My Internship With the EPA
The EPA
• Region 3 “Mid- Atlantic”- responsible within the states of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
• Office in Philadelphia
Water!
• Water Department– Administers programs
authorized by the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act
– I was in the Water Protection Division (WPD)
What I Did
• Worked on the Integrated Watershed Strategy and Targeted Watershed Programs
• Attended seminars on wetland delineation
• Attended a meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Hydric Soils Committee
• Helped Organize the 9th Annual Wetlands and Watershed Workshop
• Attended a Grasses, Sedges and Rushes Identification class
R3 Integrated Watershed Strategy (IWS)
Vision Statement
Strategic alignment and implementation of cross-programmatic activities on a
watershed basis to accelerate results, improve efficiencies and account for
environmental improvements.
February 2005
March 2005
May – July 2005
July – September
2005
October – December
2005
February – April 2006
April – June 2006
June –July 2006
1st Team Meeting
Track Division Activity
Name Group
Team Mtgs
Id’d Name
Activities
Barriers
Timeline for Development of Integrated Watershed Strategy
MAC
Briefing
Team Mtgs
Id’d Programmatic
Indicators
Assessed Data Gaps
Inventoried Existing Data Sets
Team Mtgs
Developed WPRI from
Programmatic Indicators
Team Mtgs
Identified ReVA
&
Combined Programmatic
Indicators
Write IWS
&
Brief
WPD & EAID
Management
Finish
Draft IWS & Focus on
Target Watershed
(Where I come in)
• Watershed Protection Resource Index (WPRI)– The “universal tool”
developed
• Next Step: Targeted Watershed Program– Select a watershed to
use as an example• The Monocacy
Watershed
Air Human Health Water 8 or 12 Digit HUCs
Public Water IntakesLand
Percent Forest Habitat - Interior Proportion of Stream with Riparian Forest Percent WetlandsToxics N/ADemographics Percent of Population with Low Income Percent Population 65+ Percent of Population Under 5Plant/Animal Species Native Aquatic Species Abundance Native Terrestrial Species Abundance Threatened & Endangered Aquatic Species Threatened & Endangered Terrestrial Species
WPRI Receptor or Resource Indicators
Air Ozone Design Value PM 2.5 Design Value Nitrogen Deposition Sulfur Deposition Water Total Nitrogen in Streams Total Phosphorous in Streams 303d Stream Miles Nitrate in Groundwater Land Ag on Steep Slopes Proportion Ag/Urban Land Cover Road Crossings per Stream Length
Toxics TRI Pre-1979 Housing Demographics Population Growth Population Density Plant/Animal Species Exotic Aquatic Species Exotic Terrestrial Species
WPRI Stressor Indicators
Stressors
Re
so
urc
es
High QualityLow Threat
(HL)
DegradedRestorable
(DR)
HighlyImpacted
(HI)
High QualityHigh Vulnerability
(HH)43
21
43
21
43
21
Ranked Watershed “Groupings”
43
21
High
High
Low
WPRI – Regional Watershed Assessment Results
What EPA programs can work here?WPD - Non Point Source Program,EAID - Wetlands, HSCD - Remedial
Wetland Delineation
• The 1987 Army Corps of Engineers Manual– Requires:
• Hydrology• Hydrophytic Vegetation• Hydric Soils
• Got Food Poisioning during the 2nd day
Mid-Atlantic Hydric Soils Committee
• Members work together to pursue and identify important research needs and to establish a collection of information to better identify hydric soils in the field.
• Main Focus: Regionalization of the 87 Manual – Too Old/South-east Bias
9th Annual Wetlands and Watershed Workshop
• Atlantic City, NJ– Monday October 23rd-Thursday the 26th
• http://wetlandsworkgroup.org/wetreg9/9th_workshop.htm
• Main Topics:– Wetland Restoration and Creation: Innovative
Technologies– Design and Effects on Hydrology and Plant Diversity
in Aquatic Environments– Discussion of the Implications of the Recent
Supreme Court Decision
Conclusion
• I learned a lot.
• Bureaucracies can be very frustrating
• Overall, it was interesting to see the current in the policy side of things, while also doing some work in the field.
• The Supreme Court decision also added something extra.
Top Related