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Polluted Runoff (Nonpoint Source Pollution)
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October 29, 2004

June 17, 2004

February 26, 2004

February 12, 2004

January 28, 2004

  • WATER, Soil, and Hydro-Environmental Decision Support System (WATERSHEDSS) Exit EPA Disclaimer
    WATERSHEDSS is a watershed-level, web-based decision support system. Its two primary objectives are to:

      1. transfer water quality and land treatment information to watershed managers in order to assist them in making appropriate land management and land treatment decisions to achieve water quality goals.
      2. assess and evaluate sources, impacts, and potential management options for control of nonpoint source pollution in a watershed based on user-supplied information and decisions.

January 5, 2004

October 24, 2003

  • Nonpoint Source Program and Grants Guidelines for States and Territories (Oct. 23, 2003)
    HTML version         PDF version
    EPA has developed guidelines for States' implementation of nonpoint source management programs under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act and for the award of Section 319 grants to States to implement those programs. These guidelines apply to grants appropriated by Congress in Fiscal Year 2004 and in subsequent years. The guidelines continue EPA's policy of focusing a significant portion of Section 319 funds ($100 million annually) to address watersheds where nonpoint source pollution has resulted in impairment of water quality. The remaining funds are to be used by States to assist in their implementation of their broad array of programs and authorities to address all of the water quality threats and impairments caused by nonpoint source pollution.

October 6, 2003

  • Building Capacity for NPS Management (PDF, 2.8MB, Best viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5 or above.)
    The case studies included in this document highlight watershed groups, local governments, and organizations engaged in innovative approaches for building capacity, such as group building and organization (establishing partnerships and soliciting volunteers), organizing capital resources and fiscal management (obtaining private grants and federal funding), and using technical and specialized resources (using experts, developing innovative projects, procuring office space and equipment, etc.).

September 24, 2003

  • National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Agriculture
    National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Agriculture is a technical guidance and reference document for use by State, local, and tribal managers in the implementation of nonpoint source pollution management programs. It contains information on the best available, economically achievable means of reducing pollution of surface and ground water from agriculture (Final Version - July 2003).

August 25, 2003

August 22, 2003

August 21, 2003

May 21, 2003

May 12, 2003

May 1, 2003

April 23, 2003

April 2, 2003

March 27, 2003

March 14, 2003

February 5, 2003

  • NPS News Notes: Issue 70 , PDF 1.2MB)

January 13, 2003

  • Massachusetts Unpaved Roads BMP Manual (PDF format, 1.5Mb)
    "This manual presents BMPs that can be used to improve water quality while enhancing the quality of unpaved roads. It is designed to be used by highway department supervisors, road crews and others engaged in maintaining private or public roadways."

December 12, 2002

  • National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Agriculture
    National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollu tion from Agriculture is a final draft technical guidance and ref erence document for use by State, local, and tribal managers in the implementation of nonpoint source pollution management programs. It contains information on the best available, economically achievable means of reducing pollution of surface and ground water from agricultu re.

November 29, 2002

  • Water Quality and BMPs for Loggers Exit EPA Disclaimer
    This web site serves as a convenient national, regional, and local online service providing ready access to educational and training opportunities, relevant legislation and regulations, water quality and best management practices materials and key resources for managing forested watersheds.

September 9, 2002

  • National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Urban Areas is a draft techn ical guidance and reference document for use by State, local, and tribal manager s in the implementation of nonpoint source pollution management programs. It contains information on the best available, economically achievable means of reducing pollution of surface and ground water from urban areas. The due date for comments on the draft are due on December 9, 2002. Please send comments to Rod Frederick of EPA at frederick.rod@epa.gov.

August 28, 2002

  • Supplemental Guidelines for the Award of Section 319 Nonpoint Source Grants to States and Territories in FY 2003
    EPA has developed guidelines that describe the process and criteria to be used to award Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 319 nonpoint source grants to States and Territories (hereinafter referred to collectively as “States”) in FY 2003. The process and criteria for FY 2003 are similar to those established for FY 2002, but are modified as described in the guidelines. The guidelines continue to emphasize a concentrated focus on the implementation of projects that are designed to improve waters that have been listed as impaired under Section 303(d) of the CWA.

June 11, 2002

June 5, 2002

  • Road Maintenance Video Set
    The "Road Maintenance Video Set" is a five-part video series developed for USDA Forest Service equipment operators. It focuses on environmentally sensitive ways of maintaining low volume roads.

May 21, 2002

  • Web-Based Reach Indexing Tool for Grants Reporting and Tracking System (WebRIT-GRTS)
    The Web-based Reach Indexing Tool (WebRIT) for the Grants Reporting Tracking System (GRTS) is an interactive mapping procedure that allows users to view surface waters within the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) and related information about impaired waters as context for georeferencing their own water quality information to the NHD. The primary purpose of this initial release of the WebRIT-GRTS application is to allow users of GRTS to georeference the locations of non point source projects funded by grants issued under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. These projects are tracked in GRTS.

May 6, 2002

  • Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems Manual (February 2002) (PDF, 1.4MB)
    This manual provides up-to-date information on onsite wastewater treatment system (OWTS) siting, design, installation, maintenance, and replacement. It reflects significant advances that the expert community has identified to help OWTSs become more cost-effective and environmentally protective, particularly in small suburban and rural areas.

April 16, 2002

  • Section 319 Success Stories: Volume III
    This document is the third volume of Section 319 Success Stories. It contains approximately two new stories per state, highlighting some of the additional successes achieved since the 1997 publication. These stories demonstrate better-defined water quality improvements, as well as growing partnerships and funding sources, as state 319 programs expand and states learn increasingly more from past 319 demonstration projects.

February 22, 2002

February 8, 2002

  • Nonpoint Source Minigrants (PDF, 100KB)
    This report describes mini-grants programs used by various States, local agencies, and non-profit organizations to implement efforts to address nonpoint source pollution and to protect or restore watersheds. Many of these are implemented as sub-awards, through State grant or contract mechanisms, of funds received by the State as part of an EPA grant under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. Others are purely State-funded. In addition, the report closes with some examples of similar mini-grants used by estuary programs in the National Estuary Program under Section 320 of the CWA. The report is a product of the Grants Workgroup of the State-EPA Nonpoint Source Partnership.

January 2, 2002

  • Showcase of Exceptional Education Products Exit EPA Disclaimer
    The state of Washington's Department of Ecology has developed a site that will help you find outstanding educational products related to nonpoint source water pollution. The products come from many different sources in a variety of formats -- publications, videos, classroom materials, etc. The site provides contact information as well as other useful background information so that you can obtain the products and adapt them to your needs. You can also nominate your own favorite educational products to be put on the site.

December 4, 2001

  • National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Marinas and Recreational Boating
    National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Marinas and Recreational Boating is a technical guidance and reference document for use by State, local, and tribal managers in the implementation of nonpoint source pollution management programs. It contains information on the best available, economically achievable means of reducing pollution of surface water runoff from marinas and recreational boating. (Final Version)

November 6, 2001

October 31, 2001

October 23, 2001

  • NPS News Notes: Issue 66 ( HTML Exit EPA Disclaimer , PDF 1.6MB)

October 22, 2001

  • Gravel Roads: Maintenance and Design Manual
    This manual was developed with a major emphasis on the maintenance of gravel roads, including some basic design elements. The purpose of the manual is to provide clear and helpful information for doing a better job of maintaining gravel roads. The manual is designed for the benefit of elected officials, mangers, and grader operators who are responsible for designing and maintaining gravel roads.

October 19, 2001

  • Capacity Building Resources
    This website, put together by the Nonpoint Source Capacity Building and Funding Work Group, provides watershed groups and local governments links to technical tools for scientific support, engineering support, information technology, assistance with legal issues, project management, outreach, and planning support. It also provides links to legal resources for activities such as permitting, enforcement, contracting, fund raising, and resource management.

August 8, 2001

  • Stormwater News Exit EPA Disclaimer
    This site provides information on stormwater pollution, treatment methodologies, and related issues. The site's on-line library contains downloadable research papers, software, and information regarding nonpoint source pollution, best management practices, upcoming conferences, total maximum daily loads, and other stormwater topics.

August 1, 2001

  • Water and the Forest Service (PDF) Exit EPA Disclaimer
    This report focuses on the role of forests in water supply, including quantity, quality, timing of release, flood reductions and low flow augmentation, economic value of water from national forest lands, and economic benefits of tree cover for stormwater reduction in urban areas.
  • National Fire Plan: Rehabilitation and Restoration Exit EPA Disclaimer
    The USFS National Fire Plan includes a significant emphasis on rehabilitation and restoration of watersheds with the goal of closely matching historical or pre-fire ecosystem structure, function and diversity and dynamics. Restoration projects focus on restoring watershed function, including protection of basic soil, water resources, biological communities, and prevention of invasive species.

July 26, 2001

  • Low-Impact Development Center Exit EPA Disclaimer
    The Low-Impact Development Center was established to develop and provide information to individuals and organizations dedicated to protecting the environment and water resources through proper site design techniques that replicate pre-existing hydrologic site conditions.

July 20, 2001

  • Puget Sound: Smart Growth and Low-Impact Development
    Although this website is about smart growth and low-impact development in the Puget Sound, much of the information is generally useful for those interested in smart growth and low-impact development issues.

July 19, 2001

  • NPS News Notes: Issue 65 ( HTML, PDF 1.6MB)

July 5, 2001

May 16, 2001

April 24, 2001


April 12, 2001

  • Financing Stormwater Management Exit EPA Disclaimer
    This site was developed by the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in cooperation with the Watershed Management Institute, Inc. Funding was provided by the EPA. The site includes an annotated bibliography of existing stormwater finance materials; an archive that contains selected previously published materials concerning stormwater finance; a manual that discusses the financing options available to communities for stormwater management programs; a set of case studies that describe successful finance mechanisms that have been used in seven communities around the country; and a group of links to other useful web sites about stormwater management.

April 10, 2001

  • State-EPA NPS Partnership
    States and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have joined together to form a new State/EPA Nonpoint Source Partnership. The Partnership provides an excellent framework for States and EPA to work together cooperatively to identify, prioritize, and solve nonpoint source problems. The States and EPA initiated the new partnership at a national nonpoint source meeting sponsored jointly by The Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA) and EPA in April 2000.

March 8, 2001


  • NRCS Photo Gallery Exit EPA Disclaimer
    NRCS has about 1,500 conservation-related images that can be downloaded from this site. The photos are organized in a database that allows users to search 54 categories from 30 States using key categories like buffers, conservation tillage, water quality and wildlife.

March 2, 2001

  • Recommended Practices Manual: A Guideline for Maintenance and Service of Unpaved Roads
    This is a manual of standard procedures, produced by Choctawhatchee, Pea and Yellow Rivers Watershed Management Authority, which describes and illustrates cost effective techniques and practices which can be used to enhance stability and maintenance of unpaved roadways while reducing sedimentation and improving the quality of surface waters.
  • Conservation Buffers to Reduce Pesticide Losses (PDF, 1.2MB, 25 pages) Exit EPA Disclaimer
    This document summarizes recent research investigating the ability of conservation buffers to trap and degrade pesticides carride in field runoff. It is the result of a joint effort between the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) National Water and Climate Center and US EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances.

February 7, 2001

January 30, 2001

January 23, 2001

  • National Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) Database Exit EPA Disclaimer
    This database provides access to stormwater BMP performance data in a standardized format for over 70 BMP studies conducted over the past fifteen years. The database was developed by the Urban Water Resources Research Council (UWRRC) of ASCE under a cooperative agreement with the US Environmental Protection Agency.
  • How to Create a Stormwater Utility (PDF, 3M) Exit EPA Disclaimer
    This is a set of documents placed into a single PDF file that describes the various steps necessary to create an effective stormwater utility. The document was created by the towns of Chicopee and South Hadley, Massachusetts using Section 319 grant funds.

January 22, 2001

January 11, 2001

  • (G) Unified Federal Policy for a Watershed Approach to Federal Land and Resource Management Exit EPA Disclaimer
    The Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy and the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, theTennessee Valley Authority, and the Army Corps of Engineer are adopting a unified Federal policy on watershed management. The following policy has two main goals: (1) Use a watershed approach to prevent and reduce pollution of surface and ground waters resulting from Federal land and resource management activities; and (2) Accomplish this in a unified and cost-effective manner. The policy was signed on October 18, 2000.

January 3, 2001

  • (G) Best NPS Documents
    This is not a publication. It is a list of documents that the Nonpoint Source Control Branch at EPA headquarters has found to be especially well done. The list includes agriculture documents, forestry documents, marina documents, urban documents, stream restoration documents, nonpoint source monitoring documents, and funding documents.


 

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