Special Summer State Assistance Fund
Opportunity for Clean Water Network Members
Clean Water Network is teaming up with SecureWaters Inc., the manufacturers of AquaSentinel. Aqua Sentinel is an automated 24/7 water monitoring system that monitors natural occurring green algae to detect the presence of chemical toxins in water.
SecureWaters Inc., will donate three of these water monitoring AquaSentinel Systems to three current Clean Water Network members to use on a waterway in their community, through an application process, under CWN's State Assistance Fund program. Applications will be available next week. The three bio-sensors will be given to clean water groups located in key geographic watersheds that are willing to monitor and share the data from the units, promote the program in their region, and take action where necessary.
State Assistance Fund (SAF) applications with more details about the AquaSentinel program, including eligibility and criteria, will be posted next week on the Clean Water Network website. The goal of Clean Water Network's SAF is to provide support for active CWN member organizations that work to protect and restore America's waters. Contributions (both financial and in-kind) made to organizations through the SAF program are used to support activities and projects that meet CWN's goal of safeguarding water quality for future generations.
The low-maintenance AquaSentinel monitoring system features round the clock collection, testing and analysis of samples, as well as visual and audible alerts. it requires no special training, is self-operating and cleaning, and eliminates the need for personnel to randomly collect water samples in the field.
Clean Water Network will host a conference call on June 19th at 2 pm (Eastern time), to provide an overview of this program and to answer any questions. Technical experts from SecureWaters Inc. will be on hand to provide additional details about their process. To RSVP for the call or to get more information please email Casey Knecht at Casey@cleanwaternetwork.org.
Dirty Water Bills: June 2012 Update
Last week the House of Representatives voted 152-237 (with 42 not voting) to reject
Congressman Jim Moran's clean water amendment to strike Section 110 of the Energy and Water Development 2013 Appropriations bill. Section 110 would bar the Army Corps of Engineers from restoring longstanding Clean Water Act protections to critical streams and wetlands across the nation.
Section 110 will endanger America's waterways and put the interests of polluters over those of the public. For more details on section 110 and for a copy of a letter sent to Members of Congress by a number of clean water groups, click on the link below:
To check out the full roll call vote from June 2nd click on the following link:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll308.xml
We urge everyone to contact their Representatives to thank them if they voted to support Congressman Moran's clean water amendment. If they voted NO please let them know how disappointed you are in their poor decision making!
More BAD DIRTY WATER NEWS: H.R. 4965
The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will have a markup on H.R. 4965 TODAY Thursday, June 7th, to consider legislation to weaken the ability of the Administration to protect the nation's waters.
H.R. 4965 is labeled as "A bill to preserve existing rights and responsibilities with respect to waters of the United States, and for other purposes." Of note are the restrictions placed on EPA with respect to the Clean Water Act. Specifically the bill reads:
(a) In General- The Secretary of the Army and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency are prohibited from--
(1) finalizing, adopting, implementing, administering, or enforcing the proposed guidance described in the notice of availability and request for comments entitled `EPA and Army Corps of Engineers Guidance Regarding Identification of Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act' (EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0409) (76 Fed. Reg. 24479 (May 2, 2011)); and
(2) using the guidance described in paragraph (1), or any substantially similar guidance, as the basis for any decision regarding the scope of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) or any rulemaking.
In plain English, EPA would be prohibited from specifically issuing CLEAN WATER GUIDANCE regarding protected waters. Not only would the restrictions apply to current guidance, they would apply to any similar guidance in the future. This is yet another attempt to bar EPA and the Army Corps from restoring longstanding Clean Water Act protections to critical streams and wetlands across the nation.
More information can be found at:
http://democrats.transportation.house.gov/markup/committee-t
Farm Bill Sign-On Letter
American Farmland Trust, the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Ducks Unlimited, Environmental Defense Fund, the Land Trust Alliance, the National Association of Conservation Districts, the National Wildlife Federation, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, The Nature Conservancy, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and Trout Unlimited are circulating a letter asking Senate and House leaders to hold the line on conservation funding and ensure that the 2012 farm bill cuts no more from USDA conservation programs than the Senate bill does. Their goal is to gather signatures from groups in all 50 states and send the strongest possible message to Congress. The letter can be accessed HERE.
The Conservation Title programs in the Farm Bill help to protect natural resources in a uniquely successful way-by funding a variety of voluntary partnerships and cooperative conservation efforts between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and private landowners. These conservation programs are essential to the sustainability of U.S. agriculture and forestry and to meeting the growing demand for food and fiber at home and abroad. The Farm Bill advanced by the Senate Agriculture Committee - and scheduled for consideration by the full Senate beginning this week - includes $6.4 billion in cuts to conservation programs over 10 years, out of a total cut to farm bill spending of $23 billion over 10 years. While the Senate bill also includes a number of policy improvements that should make conservation programs more effective on the ground, these cuts will have an impact. Further cuts could seriously undermine conservation efforts across the country. We urge you to send the strongest possible message to Members in both the Senate and the House to hold the budget line for conservation in the Farm Bill to no less than the amounts approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee on April 26th, 2012.
Last February, 643 organizations from all 50 states supported a strong Conservation Title for the Farm Bill. Let's do it again! Please go to this link to sign your organization on -- http://goo.gl/SyDIi. If you have questions or problems with the online system, please contact Annie Johnson with TNC for assistance (ajohnson@tnc.org).
MTR Rally
A MTR Rally and Lobby Day took place on Capitol Hill yesterday to protest the federal government's lack of action on Mountain Top Removal! Residents from four states severely impacted by mountaintop removal coal mining began sit-ins today (May 6, 2012) in protest of their Congressional Representatives' refusal to protect their communities from the extreme impacts of mountaintop removal. Constituents occupied the offices of Congressmen Nick Rahall (D-WVA), Hal Rogers (R-KY), Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Jimmy Duncan (R-TN). In addition a number of organizations including CWN member Appalachian Voices, Appalachian Rising and I Love Mountains, organized a protest rally near the Senate Office Buildings and Capitol. Click HERE for more information.
Clean Water Network submits climate comments to EPA
Clean Water Network recently submitted public comments on the Environmental Protection Agency's National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change (EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0943). The comments include specific recommendations and suggestions on EPA's document, released March 2012. To access the comments click HERE.
New CWN Fact Sheets:
To access a CWN fact sheet on coal ash please click HERE.
News on Fracking:
House Subcommittee has hearing on Fracking:
http://www.c-span.org/Events/House-Cmte-Examines-Domestic-Regulation-of-39Fracking39/10737431127/
Check out all of the Clean Water events
happening across the country in 2012 by clicking on Clean Water Network's Google Calendar Here:
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