Oct. 18 marked the 30th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act and the proclamation of the Year of Clean Water. A celebration of the landmark legislation and the successful programs being implemented across the country was held on the shores of the Potomac River, just outside of Washington, D.C. in Alexandria, Va.
The recurring theme of the numerous presentations made by EPA Deputy Administrator Linda Fisher, Rep. James Moran (D-Va.), and America’s Clean Water Foundation Chair Robbi Savage was the importance of local government involvement in the success of any environmental restoration or protection project.
“Through EPA partnerships with the National Association of Counties … thousands of local government officials are gaining a new appreciation for how their planning and zoning decisions affect aquatic resources — and how they can participate or lead watershed protection efforts,” Fisher said.
The event was held at the headquarters of the Alexandria Seaport Foundation (ASF). ASF is a group that coordinates and provides educational opportunities for adults, students, and at-risk youth. In 2000, ASF was awarded a Five Star Restoration Challenge Grant from NACo to restore wetlands along the Potomac River.
The Five Star Restoration Challenge Grant Program is a competitive grant program that provides seed money for locally-based environmental restoration projects. For information on how to apply for a Five Star Restoration Challenge Grant, see the announcement below.
NACo recently met with EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Tracy Mehan to discuss how counties have benefited from the Five Star Program. Counties have restored wetlands and streams through this non-regulatory program and helped the nation increase the quality and quantity of wetlands and other waters of the United States.
Since 1995, NACo has had a formal partnership with EPA to provide technical assistance and outreach to local governments on a host of water issues such as wetlands and watershed protection, wastewater management, and drinking water protection.
Working with EPA, NACo strives to be the vehicle of information, serving as a direct pipeline to local government officials and their staffs across the country on a range of water issues covered by the Clean Water Act and other water-related legislation.
Oct. 18 also marked the first of what will become the annual National Water Monitoring Day. Volunteer monitors, water quality professionals, students, the public, and government leaders will test their local waters for key pollution-monitoring indicators such as temperature and water clarity, among other factors.
Coupled with an extensive outreach factor, the goal of the event is to: educate the public about watersheds, pollution and the importance of monitoring:
- build a better collaboration between agency professionals and volunteer water monitors
- generate “snapshot” data, and
- celebrate the role of volunteers and the accomplishments of the Clean Water Act.
(For more information on NACo’s Environmental Programs and the Five Star Restoration program, contact Jason Shedlock, community services associate, at (202) 942-4252 or jshedloc@naco.org. To learn more about the Year of Clean Water and the National Water Monitoring Day, visit www.yearofcleanwater.org.)
