Gabrielson at gabrielson.john@epa.gov or 206-553-4183. The web coordinator is Dan Steinborn at steinborn.daniel@epa.gov or (206) 553-2728. The staff are listed in Who's Who in the Watershed Protection Unit. Key websites are Regional Clean Water State Revolving Fund, Regional Watershed Collaboration and Tools and National Nonpoint Source Pollution.


• The Watershed Restoration Unit deals with TMDL - Total Maximum Daily Load - determinations (water clean-up plans) in accordance with the Clean Water Act. This Unit Manager is Christine Psyk at psyk.christine@epa.gov or 206-553-1906. The web coordinator is Jayne Carlin, carlin.jayne@epa.gov at 206-553-8512. The staff are listed in Who's Who in the Watershed Restoration Unit. Key websites include EPA's National TMDL Program Website and Regional Watershed Restoration (TMDL) Website.