News

1. Washington Post: Proposal Restricts Appeals on Dams

2. EPA Issues Updated Guidelines for Water Reuse

3. EPA Issues Proposed Cooling Water Intake Regulations

4. National Wetlands Awards – Nominate Now

5. Georgia Water Coalition Recruiting New Members – Join Now!

6. Wildlife Resources Division Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy

7. Volvo For Life Awards

8. Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Seeks Executive Director - Columbus

9. Georgia River Network River Celebration Awards - Nominate Now

Group Spotlight

10. Savannah Riverkeeper

Workshops/Conferences/Calendar Items

11. GRN Annual Conference - Milledgeville

12. DNR Board Meeting

13. Project Wet Facilitator Training - Augusta

14. Environmental Education Certification Courses

15. Major Gifts Workshop – Statewide

16. National River Network Meeting To Be Held In Keystone, CO

17. Alliance for Justice Web Training on Lobbying

18. Emerging Issues Along Urban Rural Interfaces - Atlanta

19. ICL Offers Leadership Workshop – Norcross

20. Become a Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Trainer - Atlanta

Policy

21. Metro North Georgia Water Planning District Public Comment

22. SB 460 Update and Action Alert

23. Take Action on the Roadless Rule

Resources

24. Animal Feeding Operations Virtual Information Center On-line

25. CAFO Managing Manure Guidance Document Available

26. NPDES Permits Available Online

27. Stormwater Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination Manual Now Available

28. Statewide Electronic Media Network

29. Enviroscapes Available from Know Your Watershed

30. Series of Water Quality Fact Sheets Available from Extension

31. Buffer Fact Sheets Available

Fundraising

32. Fundraising Deadlines

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1. Washington Post: Proposal Restricts Appeals on Dams, By Blaine Harden

SEATTLE, Oct. 27 -- The Bush administration has proposed giving dam owners the exclusive right to appeal Interior Department rulings about how dams should be licensed and operated on American rivers, through a little-noticed regulatory tweak that could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the hydropower industry. The proposal would prevent states, Indian tribes and environmental groups from making their own appeals, while granting dam owners the opportunity to take their complaints -- and suggested solutions -- directly to senior political appointees in the Interior Department. The proposal, which is subject to public comment but can be approved by the administration without congressional involvement, would use the president's rule-making power to circumvent opposition to the idea among Senate Democrats. They killed an administration-backed energy bill that included similar language, for which the hydropower industry had lobbied. The proposed rule comes at a pivotal time in the history of the hydropower industry. Most privately owned dams were built -- and granted 30-to-50-year federal licenses -- in an era before federal environmental laws required protection for fish and other riverine life. In the next 15 years, licenses for more than half of the country's privately owned dams will come up for renewal. The hydropower industry has complained that to comply with the law and renew their licenses with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, dam owners are being forced to pay large settlements to mitigate the environmental harm that dams cause fish and communities that depend on fish. The typical settlement cost is about $10 million, the industry has said, but some settlements have been as much as $200 million. By allowing the industry the exclusive right to present alternative settlement ideas, the proposed appeal rule could substantially reduce the cost of renewing a dam license.

Dam owners "would be facing an extremely high cost and very uncertain benefits," said Lynn Scarlett, the assistant secretary at Interior for policy, management and budget who approved the proposed rule. "Giving them some ability to voice their concern and present alternatives seemed appropriate." Scarlett said other interest groups, during earlier stages in the licensing process, would retain their right to be heard. The proposal has generated widespread criticism from Democrats in Congress and attorneys general in several states, from Indian tribes and environmental groups and from some high-level officials and scientists in the Interior Department. "As was true of the failed Republican energy bill, the administration's hydro proposal would protect utility profits at the expense of fish, wildlife and conservation values," said Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. "The proposal disregards fundamental rules of procedural fairness, granting business unprecedented preferential status. States, Indian tribes, conservationists and the rest of the public are relegated to a much lesser role."

Indian leaders said the proposal would betray the federal government's legal responsibility to tribes. "This undermines the very trust responsibility that Interior is supposed to be the lead department in protecting," said Tex G. Hall, president of the National Congress of American Indians, the nation's largest tribal advocacy group. "You would think they don't get it, or they are doing it on purpose."

Inside the Interior Department, some lawyers have argued that the appeals proposal - three years in the making before being published last month in the Federal Register -- is unconstitutional because it violates due process and equal protection guarantees. "It is not legal because one party is being treated very differently than another, and that is very much the opposite of what we have been trying to do for years," said one senior Interior Department official who is involved in the dispute and who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. "Suddenly, a licensee can walk away from everybody else and have a private meeting with the assistant secretary and bring in new conditions that haven't been reviewed by anybody before." The department acknowledged on Wednesday that there have been "discussions" among its lawyers on the legality of the proposal, which will be open to public comment until Nov. 8. The department can then, with the approval of the Office of Management and Budget, issue a final rule that has the power of law.

Scientists in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is part of the Interior Department, have also said the proposal would limit the ability of states, tribes and private groups to influence resource management decisions in their own back yards while putting the decisions about dam operations into the hands of political appointees who may not understand the harm dams cause. "It allows industry to go in and speak their piece without having to deal with the concerns of all the other stakeholders along a river," said an Interior Department official who has worked for many years on the dam relicensing process and who asked not to be identified by name, also for fear of retaliation. The hydropower licensing law was written in 1920, and the industry had few problems with it for nearly six decades -- until tribes and environmental groups figured out how to use the law in a way that cost the industry a lot of money. In most nearly every recent relicensing, the industry has been on the defensive. "The process is broken," Julie Kiel, director of dam licensing for Portland General Electric in Oregon, said before a House subcommittee last year. "Almost every hydropower stakeholder wants to see it repaired."

2. EPA Issues Updated Guidelines for Water Reuse

EPA’s Office of Water and Office of Research and Development, in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (U.S. AID), have approved and are now distributing a 2004 Guidelines for Water Reuse Manual (EPA625-R-04/018), which recommend water reuse guidelines, along with supporting information, to help water and wastewater utilities and regulatory agencies, particularly in the U.S. “This updated toolkit will help water managers advance water conservation and sustainability efforts at home and abroad,” said Benjamin Grumbles, Acting Assistant Administrator for Water. The document updates the 1992 Guidelines document by incorporating information on water reuse that has been developed since the 1992 document was issued, including expanded coverage of water reuse issues and practices in other countries. It was developed via an EPA Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Camp Dresser McKee and an Interagency Agreement with U.S. AID, along with extensive contributions by many volunteers.

The updated Guidelines document is being distributed (in both printed and CD formats) by EPA’s Office of Research and Development/Technology Transfer Program as one of their Manuals of Practice. Copies of the updated manual can be ordered via the website www.epa.gov/ttbnrmrl and has been posted in pdf form at http://www.epa.gov/ORD/NRMRL/pubs. See document under Year 2004 . For further information contact Robert Bastian at 202 564 0653. From EPA WaterNews

3. EPA Issues Proposed Cooling Water Intake Regulations
EPA’s Administrator signed a Federal Register Notice proposing a rule to establish location, design, construction and capacity standards for cooling water intake structures at certain existing facilities not already regulated by EPA’s Phase II regulations for large-flow existing power plants. Phases I and II addressed most new facilities and 554 large existing power plants that use more than 90 percent of all cooling water. This proposal addresses additional facilities that, collectively, use less than 10 percent of all water withdrawn from waters of the U.S. for cooling. The proposal also covers new offshore and coastal oil and gas extraction facilities. After the Federal Register Notice is published, you can learn more about this action by visiting EPA’s web site at www.epa.gov/waterscience/316b/ph3.htm.

4. National Wetlands Awards – Nominate Now
Each year the environmental community comes together to honor individuals who have dedicated their time and energy to protecting our nation's wetlands. The 2005 Awards will be given in six categories: Education and Outreach; Science Research; Conservation and Restoration; Landowner Stewardship; State, Tribal, and Local Program Development; and Wetland Community Leader. Nomination forms for the 2005 National Wetlands Awards Program are now available at www.eli.org/nwa/nwaprogram.htm. The deadline for submitting nominations is Dec. 15, 2004. For more information or questions about the National Wetlands Awards Program, please e-mail wetlandsawards@eli.org, or contact Katie Wells at 202-939-3810. From EPA Waternews

5. Georgia Water Coalition Recruiting New Members – Join Now!
The Georgia Water Coalition would like to increase and diversify its list of 92 member organizations. The Coalition especially needs representation from the Ochlocknee, St. Mary’s, Suwannee and Tallapoosa. Its easy to join. There is no fee. Participation in coalition activities takes only as much time as your group wants to give. All you have to do to join is sign the participation statement that says your group agrees with the principles of the Coalition. Visit http://www.gwf.org/gawater/participation.html.

6. Wildlife Resources Division Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy
The Wildlife Resources Division of Georgia Department of Natural Resources has been working on a Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (CWCS) since December 2002. This strategy is intended to guide conservation actions and partnerships to conserve Georgia’s wildlife diversity. Representatives from a wide variety of agencies and organizations have provided input to the planning process.
The Wildlife Resources Division has been holding a series of regional stakeholder meetings to discuss Georgia’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy. The purpose of these meetings is to present information on species and habitats of conservation concern in various regions of the state, discuss threats to wildlife diversity and actions needed to conserve native wildlife diversity in each region, and gain input on specific opportunities for collaboration in research, land protection, habitat restoration, and environmental education. The last meeting will be held November 15, Southeastern Plains Ecoregion - The Lodge at Little Ocmulgee State Park, McRae, GA. The meeting will consist of two sessions, the first lasting from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. and the second lasting from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., in order to accommodate varying schedules of participants. In order to help us estimate the number of attendees at each meeting, we ask that you RSVP by e-mail to Robin Hill at robin_hill@dnr.state.ga.us, indicating the meeting(s) that you plan to attend and the number in your party. Additional information, including directions to each of the meeting locations, can be found at the following website: http://www.gadnr.org/cwcs/.

7. Volvo For Life Awards

The Volvo for Life Awards, a program designed by Volvo Cars of North America, recognize and reward U.S. heroes for their contributions in three areas reflecting Volvo's core values: safety, quality of life, and environment. Nominees are being sought who act beyond the ordinary requirements of their profession or daily routine. Six finalists will be awarded $25,000 for their charity of choice and a trip to the awards ceremony and three winners will receive $50,000 for their charity of choice and a trip to the awards ceremony. In addition to the charitable donation, the grand winner will receive a Volvo for life. All U.S. citizens or legal residents of the U.S. of any age, including U.S. citizens living abroad, are eligible for the award. Nominations must be submitted by January 10, 2005. Visit the website for more information or to access the online nomination form: http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com/cgi-bin/iowa/english/home.html.

8. Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Seeks Executive Director
The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, headquartered in Columbus, GA, seeks an Executive Director to lead day-to-day activities, short and long-term projects and serve as chief spokesperson. Previous experience as ED for non-profit organizations is strongly preferred along with training in natural science, law, land use planning or environmental activism. Contact Bill Green, PO Box 140, Columbus, GA 42903; fax 706-571-6087; or email to bgreen@wcbradley.com with resume and salary requirements.

9. Georgia River Network River Celebration Awards - Nominate Now
Nominations for the 1st Annual Georgia River Network River Celebration Awards will be accepted until December 3 for the categories of Volunteer of the Year, Watershed Group of the Year and River Conservationist of the Year. Visit our homepage at www.garivers.org to submit your nomination.

10. Spotlight on Savannah Riverkeeper

The River Basin

The Savannah River basin includes over 10,000 square miles in three states, Georgia (55%), South Carolina (43%), and North Carolina (2%). The headwaters originate in the Blue Ridge provinces of all three states. As Blue Ridge streams, the headwaters are cold, highly oxygenated, and fast-flowing. The headwaters include the Chattooga River, made (in)famous by the movie Deliverance, the Tallulah River, a mountain stream that has been harnessed to provide energy, the Keowee River, also dammed for energy, and Twelve Mile Creek, a stream with a legacy of PCB pollution. The Keowee and Twelve Mile Creek combine to form the Seneca River in upstate South Carolina, while the Chattooga and the Tallulah join waters to form the Tugaloo River on the border between Georgia and South Carolina. The Tugaloo and the Seneca meet in the upper reaches of Lake Hartwell to form the Savannah. The Savannah and its headwater streams, the Tugaloo and the Chattooga form the entire border between Georgia and South Carolina, from Ellicott Rock in the Chattooga, where the Georgia South Carolina border meets North Carolina, to the barrier islands on the coast.

Reservoirs and Dams

The upper reaches of the Savannah River proper are dominated by reservoirs. In addition to the headwater reservoirs (Jocassie, Keowee, Rabun, Tallulah, Tugaloo, and Toxaway) controlled by power companies, the main stem of the upper Savannah has been inundated by three large reservoirs (Hartwell, Russell, and Clarks Hill, aka Thurmond) built and run by the Corps of Engineers. These reservoirs provide flood control, power, recreation, and the capacity to manage our water supply with some precision. But the physical changes made to provide these benefits have changed the ecosystems drastically, changes that may take centuries if not millennia to re-equilibrate, eliminating numerous species from the basin in the process.

Development near the reservoirs must be accomplished in a way that protects water quality, and control of the shoreline must remain with a regulatory agency with some teeth. To do otherwise will exact a cost not only from the aquatic critters that require high quality water to live in, but also from the human water users downstream, who will have to pay more to clean their water to drinking standards. The Savannah Riverkeeper has been instrumental in thwarting a couple of attempts to turn the reservoirs into real estate resources, but the attempts, of course, continue, and some of the smaller scale attempts have succeeded. Frank Carl, Executive Director and Riverkeeper, said, “After studying the problem, New York City decided that it was cheaper to buy the entire watershed in the Catskill Mountains and prevent development in that watershed, than it was to treat the contaminated water that would result as a result of development.” Dr. Carl continued, “New York City bought protection for their water source. We have it in place already. All we need to do is make sure that it stays in place.”

Below Clarks Hill Dam there are three smaller dams, Stevens Creek Dam (operated by SCE&G), the Augusta Canal Diversion Dam (operated by the City of Augusta), and the New Savannah Bluffs Lock and Dam (ownership and operation are in transition), and the only set of rapids left on the main stem of the River, which are between the last two dams. The New Savannah Bluffs Lock and Dam was built to facilitate barge traffic on the Savannah by the Corps of Engineers in 1937, but barge traffic was a victim of the speed and efficiency of the railroad. Barge traffic continued to decline, and the dam now blocked the passage of anadromous fish up the River to their breeding grounds in the rapids. SRk is still working on an acceptable solution to that problem. Dam removal is not politically popular because the cities of Augusta and North Augusta have become dependent on the regulated water level on their riverfronts. The SRk is fighting for the inclusion of a fish ladder in the funding to repair the dam. Unfortunately, funds have not yet been identified for either repair or a fish ladder. With sufficient delay, funding may become moot as the integrity of the dam deteriorates.

In their drive to rescue the failing barge industry, the Corps short-circuited more than 60 meanders in the coastal plain section of the River. They actually shortened the River by about 40 miles. This activity came much too late to have any effect on barge traffic. The Corps has begun to restore some of the meanders. The early evidence from these restorations is that the water quality is improving because of the extra exposure that the restorations allow to wetlands. And the wetlands are regenerating because the water is feeding them instead of flowing hell-bent to the ocean.

The City of Augusta

At Augusta the River enters its first highly industrialized and densely populated area (the I-85 corridor notwithstanding). As expected, the water quality as the River enters Augusta is better than the quality as it leaves the area, an indicator that not all is well with wastewater treatment in the city. But identifying the sources of the problems is an ongoing challenge.

Augusta exists because the River flows from the piedmont into the coastal plain at Augusta. Since early travel and trade was mostly by water, the rapids that existed at Augusta (known as the Augusta Shoals) were an impediment to water traffic. Besides, the piedmont presented better land travel with fewer swamps to circumnavigate and ridgelines with fewer fordings required. Augusta became that place where trade and travel switched from water to land, a fall line city, so named because of the rapids encountered in the River.

Savannah River Site

No discussion of the Savannah River would be complete without mention of the Savannah River Site, a US Department of Energy nuclear energy research facility just southeast of Augusta. The Savannah River Site was established in 1952 on the South Carolina side of the River to develop nuclear weapons as part of the Cold War. In their rush to dominate in the field of nuclear weapons development, wastes from the process were discarded haphazardly, including radioactive wastes, heavy metal wastes, and volatile organic solvents. These legacy wastes have contaminated ground water and made their way into tributaries of the River. Indeed, the tritium levels in the River downstream from the Savannah River Site are significantly higher than they are upstream of the Site. Monitoring for radioactivity coming off the Site is much more intense than monitoring for heavy metals, but the latter create considerable concern because of the quantities disposed of on the Site over the past 50 years.

The River from Augusta to Savannah

In today’s highly mobile and technological society, the remoteness of the lower River is pleasantly surprising. While there are more than a dozen boat landings on the lower River between Augusta and Savannah, the shoreline is mostly forested and natural. Only two bridges cross the River between Augusta and the I-95 bridge near Savannah. The Savannah National Wildlife Refuge extends the remoteness as the River approaches Savannah, protecting the River from urban encroachment. However, that serenity is violated rather suddenly as the Hoolihan Bridge divides the Wildlife Refuge from industrial Port Wentworth followed closely by the bustling Savannah Harbor with its giant cargo ships. Indeed, the proximity of these two entities, the harbor and the wildlife refuge, has given rise to one of the most hotly debated issues about the River. The question seems to be: Can the harbor be deepened without irreversibly harming the wildlife refuge by increasing the salinity of the freshwater marshes of the refuge? A second question raised by the proposal to deepen the harbor is: How deep is the freshwater aquifer in this area and will further deepening threaten the aquifer with direct saltwater intrusion? The discussion of these questions continues as the stakeholders continue to meet. Attempts are being made to collect data that will help answer the questions.

Coastal Plain Meander

The Savannah Riverkeeper just completed its Second Annual Coastal Plain Meander, a comfortable trip on a large pontoon boat from Augusta to Savannah. The purpose of the trip is primarily educational. Passengers joined and departed during the leisurely four-day trip. For overnight stays, most camped at the boat landings, but some took advantage of more comfortable accommodations along the way. This year the trip was accompanied by unusually high water as excess water from the hurricanes was being released from the reservoirs upstream, a reminder of just how connected a watershed is within its bounds. The 2005 Coastal Plain Meander will be held again in October, but the weekend has not yet been selected.

Article thanks to Savannah Riverkeeper.

11. GRN Annual Conference
Mark Your Calendars! The 2005 Georgia River Network Conference will be held February 18 -20 at Georgia College and State University. Watch the website at www.garivers.org for more details.

12. DNR Board Meeting
The next DNR Board meeting is December 7. For details on DNR Board Meetings, visit http://www.gadnr.org/ (bottom left corner of home page). For an archive of the Georgia Environmental Council’s reports on board meetings, visit www.garivers.org and click on advocacy.

13. Project Wet Facilitator Training
Conserve Water Georgia: Georgia Project WET Facilitator Workshop

Friday, November 19 - Saturday, November 20

Hosted by: Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy - Phinizy Swamp Nature Park

Augusta, GA, www.phinizyswamp.org. Join us for this exciting 2-day workshop focused on Water Conservation. Learn from the experts why conserving water is important, how you can do it, how Georgians feel about conservation practices and what community-based programs are working to reduce water consumption. You will become certified as a Project WET facilitator, a member of the State training team for a national environmental education program! The workshop will begin at 10:00 AM on Friday, and finish at 5:00 PM on Saturday. 1 PLU/SDU credit will be available. Upon completion of this workshop, you will be certified to teach Project WET to other adults through educator workshops. As a certified facilitator, you will be asked to conduct one teacher workshop per year. Registration fee: $65.00 for Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia members and $70.00 for nonmembers. Includes the Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide, the Conserve Water curriculum, facilitator notebooks, educational resources, lunch and snacks both days. Space is limited, and you must be able to attend the entire workshop to be certified. Confirmation information (including directions and workshop details) will be emailed or faxed to all registered participants. Participants are responsible for their own lodging - hotel information/suggestions will be included with the confirmation packet. Questions and registration, call 404-675-1638.

14. 2005 Georgia EE Certification Course Schedule
The January – April, 2005 EE Certification course schedule is now available.
2004-2005 Course Schedule / Registration Forms www.eeingeorgia.org , click on calendar. Plus, don’t forget to register for the last course of 2004!
Core Course 3: Professional Responsibilities of the Environmental Educator
December 3-5, 2004 (Friday - Sunday)
State Botanical Garden of Georgia at University of Georgia, Athens, GA
20 hours / 2 PLU, Registration deadline: Postmarked by November 23, 2004

15. Major Gift Workshop
Does your organization need a major gift program…yesterday? Would you like to know how to continue a major gift program before, during or after a capital campaign? Or do you want to advance your fundraising career, sooner rather than later, by increasing your knowledge of major gifts? If so, then our new workshop is for you. “MAJOR GIFTS TODAY!” is a free workshop that explores the techniques, tools and talents needed to build and sustain a major gift program. Topics covered include: the definite “major gifts” , the use of a gift table to determine the level of “major gifts” for your organization, important elements of a successful major gift fundraising program, four key approaches to help you raise major gifts, how to “make the ask”, and the importance of stewardship to major gifts. By drawing upon the experience of FundraisingINFO.com’s founding partners, this workshop goes beyond theory and philosophy and uses real life examples to discuss what really works! Seating for this new workshop is very limited – so register SOON! Don’t want to come alone? Invite a colleague. Everyone is sure to benefit from this exciting event. You can register online at www.fundraisinginfo.com/georgiadecember.htm. If you would like more information, contact Cheryl Mott or Missy Ryan at 1-877-637-5889.

December 1st Macon Macon State College

December 7th Athens UGA Center for Continuing Education

December 9th Carrollton Location To Be Determined

December 14th Atlanta FundraisingINFO.com

December 16th Gwinnett Gwinnett Technical College

16. National River Network Meeting To Be Held In Keystone, CO
The River Network’s National River Rally 2005 will take place on May 20-24 at Keystone Resort in Keystone, Colorado, bringing together hundreds of river and watershed organizations from throughout the nation and beyond. Check out the National River Rally website at www.rivernetwork.org/rally for information on scholarships, group discounts and fees. The brochure and registration/application will be available on the website in early January 2005.

17. Alliance for Justice Web Training on Lobbying

Join the Alliance for Justice in its continuing series of online trainings for nonprofits as we explore the rules for lobbying by 501(c)(3)public charities. Want to know what your 501(c)(3) organizations can accomplish but don't have time to attend a training outside of the office? Sit at your desktop in your office or home and join the Alliance for Justice for a virtual lobbying training. This one-hour web-based training will cover the rules for 501(c)(3) lobbying activity, including lobbying limits, definitions of lobbying, and some notable lobbying exceptions. November 30th at 2 p.m. EDT, (1 pm CST, 12 noon MST, 11 am PST,10 am Alaska, 9 am Hawaii) You will need a computer with internet access and working computer speakers in order to participate. Questions will be taken through an online chat mechanism, but not through voice, so you do not need a microphone. Once you've registered, we'll email instructions on how to log in to the training. COST: $30 To register online, click on or paste in the following link: http://www.afj.org/nonprofit/workshops_events. If paying by check or AMEX, register directly with Robin Powers at rpowers@afj.org or 202/822-6070.

18. Emerging Issues Along Urban Rural Interfaces: Linking Science and Society

To be held in Atlanta, March 13-16, 2005

Visit http://www.sfws.auburn.edu/urbanruralinterfaces/.

19. ICL Offers Leadership Workshop - Norcross
Shared Leadership in Challenging Times, Feb. 3-6, 2005 in Norcross, GA

This is a program for a team of staff and board leaders who want to strengthen their organization and set a course for bringing their organization to the next level in its development. Preference given to staff and board teams from organizations in the Great Lakes region and the Southeast U.S. This program helps leaders build effective organizations in a changing world, engage new people with diverse perspectives and create successful partnerships. During the workshop, leaders will develop the abilities they need to effectively lead and govern their groups. Participants in this three-day Shared Leadership I Workshop will: *Enhance their personal leadership skills *Work with their leadership team to assess and strengthen their organization *Use tools for understanding difference in perspective or approach as a resource for their organizations. Each participating organization will receive consulting and coaching support in implementing their action plan. To download an application or find out more, visit www.icl.org or contact Brad Webb at 406-582-1838.

20. Become a Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Trainer
Georgia Adopt-A-Stream will be conducting a Train the Trainer workshop on December 14 at the Georgia Environmental Organization’s office in Atlanta. If you are interested in learning how to train citizens in your watershed on how to monitor streams, contact Georgia Adopt-A-Stream at 404-675-1636 or 1639 for workshop requirements and registration.

21. Metro North Georgia Water Planning District Public Comment
The Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District has received requests from Gwinnett and Paulding counties to modify the Long-term Wastewater Management Plan. The District is currently seeking public review and comment on the proposed amendments. After consideration of public comments the District Board Executive Committee will determine whether the amendments will be incorporated into the Long-term Wastewater Management Plan. The public comment period will conclude on November 19, 2004. Please provide any comments that you may have on these proposed amendments to: Water Resource Management Plans, 40 Courtland Street, NE, Atlanta, GA 30303, Fax: (404) 463-3254, rbrownlow@atlantaregional.com, Questions: (404) 463-3260

Proposed Amendment #1: Gwinnett County has requested a minor amendment to the Long-term Wastewater Management Plan to allow a temporary increase in discharge to the Chattahoochee River from the F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center. This temporary increase (9 MGD) will be used until the pipeline to Lake Lanier is constructed and in service. Once the pipeline is in service the temporary discharge at the Crooked Creek location from the expanded Hill Plan will cease until such time as the Crooked Creek Plant is expanded as indicated in Appendix B, page B-25. The increased flows requested by this amendment are already contained in the plan. The amendment only involves an interim change in schedule.

Proposed Amendment #2: Paulding County has requested that the Long-term Wastewater Management Plan be amended to state that the expansion of the Paulding Coppermine LAS during 2006 to 2010 and during 2011 to 2020 will be a point source discharge to Mill Creek instead of expansion of the LAS. Additionally, this amendment requests that the plant expansion during 2006 to 2010 and during 2011 to 2020 be increased from 1.5 MGD to 2.0 MDG during each period to yield a total plant capacity of 5.5 MGD (1.5 MGD LAS and 4.0 MDG point source discharge) by 2020. With this amendment the 2030 wastewater flows for the county remain constant, and the plant decommission schedule of 2021-2030 will remain as written in the plan.

22. SB 460 Update
At the DNR Board meeting on Oct. 27 in Brunswick, the Board approved a motion by Tom Wheeler (5th District Board Member) to pass last minute revisions to the SB 460 Rules. The revisions removed stream buffer protections from headwater streams, and were problematic because no one on the Board or the EPD staff received his proposed rules prior to the meeting and no one was able to fully review the rules prior to the vote; several DNR Board members were confused about what they were voting on; this last minute substitution circumvented the public involvement process and disrespected the extensive stakeholder process that produced the draft rules presented by EPD; and the rules may have not been consistent with or allowed by the erosion and sedimentation state law. For more background information on this issue visit: http://www.garivers.org/sb460.

Since then, there have been new developments regarding the SB 460 rules that the DNR Board voted on. Due to concerns over the legality of those rules, the Board has voted on a new set of rules. The proposed rules are now out for public review and comment. To view visit: http://environet.dnr.state.ga.us/7.

The newly proposed rules remove four exemptions to stream buffer protections that were added by Tom Wheeler in his last minute revisions. This is good news. The bad news is that, in the new rules, streams that flow only after a rainfall event will be exempt from buffer protections and a variance will not be required to remove buffers from those streams. These streams play an important role in controlling flooding, and buffers on these streams help ensure that stormwater is filtered before it reaches the stream. Under the newly proposed rules, only streams with some level of base flow or base flow plus stormwater runoff will be afforded buffer protections and require a variance if the property owner wishes to remove the buffer.

This change is essentially an attempt to re-define state waters, all of which, we believe, are currently afforded buffer protection under state law. Therefore, the Georgia Water Coalition opposes this change.

The final steps that will take place before these rules are adopted: The public comment period, where the public can review the rules now out for comment and make written comments to EPD by Dec. 3; a public hearing on Nov. 19, where EPD will solicit comments from the public on the rules out for public comment; and the DNR Board Meeting on Dec. 7 where the board will be briefed on written comments and comments received at the public hearing, and then vote on final adoption of the rules.

What to do:

1) Call your DNR Board Member. Tell them you do not agree with weakening protection of Georgia’s waterways.

2) Call or write/email your state Representative, state Senator, and Gov. Sonny Perdue. Tell them the DNR Board does not have the authority to make statutory changes and has overstepped its bounds in rule making.

3) Attend the public hearing on Friday, November 19, 2004, at 9 a.m. The hearing will take place at EPD’s Training Room, Suite 116, 4244 International Boulevard, Atlanta. (Call EPD at 404-675-6240 for directions and additional information.)

4) WRITE a COMMENT letter and send to EPD by Dec 3.

5) Attend the DNR Board Meeting on Dec 7, where the Board will vote to adopt these rules.

23. Take Action On the Roadless Rule
Your help is needed to protect rivers and watersheds in national forests across the United States! Contact the U.S. Forest Service and tell them to abandon the Bush Administration’s proposal to repeal the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Send your letter today! The deadline for public comments is November 15, 2004. After two decades of debate and unprecedented public participation, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule was adopted in January 2001 in order to protect 58.5 million acres of our nation’s national forests from road building, logging, drilling, and mining. Roadless areas house and preserve more than 2000 major watersheds that provide clean drinking water to over 60 million people nationwide. They provide safe habitats for fish, wildlife, and over 1600 endangered or threatened plant and animal species, including several of the last remaining thriving populations of salmon, trout, wolves, and grizzly bears. In addition, these areas offer countless recreational opportunities such as fishing, rafting, hiking, and cross-country skiing. However, the roadless areas of our country now face an uncertain future and imminent threat of destruction.

On July 12, 2004, the Bush Administration announced its plan to abolish the Roadless Rule. If the rule is repealed, the millions of acres of national forest land that currently provide clean drinking water to millions of Americans and habitats for hundreds of species will be at risk to destructive road-building, logging and drilling. Under the Administration’s plan, governors will be able to file petitions with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) detailing how they want the roadless areas in their states managed. But once filed, there is no guarantee that USDA’s forest management arm, which is headed by a former timber industry lobbyist, would approve those petitions.

The existing Roadless Rule is a reasonable and well-balanced plan to protect the last remaining acreage of our national forests from destruction. For example, it allows for roads to be built in order to ensure public safety and fight fires. To date, the U.S. Forest Service has received 2.5 million public comments in support of the Roadless Rule, making it the country’s most popular conservation initiative ever.

TAKE ACTION Today! Write the U.S. Forest Service and your elected officials and strongly urge them to act in the interest of our nation's rivers and forests. Urge them to keep the Roadless Rule intact! Visit American Rivers Action Center at www.amrivers.org to take action today! Public comments are due by November 15, 2004. Thank you for Wodder, President, American Rivers

24. Animal Feeding Operations Virtual Information Center On-line
EPA has developed a comprehensive internet guide to provide quick access to livestock agricultural information in the US. This site is intended to be a single point of reference to obtain links to state regulations, web sites, permits and policies, nutrient management information, livestock and trade associations, federal web sites, best management practices and controls, cooperative extension and land grant universities, research, funding, and information on environmental issues. You can search website at www.epa.gov/npdes/afovirtualcenter. From EPA WaterNews

25. CAFO Managing Manure Guidance Document Now Available

This guidance document is intended to supplement the NPDES Permit Writers' Guidance Manual for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. It provides additional technical information for owners, operators, technical service providers, consultants, and permit authorities on how to carry out EPA's revised regulatory requirements for NPDES permitting of CAFOs. It also contains information on voluntary technologies and management practices that may be beneficial to CAFO operators. http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/afo/info.cfm#manure. From EPA WaterNews

26. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permits Available On-line
EPA is implementing a multi-year project to scan copies of major NPDES permits and make them easily available to the public on theirwebsite. You can now find over 2000 NPDES individual and general permits at www.epa.gov/npdes/permitsearch. From EPA WaterNews

27. Stormwater Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination Manual Now Available

The Center for Watershed Protection and the University of Alabama, under a grant from EPA, have produced a comprehensive manual for municipalities that must develop and implement programs to find and correct illicit discharges to their storm sewer systems. The new manual includes detailed information on creating and managing a program, and a comprehensive guide to field and lab protocols. The new manual and supporting materials can be downloaded free of charge at www.cwp.org/idde_verify.htm.

28. Enviroscapes Available From Know Your Watershed
The Conservation Technology Information Center’s Know Your Watershed Program is awarding several EnviroScape® models to local watershed groups to be used to demonstrate the effects of water pollution and promote watershed awareness. The Watershed/Nonpoint Source model demonstrates how different land uses affect water quality, and it can be used as a springboard to teach about water pollution issues and the watershed approach to solving water quality problems. More information on the model is available at www.enviroscapes.com/. The award application is available on the Know Your Watershed web site at www.ctic.purdue.edu/kyw/model, and must be submitted by Dec. 1, 2004.

29. Statewide Electronic Media Network
The Georgia Association of Broadcasters offers a statewide electronic media network (radio and T.V.) to nonprofits, government agencies and other qualifying organizations at costs that are a fraction of typical media buys. We produce, duplicate and distribute the commercial advertising to all of our member stations, and we offer the same service in Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. Call Mac Lorimer at 770-395-7200 or e-mail lorimerm@gab.org to learn more.

30. Series of Water Quality Fact Sheets Available from Extension

To view the set of fact sheets in the Water Quality in Georgia Series visit http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubs/ and scroll to Water. The series includes fact sheets on Watershed Assessment in Georgia, Georgia's Water Quality Standards, On-Site Wastewater Management Systems and Their Environmental Impacts, Water Protection in Georgia, Urban Storm Water Management in Georgia, and Bacterial Source Tracking.

31. Buffer Fact Sheets Available

Visit http://outreach.ecology.uga.edu/tools/riparian_buffers.html.

32. Fundraising Deadlines
The following foundations are either new to our list of grants or have upcoming deadlines to submit proposals. To view grant makers that give throughout the year, visit our website at www.garivers.org and click on “Grants”.

Fund for Wild Nature supports projects premised on effective and intelligent biocentric strategies that focus on issues not receiving adequate (national) attention, and that may not be fundable through mainstream sources. We seek proposals with visionary, radical, and realistic goals to create tangible change. We always look for opportunities to foster cross-movement alliances and generate ‘ripple effects’ which may lead to other campaigns for long-term, systemic change. All proposals must be highly cost-effective. We rarely fund proposals from organizations with annual budgets greater than US $250,000. The Fund prioritizes efforts to save native species and wild ecosystems. Broader areas we support include: wilderness defense; protecting biodiversity and ecosystem integrity; teaching the action-based ethics of biocentrism; efforts to reduce human population growth and commodity consumption; cultural arts that transform awareness and encourage action; exposing and opposing the anti-ecological, anti-wilderness ‘wise use’ agenda; and indigenous peoples’ activism. Visit http://www.fundwildnature.org/. Deadline: November 19, 2004.

Tiffany & Co. Foundation supports nonprofit organizations dedicated to the arts and the environment. The Foundation's specific focus areas are crafts and arts education, art preservation and conservation, decorative and visual arts, and environmental conservation. Nonprofit organizations throughout the United States are eligible to apply. Letters of inquiry are accepted year-round. The next deadline for submitting full proposals is November 15, 2004. Visit http://www.tiffanyandcofoundation.org/index_home.html.

The Toyota Tapestry grant program, sponsored by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. and administered by the National Science Teachers Association, will award 50 grants of up to $10,000 each and a minimum of 20 "mini-grants" of $2,500 each are available to K-12 teachers of science residing in the United States or U.S. territories. The deadline for submitting proposals is January 19, 2005. Visit http://www.nsta.org/programs/tapestry/program.htm.

The Community Foundation funds projects in the 23 county Metro Atlanta area. Visit www.atlcf.org. Grant deadlines is January 28, 2005.

The Streisand Foundation primarily provides support to U.S.-based nonprofit organizations that are working on a national level. The Foundation focuses on environmental issues, women's issues including health-related concerns, civil liberties and democratic values, civil rights and race relations, and AIDS issues. Support is also provided to Los Angeles-based nonprofit organizations for children's and youth-related issues with a focus on the economically disadvantaged. The Foundation is accepting letters of inquiry between September 1 and December 1, 2004. Visit the above website for more information. www.barbarastreisand.com/bio_Streisand_foundation.html.

World Wildlife Fund announces a request for proposals for the Southeastern Rivers and Streams Support Fund. The deadline for Yearly Grant submissions is December 1, 2004. Grant decisions are anticipated to be made by December 15th with decisions announced on December 17th. Funds are anticipated to be distributed in the first 6 weeks of 2005. Southeastern Rivers and Streams Support Fund, in its third year, awards funds to local and regional watershed groups, grassroots citizen initiatives and cooperative aquatic science projects that work to protect, restore, and champion watersheds and aquatic species in the Cumberland, Tennessee and Mobile Basins. Previously funded projects ranged from sewer drainage signage, water monitoring, workshops addressing water quality to species reintroduction and stakeholder meetings. For the application and guidelines, contact Judy Takats at 615.279.1814 or judy.takats@wwfus.org.

Corps Reform Network Fall 2004 Request for Proposals The deadline for proposals is November 19, 2004. Award decisions will be announced by December 17. During this funding cycle, we will be awarding up to $14,000. Of this amount, we are targeting $10,000 for groups working on projects in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Our goal is to award at least $10,000 to groups working on projects in those regions. Ultimately, however, funding decisions will be made based on the highest quality proposals. Should you have any questions or require any assistance, please contact Tim Elder at National Wildlife Federation734-769-3351 ext. 25 or email eder@nwf.org. Applicants may download and complete the Application Form from the Corps Reform Network web site (http://corpsreform.amrivers.org). Contact Kelly Miller (kmiller@amrivers.org) if you need assistance accessing the web site or downloading the files.

Norman Foundation supports efforts that strengthen the ability of communities to determine their own economic, environmental and social well-being, and that help people control those forces that affect their lives. Support is provided for efforts to promote economic justice and development through community organizing; to prevent the disposal of toxics in communities, and to link environmental issues with economic and social justice; and to promote civil rights by fighting discrimination and violence and working for equity. Current civil rights priorities are education equity and criminal justice reform. Letters of inquiry are due December 1, 2004 in the area of environmental justice, March 15, 2005 in the area of economic justice, and July 15, 2005 in the area of civil rights. Nonprofit organizations throughout the Unites States are eligible to apply. Visit http://www.normanfdn.org/.

National Safe Boating Council: Local Recreational Boating Safety Grant Program
The goal of the National Safe Boating Council's Local Recreational Boating Safety Grant Program is to reduce boating accidents and enhance the boating experience by distributing grants for local recreational boating safety programs. Grants of up to $1,000 are available for projects including, but not limited to, improving the quality or quantity of essential safe boating services or materials; building on and supporting the North American Safe Boating Campaign to enhance safe boating at the local level; developing innovative ideas that can be replicated by groups in other areas to improve boating safety; providing an opportunity to improve boating safety for specialized activities; and developing children's programs or adaptive boating for the disabled. Nonprofit organizations, noncommercial organizations, volunteer boating groups, and local government agencies throughout the U.S. are eligible to apply. The application deadline is January 25, 2005. Visit http://www.safeboatingcouncil.org/rbs.htm.

BoatU.S. Foundation Makes Funding Available For Clean Water Grants

The BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is seeking nonprofit groups to help educate mariners about good environmental habits with grants of up to $4,000 for clean boating projects. Clean Water grants are designed to educate boaters on issues such as petroleum pollution prevention, pumpout education, and littering prevention. Although all clean boating education proposals will be considered, the 2005 "focus topic" is on reducing the spread of aquatic nuisance species - with extra consideration given to proposals that address the issue. Last year's grant program received 62 proposals; of these, 19 projects in 15 states were selected for funding. To view previous grant projects, learn more about aquatic nuisance species, or download a 2005 application, please visit http://www.BoatUS.com/Cleanwater/grants. Applications must be e-mailed or postmarked by midnight February 1, 2005.

The Abelard Foundation, a member of the Common Counsel consortium of foundations and donors, is committed to social change activities that reflect the communities in which they are based; expand community control over economic, social and environmental decisions affecting the communities' well-being; and build a strong informed voice on public policy issues. The Common Counsel reviews proposals submitted to the Abelard Foundation West from nonprofit organizations located in the Northern Rockies, the Great Basin, the Northwest, the Southwest and California. The next application deadline for these areas is January 15, 2005. The Foundation's eastern office reviews applications for organizations east of the Mississippi. The eastern office accepts proposals throughout the year. Visit the above website for more information. http://www.commoncounsel.org/pages/foundation.html

Office of Water Announces Request for Proposals Supporting the Biological Criteria Program OW’s Biological Criteria Program has announced the availability of funds and requested proposals to support research to support the development and implementation of biological assessments and criteria. State water pollution control agencies, Federally recognized Indian Tribal Governments, institutions of higher education, interstate agencies, and other public or nonprofit private agencies, institutions, organizations and individuals are eligible to apply. EPA will accept proposals until January 1, 2005. You can learn more about this Request for Proposals by visiting EPA?s web site at www.epa.gov/waterscience/biocriteria/rfp.pdf.

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