The next meeting of the TTWG will be held on Wednesday, February 16 from 9:00 am – 11:00 am. Please contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for the Zoom meeting link.
2022 Work Group meetings schedule: iPCB/TSCA – First Wednesday of each month @ 10 am (next mtg. March 2) Education and Outreach – Second Tuesday of every other month @ 11 am (next mtg. March 8) Tech Track – Third Wednesday of each month @ 9 am (March mtg. on the 16th) Other work groups – as needed
The next meeting of the SRRTTF will be Wednesday, February 23 @ 8:30 am Task Force meetings are usually held the fourth Wednesday of each month but all meetings are subject to change. Contact Lara Floyd (email above) for all meeting information and to join.
The US DOJ filed 2 motions in US District Court regarding the Washington Water Quality Standards Litigation.
EPA has decided to propose protective Human Health Criteria for Washington’s surface waters that reflect the Agency’s commitment to apply sound science in administering the federal Clean Water Act.
The agency is committed to working with Washington State to protect vital water resources, ensuring that Human Health Criteria protect people who consume fish from Washington’s waters, including tribes with treaty-protected subsistence fishing rights. To that end, within nine months from the date the Court grants EPA’s request to hold the case in abeyance, EPA will formally propose protective federal criteria for Washington that would replace the less stringent criteria EPA approved in the prior administration.
EPA will be communicating early and often with tribes, elected officials, stakeholders/NGOs and the general public about progress and opportunities to comment during the rulemaking process.
Ecology is offering nearly $312 million in financial assistance for 108 high priority clean water projects across Washington state. The total includes approximately $22 million in Centennial Clean Water Program grants, $1.6 million in Clean Water Act Section 319 Program grants, $35 million in Stormwater Financial Assistance Program grants, and $254 million in Clean Water State Revolving Fund loans and forgivable loans.
To ensure that funds were directed to the highest priority projects, our water quality specialists evaluated and scored all eligible project proposals. Scores were compiled, and a statewide priority list was developed. Projects offered funding are based upon the priority list, the type of project, and the funding source.
Under this link you can find sections of photos, documents, etc. The Documents section includes EPA’s report from its 2019 Site Evaluation that provides data tables, Removal Management Levels, and some of the aroclor “fingerprint” data.
Also, in follow up to a question asked at the Task Force meeting, Brooks Stanfield, the on site coordinator, provided the Removal Management Level for PCBs in soil — 94,000 ug/kg.
Upcoming SRRTTF work group meetings: November 3 –PMF meeting at 1 pm November 3 –Funding meeting at 2 pm November 4 – iPCB/TSCA meeting at 10 am November 10 – Education and Outreach meeting at 10 am
The next Task Force meeting will be held on December 2, 2020 at 8:30 am Contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for more meeting information and to join.
There will be a Tech Track work group meeting Monday, October 5 from 10:00 am to noon. Please contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for the Zoom meeting information.
Here are upcoming SRRTTF and work group meetings for June:
June 3 – TSCA work group conference call at 10:00 am – call in number: (605) 313-5141, 723394# June 3 – Fish Sampling Zoom meeting at 1:30 pm June 9 – Education and Outreach work group remote meeting at 10:00 am June 24 – Task Force Zoom meeting at 8:30 am Contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for Zoom meeting information
Additionally, Doug Krapas with the TSCA work group asked me to share the following information because the file size was too large to email directly. Here is a report on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Workshop on Improving Alignment of Chemicals and Waste Management Policy which occurred on February 3, 2020 at the OECD in Paris, France. It was organized by the Joint Meeting of the Chemicals Committee and Working Party on Chemicals, Pesticides and Biotechnology and the Working Party on Resource Productivity and Waste. OECD workshop Summary Record and List of OECD workshop Participants
There will be a meeting to discuss revisions to the MOA on Friday, April 10 at 10 am. Here is the information below to join and the meeting documents that will be discussed:
LimnoTech has set up the following ZOOM meeting from 1:00 – 2:30 pm PST to finalize the long-term monitoring approach for recommendation to the full SRRTTF this month.
See below for meeting details: Topic: TTWG/Fish WG Meeting Time: Apr 8, 2020 01:00 PM Pacific Standard Time (US and Canada)
One tap mobile +17207072699,,935033741# US Dial by your location +1 720 707 2699 US Meeting ID: 935 033 741 Find your local number: https://limno.zoom.us/u/aData
The next meeting of the SRRTTF Technical Track and Fish Work group is:
Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2020 Time: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Please bring a brown bag lunch) Location: Spokane Department of Ecology office, 4601 N. Monroe St., Spokane – large conf. room
The next meeting of the Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force is:
Date: Wednesday, February 26, 2020 Time: 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Location: Liberty Lake Sewer & Water District Office 22510 E. Mission Avenue Liberty Lake, WA 99019 Click here for a map
To attend by Webex and phone (all please register using the link below): (Click here to join the online event.)
After your request has been approved, you’ll receive instructions for joining.
Upcoming work group meetings: (conf. call in number 605-313-5141; 723394#) March 3 – Tech Track/Fish work group mtg. from 10 am – 2 pm (Dept. of Ecology office, Spokane) March 4 – TSCA conf. call at 10 am March 10 – Education and Outreach mtg.at 10 am (Spokane Reg. Health District) contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for more information
Overview of the Terry Husseman Account (THA) Funding
Opportunity
THA
grants support locally sponsored on-the-ground projects that restore or enhance
the natural environment. Typical projects address water quality issues and fish
and wildlife habitat protection or enhancement in or adjacent to waters of the
state, such as streams, lakes, wetlands, or the ocean.
Projects that develop and implement aquatic land geographic
information systems (GIS) that support restoration or enhancement of the
natural environment are also eligible and may be proposed.
On-the-ground projects that address an environmental
emergency may be eligible. An environmental emergency is defined as a risk
to the natural environment as a result of a natural or man-made disaster.
On-the-ground projects of statewide significance may
be proposed that use innovative approaches or technologies that could be
applied in multiple watersheds throughout Washington, and result in a
significant improvement to the natural environment.
To be considered, projects must provide primary benefits to
public resources (land or water stewardship) and affiliated infrastructure.
Grant Award Amounts Grant awards are up to a maximum of $50,000. The typical grant award ranges from $10,000 to $25,000.
Available Funding Funding levels vary. Awards depend on revenue from water quality penalties and available regional sub-account levels.
Match There are no recipient match or cost-share requirements. THA grants provide 100 percent of the project Total Eligible Cost. However, contributing funds may be used to demonstrate stakeholder support and may increase competitiveness of an application.
THA grant funds can be used to meet match requirements for other Washington State grant programs, such as:
Ecology’s Water Quality Combined Financial Assistance Program Nonpoint Activity grants(Section 319 EPA federal fund source, and Centennial State Building Construction Account fund source).
Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) grants.
Grant Timeline Projects typically run 12 to 18 months.
Application deadline Completed grant applications must be submitted via Ecology’s Administration of Grants and Loans (EAGL) online grant system by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 4, 2020. **
Application evaluation period and notice of award decision Applications will be reviewed, evaluated, and scored by a team of regional Ecology evaluators. Regional priorities are established at the beginning of each funding cycle.
Applicants will be notified by a Regional Fund Coordinator (RFC) of the award decision, no later than Tuesday, March 31, 2020. If a project is chosen for funding, the anticipated start date of the agreement will be June 1, 2020, or thereafter.
2020
Funding Cycle Timeline
Date
Program Milestone
Thursday, January 2, 2020
EAGL grant application opens at 8:00 a.m.
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
EAGL grant application closes at 5:00 p.m.**
Wednesday,
February 5 – Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Application screening.
Thursday,
February 13 – Monday, March 16, 2020
Evaluation period for EAGL grant applications.
On or before Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Regional
Fund Coordinators send funding decision notices to applicants.
On or before Friday, April 10, 2020
Regional
Directors send award letters to applicants, identifying Ecology Project
Manager (PM) and Financial Manager (FM) assignments.
April – May 2020
Ecology PM
and FM work with grant recipients to develop the agreement.
June 1, 2020, or thereafter.
Agreement
start date of funded projects.
** Applications for on the ground projects that address an Environmental
Emergency may be submitted at any time. An environmental emergency is a
risk to the natural environment as a result of a natural or man-made disaster.
The project must meet all of the application criteria.
** Applications for on the ground projects that have a Statewide
Significance may be submitted at any time. A project of statewide
significance is one that proposes innovative approaches or technologies that
could be applied in multiple watersheds throughout Washington, and would result
in a significant improvement to the natural environment. The project must meet
all of the application criteria.
Questions Please contact me, or a Regional Fund Coordinator, if you have additional questions after reading through the Terry Husseman Account (THA) Funding Guidelines. Thank you.
Amy Krause | Grants Technical Assistance Lead | Shorelands and Environmental Assistance (SEA) Program | |WA State Department of Ecology | ( 360.407.7107 ) | Mailing Address: P.O. Box 47600; Olympia, WA 98504-7600 | | Street Address: 300 Desmond Drive; Lacey, WA 98503-1274 |
Upcoming SRRTTF Meetings: (conf. call number 605-313-5141, 723394#) TSCA conf. call: January 8, 2020 @ 10 am Education & Outreach: January 21, 2020 @ 10 am – Spokane Regional Health District The next SRRTTF meeting will be a conference call on January 22, 2020 @ 1:30 pm
