"The Best Management Practice is the Practice of Common Sense."

Please see attachment for manual.

An informational slideshow on how to build a rain garden.

Please see attachment.

Abstract

An Anchored Reinforced Vegetation System (ARVS) incorporates the combination of a geosynthetic, high strength woven, High Performance Turf Reinforcement Mat and Earth Percussion Anchors and is a system designed to provide erosion protection and armoring in the most critical of applications. Unlike traditional hard armoring techniques, this system is light weight, does not surcharge weak foundation soils, and is easy to maintain without heavy equipment and personnel. (Thompson, Propex, Inc.)  These systems have been traditionally utilized in non-agricultural situations including the Gordy Pumping Station by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in New Orleans after being breached by Hurricane Katrina, as well as sites along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and by the New York and California Departments of Transportation. 

Soil bioengineering is the use of live and dead herbaceous and woody plant materials in combination with natural and synthetic support materials for slope stabilization, erosion reduction, and vegetative establishment (NRCS).  Although often thought of as a new technology, these practices have been used for many years, as early as the 1930’s by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS).  This paper will present demonstration projects conducted by the West Virginia Conservation Agency to control excess streambank soil erosion along pasture land, by utilizing a combination of Anchored Reinforced Vegetation and Soil Bioengineering techniques. 

Please see attachment for additional information.

DEP releases Marcellus Shale Industry Guidance 

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has released a guidance document and permit addendum designed to better manage water use and disposal by the oil and gas industry when drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation. Full article here. 

Our nation has made significant progress in cleaning up polluted waters. Yet, while we devote substantial resources to restoring impaired waters, we continue to experience the loss of some of our remaining healthy aquatic ecosystems. Some key statistics provide clear evidence of both recent and ongoing declines in our aquatic resources.

• Over the last 50 years, coastal and freshwater wetlands have declined; surface water and groundwater withdrawals have increased by 46%; and non-native fish have established themselves in many watersheds (Heinz Center, 2008).
• A recent national water quality survey of the nation's wadeable streams showed that 42% of the nation's stream length is in poor biological condition and 25% is in fair biological condition (U.S. EPA, 2006).
• Nearly 40% of fish in North American freshwater streams, rivers, and lakes are found to be vulnerable, threatened, or endangered; nearly twice as many as were included on the imperiled list from a similar survey conducted in 1989 (Jelks et al., 2008).

The objective of the federal Clean Water Act is to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters." While other EPA programs focus on restoring impaired waters, the Healthy Watersheds Initiative augments the watershed approach with proactive, holistic aquatic ecosystem conservation and protection. The Healthy Watersheds Initiative includes both assessment and management approaches that encourage states, local governments, watershed organizations, and others to take a strategic, systems approach to conserve healthy components of watersheds, and, therefore, avoid additional water quality impairments in the future.

EPA Publishes Draft Handbook for Developing Watershed Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)

EPA's Office of Water has issued a draft "Handbook for Developing Watershed TMDLs" available for public comment here. Public comment period closes on February 18, 2009.

EPA is looking for ways to help states expedite development of scientifically defensible TMDLs. One strategy is to use a watershed framework for developing TMDLs. Grouping multiple impaired segments into a single watershed TMDL development effort not only provides a number of cost and time efficiencies to the TMDL development process, but it can also better represent source-impairment dynamics to facilitate more effective allocations and implementation for reducing point and nonpoint source loads to restore impaired waterbodies to water quality standards.

The draft document identifies the issues for practitioners to consider and tools and resources that can help them when planning for and developing watershed TMDLs. The draft document also identifies the benefits of developing watershed TMDLs, as well as the challenges and ways to address them. Throughout the draft document, there are examples, tips and resources provided to further support TMDL practitioners in understanding how to develop watershed TMDLs to cost-effectively develop allocations to restore their impaired waters. Finally, the draft document evaluates the connections between watershed TMDLs and other water programs and identifies opportunities for integrating watershed TMDLs and their results into other watershed management efforts, such as monitoring, watershed planning, watershed-based permitting and water quality trading.

Please send any comments or questions you have on this draft document to Michael Haire in OWOW's Watershed Branch at haire.michael@epa.gov

River Network Launches New Antidegradation Database!

Ever wonder how your state's water quality protections compare to other states?  Now you can find out…at least for one critical Clean Water Act program. 

River Network's online antidegradation database lets you search by state or key policy questions for information about how states implement the Clean Water Act's main policy program for keeping clean water clean – the antidegradation policy. 

Today's database launch includes only one state in the Eastern Coalfields, Ohio, but they will be adding states monthly, so check back soon. You may also request that your state be added in the next round or request specialized search options by contacting Merritt at mfrey@rivernetwork.org.

Click here to check it out.

On-line NPS Encyclopedia, Courtesy of CA EPA

The NPS Encyclopedia is a free on-line reference guide designed to facilitate a basic understanding of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution control and to provide quick access to essential information from a variety of sources by providing direct hyperlinks to resources available on the World Wide Web. The NPS Encyclopedia’s companion tool, the MP Miner, allows users to cull data from studies of management practices (peer reviewed and others) by filtering studies using two relevant site-specific variables such as slope, salinity, flushing and soil type.

The purpose of this on-line resource guide is to support the implementation and development of NPS total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) and watershed (action) plans with a goal of protecting high-quality waters and restoring impaired waters. The guide is organized around the six land-use categories: Agriculture; Forestry; Urban; Marinas and Recreational Boating; Hydromodification; and Wetlands, Riparian and Vegetative Treatment Systems.

You can access the Encyclopedia online here, or, if you would like a CD containing the NPS Encyclopedia sent to you, please leave your name and mailing address with Kelly Maurie at (916) 327-9530.

TMDLs Where Mercury Loadings are Predominantly from Air Deposition
EPA recently released a document called "TMDLs Where Mercury Loadings are Predominantly from Air Deposition" to assist states in developing TMDLs for mercury-impaired waters under Clean Water Act section 303(d).   This document describes considerations when developing mercury total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) in order to address the required and recommended TMDL elements discussed in existing guidance. The document (also referred to as a mercury TMDL checklist) includes factors to consider when addressing TMDL elements on different geographic scales, such as waterbody, regional, and multi-state.  The "checklist" builds on approaches in approved mercury TMDLs. 

This effort is part of EPA's multi-pronged approach to listing mercury-impaired waters and developing mercury TMDLs.  Recent efforts include revising strategic plan reporting provisions to more specifically account for mercury-impaired waters in tracking waterbody restoration.  EPA also issued a memo in 2007 on the "5m" subcategory for listing waters impaired by mercury from air deposition (see http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/mercury5m/ ). For such waters, states may defer the development of mercury TMDLs where a comprehensive state mercury reduction program has been put in place.

The cover memo and checklist are available respectively at http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/pdf/cover_memo_mercury_tmdl_elements.pdf and http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/pdf/document_mercury_tmdl_elements.pdf .

The link below is to a handbook created by Penn State Extension titled, “Natural Gas Exploration:  A Landowner’s Guide to Leasing Land in Pennsylvania”.  It looks like a useful handbook for landowners considering leasing their surface rights for oil and gas exploration.

http://cas.psu.edu/spotlight/gasprimer08_web.pdf

  “Yellowstone Wolves” focuses on the wolf reintroduction program in the greater Yellowstone National Park region, including initially the states of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, and subsequently the wolves have migrated into the states of Utah, Colorado, Oregon and Washington.  While this issue can be controversial, perhaps, regardless of which side of the debate you fall on, would find support for your cause within the pages of this book. The ISBN for this title is 978-0-939923-70-0, softcover. More detailed information can be found at www.mwpubco.com/YellowstoneWolves.htm . 

This letter also announces a special discount offer for John M. Connaway’s recently released book “Fishweirs.” Fishweirs is the first comprehensive volume ever written on the subject, it represents decades of research by the author, and only a small number of copies remain in stock.

 “Fishweirs” is devoted entirely to the long established, globally significant practice of harvesting masses of freshwater and coastal saltwater fish by human beings. Approximately one half of “Fishweirs” deals with the history, construction, use, fate, and documentation of fishweirs in general while the other half is devoted to detailed descriptions of the fishweirs of Mississippi — examples of the worldwide phenomenon of freshwater fish harvesting structures. The ISBN for this title is 978-0-938896-89-0, hardcover. Additional information about this title may be found at www.mwpubco.com/Fishweirs.htm .

SPECIAL PRICING / DISCOUNTS

Regularly priced at $29.95, publisher McDonald & Woodward is offering “Yellowstone Wolves: A Chronicle of the Animal, the People, and the Politics” at a special 30% discount now through January 30, 2008.

For a short time we are also offering “Fishweirs” at a discount of 30%; it lists at $74.95 but, through October 15, 2008, it is available at a cost of $52.50 per copy if ordered directly from the publisher.

In addition, any other titles published or distributed by McDonald & Woodward, in any quantities, also may be purchased at a discount if 30% if ordered at the same time as a copy of “Yellowstone Wolves” or “Fishweirs.”

After review, and as appropriate, we would appreciate your passing this announcement along to others in your network who might be interested in acquiring a copy of “Yellowstone Wolves” or “Fishweirs.” We also would greatly appreciate your recommending this title for acquisition by your departmental, institutional, and public libraries, as appropriate.

Thank you for your consideration of this offer! Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or if I can assist you with placing an order.

With appreciation, 

Liz Hammond
McDonald & Woodward Publishing
431-B East College Street
Granville OH  43023
Toll Free: 800-233-8787
Voice: 740-321-1140
Fax: 740-321-1141
lhammond@mwpubco.com
http://www.mwpubco.com

The guide covers topics ranging from program planning, integrating stormwater with land use planning, developing locally-appropriate stormwater criteria, stormwater inspection and maintenance programs, and program evaluation and tracking. The tools include a program self-assessment; model post-construction stormwater ordinance; plan review, inspection, and maintenance checklists; and more. The guide and tools can be downloaded at: www.cwp.org> Resources > Controlling Runoff & Discharges > Stormwater Management or by visiting http://www.cwp.org/postconstruction

Power Point Slide Show of:
Water Conservation Ideas
Developed by: West Virginia Conservation Agency Watershed Resource Center

Power Point Slide Show of:
West Virginia Best Management Practices of Conservation Practice Standards

Developed by: West Virginia Conservation Agency
Natural Resource Conservation Service

~ The Best Management Practice Is The Practice Of Common Sense.

Fun, educational placemat for kids!

Please see attachment for a printable / downloadable placemat.

  Rain Barrel Facts ~
Why Harvest Rainwater?...

Harvesting rainwater will save you money and help the environment at the same time. You can collect a substantial amount of rainwater with a simple system. This extra water can have a significant impact on your water bill.

Rain water is usually collected from the roofs of houses, it picks up very little contamination when it falls. That is, if you keep your roof clean of debris and potential contaminants to maximize purity. The material your roof is made of is also important in how much contamination the water will carry. The chemicals and hard water from many municipal water systems can produce an imbalance in the soil of your garden. Chemical fertilizers, fungicides, pesticides, and drought can also disrupt the balance and harmony of the soil. This imbalance causes trees and plants to weaken and makes them more susceptible to disease.

One of the best reasons to start harvesting rainwater with rain barrels is that if you teach and encourage others to do the same, you will help to spread the culture of rainwater collection and in turn help the larger community and the environment. It is always important to remember that every living thing on the planet needs water to survive!

Please see attachment for printable / downloadable fact sheet.

CWP Releases New Restoration Manual for Free Download

In an effort to ensure that every community is equipped with the guidance needed to repair streams as part of larger watershed restoration efforts, the Center for Watershed Protection is now making Manual 4: Urban Stream Repair Practices of the Urban Subwatershed Restoration Manual Series available permanently for free download.  This manual focuses on practices used to enhance the appearance, stability, structure, or function of urban streams. It includes guidance on how to set appropriate restoration goals for your stream, and how to choose the best combination of stream repair practices to meet them. To download these manual series,

Go here…

Hampshire County Special Services (HCSS), provides gainful employment to over 60 developmentally disabled adults from Hampshire, Hardy, Grant and Mineral counties.  The program recently teamed up with the Potomac Valley Conservation District (PVCD) to produce a high quality compost made from agricultural wastes and sawdust. Clients are compensated for their efforts in shredding the paper and are involved in transporting the carbon source to the composting demonstration site in Moorefield, WV. The shredded paper is then mixed with agricultural and forestry by-products to produce a high quality soil amendment. This innovative partnership has proven to be a win-win situation for all involved. Clients of HCSS are earning a sense of  purpose and involvement in the project and the community while being compensated for their services.  The PVCD is assisting the environment in the reduction of nutrients potentially entering local water bodies. 

What are the Advantages of Using This Product?

PRODUCTION BENEFITS
· Safe, natural product
· No odor
· Provides valuable slow release of nutrients required for healthy plants
                 Nitrogen
                 Phosphorous
                 Potassium
· Provides many necessary micronutrients not found in commercial fertilizers
· Builds soils while adding organic material
· Helps sandy soils retain water and nutrients and loosens tightly bound clay or soil particles
· Buffers both acidic and alkaline soils
· Encourages healthy root systems

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS
· Diverts waste that would typically enter landfill systems
· Alternative use for agricultural nutrients that might typically be over-applied
· Reduces need for water, fertilizers and pesticides in lawns
· Promotes Recycling!

For more information, please see the printable / downloable brochure attachment.

Please see attachment for:
West Virginia NutMan 2 Training

Manual Alpha Version

http://www.wvdep.org/dwwm/stormwater/BMP/index.html

Note: As chapters become finalized, they will be posted on the website. Keep checking back for updates.

            The West Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Best Management Practice Manual addresses erosion and sediment control for earth disturbing activities associated with construction.  The manual is designed to assist construction site developers, engineers, designers, and contractors in identifying and implementing the most appropriate best management practices for construction activities.

            The purpose of this manual is to provide standardized and comprehensive erosion and sediment control management practices for implementation on construction projects throughout West Virginia. It is intended that this manual be used as guidance for developing sediment control plans for the West Virginia/National Pollution Discharge Elimination System General Water Pollution Control Permit for Stormwater Associated with Construction Activities. However, the use of other best management practices manuals may also be acceptable. The goal is to reduce the water quality impacts of land-disturbing activities through the design and implementation of effective erosion prevention and sediment control.

            Questions or comments regarding the West Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Best Management Practice Manual 2006 can be directed to William Timmermeyer by phone at (304) 926-0499, Extension 1336, or by e-mail at btimmermeyer@wvdep.org.

www.epa.gov/npdes/watersheds

Water Conservation - What You Can Do!
A book containing a series of ideas and fact sheets on different methods of water conservation.

For additional information, contact the WVCA Watershed Resource Center at 304.558.0382 or email at wrc@wvca.us.

Nonpoint Source Pollution - A Series of Fact Sheets

For more information, see attachment or contact:
WVCA Watershed Resource Center
1900 Kanawha Blvd., East
Charleston, WV 25305-0193
304.558.0382

Turbidity measures how clear the water is - or isn’t.  Turbid means there is a lot of debris, silt or other stuff floating around. That makes the water dark and murky, which makes it difficult for plants to grow and animals to breath.

Turbidity brochure available through the WVCA Watershed Resource Center. For additional information contact:

Jami R. Thompson
Resource Specialist
WVCA Watershed Resource Center
304.558.0382

An informational brochure on groundwater, what it is, where it comes from, and how kids can help too!

For additional information contact:

Jami R. Thompson
Resource Specialist
WVCA Watershed Resource Center
304.558.0382

DVD Copies of "After the Storm" Program Available

DVD copies of the popular half-hour television special about
watersheds -After the Storm - co-produced by The Weather Channel (TWC)
and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are now available at no
charge. This program premiered on TWC in 2004 and continues to be
used by teachers at all levels and by cable TV stations to help educate
citizens about stormwater management. The program highlights three
case studies - Santa Monica Bay, the Mississippi River Basin/Gulf of
Mexico, and New York City - where polluted runoff threatens watersheds highly
valued for recreation, commercial fisheries and navigation, and
drinking water. For more information on this program, including tips about
what you can do to prevent watershed pollution, visit EPA's Web site at:
www.epa.gov/weatherchannel. To order a free copy of After the Storm,
please contact NSCEP at 800-490-9198 or send an email to
nscep@bps-lmit.com and please refer to After the Storm (DVD), EPA
841-C-06-001 OR After the Storm (VHS), EPA 840-V-04-001.


Anne Weinberg
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Communications Coordinator
Assessment and Watershed Protection Division
____________________________________________________
Mailing Address: Off. Location & Fed Ex
Address
Mail Code 4503T 1301 Constitution Ave. NW
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Room 7330H
Washington, DC 20460 Washington, DC 20004

Phone: 202-566-1217
Fax: 202-566-1333
Email: weinberg.anne@epa.gov

http://www.epa.gov/owow/streamsurvey

What is the WV Save Our Streams Program?

For more information contact:

Timothy Craddock, Citizens Monitoring Coordinator
West Virginia Save Our Streams Program
601 57th Street, SE
Charleston, WV  25304

Office: 304-926-0499 (1040)
Mobile: 304-389-7630
E-mail: tcraddock@wvdep.org
Web Page: http://www.wvdep.org/dwwm/wvsos

  CREP

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is another spin off the Conservation Reserve Program that allows farmers to voluntarily idle environmentally sensitive land, decrease erosion, restore wildlife habitat, and safeguard ground and surface water.

CREP is a partnership with federal and state government and is available to the majority of the geographic areas in West Virginia.

Sign up / Eligibility Requirements

Like CRP, CREP contracts require a 10 to 15 year commitment to keep lands out of agricultural production. CREP provides multiple payments to participants who offer eligible land, including a federal annual rental payment, incentive and maintenance payments.  Cost share to install practices is available at a 50%, plus an additional 40% incentive for a total of 90% cost  coverage.  A one time signing incentive is offered, by the federal government through FSA and also an additional by the state through the Conservation District.

Land must be owned or leased for at least one year prior to enrollment to be eligible, and must be physically and legally capable of being cropped in a normal manner.  Pasture land may also be eligible for the program.

Enrollment is on a continuous basis, permitting farmers to join the program at anytime rather than waiting for specific sign-up periods.

Approved Conservation Practices

The following conservation practices may be eligible for land enrolled into the West Virginia CREP:

· Establishment of Permanent Introduced Grasses and Legumes

· Establishment of Permanent Native Grasses

· Hardwood Tree Planting

· Filter Strips

· Riparian Buffer

 Wetland Restoration

Caring for our Roads and Rivers

Erosion and sedimentation, occur naturally as a result of runoff from development. This sediment and erosion is a serious challenge to water quality and road maintenance.  This is a guide to what individuals can do to protect their property and help ensure our rivers and roads are cared for properly.

A Handbook for Stream Enhancement & Stewardship, prepared by The Izaak Walton League, provides a consolidation of much otherwise-dispersed information into a clearly written, well organized, easily manageable single volume. 

This handbook is intended to be a basic resource for individuals, classes, organizations, volunteer groups, or communities-- and for those who mentor them -- wishing to carry out environmentally sound, cost-effective stream corridor assessment, enhancement, and stewardship programs.  It will be of great value to readers who want to acquire a solid grasp of the fundamentals of assessing the physical condition and ecological well-being of streams, of what might be done to improve the stability and ecological health of stream corridors, and of implementing effective stream enhancement programs in their communities. 

Available from McDonald & Woodward Publishing, this title is more fully described at www.mwpubco.com/stream.htm. The regular price of $34.95 is currently discounted by 30% to $24.47 now through July 31, 2006.  Bulk discounts are also available for agencies, organizations, and educational institutions. For more information, and to order this publication, please contact M&W Publishing at 800-233-8787. 

Informational fact sheet on available help for dirt roads in WV.

• Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA)
• Driveway Tips
• Forestry Land Enhancement Program (FLEP)
• Active Oil and Gas Roads

Do you like the outdoors?  Are you 14 - 18 years old?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, West Virginia State Conservation Camp is the place for you!

• Non-point Source Impacts and Solutions
• Erosion and Sediment Control
• Stormwater Management
• National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
• Proper Road Construction
• Water Quality Education for Watershed Associations, Federal and State
• Best Management Practices (BMP's)