Rural Community Assistance Partnership

Practical solutions for improving rural communities

February 2011

Bliss, Idaho, on its way to a new sewer system and business development

Posted Mon, 2011/02/21 - 1:45pm by Travis Mitchell

Where: Bliss, Idaho

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An overview of EPA Ground Water Rules

Posted Thu, 2011/02/17 - 1:10pm by Travis Mitchell

This page is an overview of the series of articles on the Ground Water Rule written by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and published in recent issues of Rural Matters magazine.

The goal of this series of articles is to help ground water systems navigate their way through the Ground Water Rule (GWR) requirements.

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EPA’s FY 2012 budget proposal reflects tough choices needed for the nation’s fiscal health

Posted Tue, 2011/02/15 - 12:23pm by RCAP

WASHINGTON – The Obama Administration proposed a FY 2012 budget of $8.973 billion for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Feb. 14. This proposal reflects President Obama’s commitment to ensuring the government lives within its means while ensuring that EPA can carry out its core mission: protecting public health and our environment while reducing air and water pollution in communities across America.

This budget proposal represents about a 13 percent decrease from the FY 2010 budget of $10.3 billion.

EPA expands and enhances WCIT: A Robust Tool for the Water Sector

Posted Tue, 2011/02/15 - 12:17pm by RCAP

EPA is announcing a major expansion and additional enhancement of the Water Contaminant Information Tool (WCIT). WCIT is a secure, online database profiling chemical, biological, and radiological contaminants of concern for drinking water and wastewater utilities. The agency has now added a compendium of 700 new contaminants with details on more than 212 analytical methods. EPA has also completed enhancements of the WCIT search feature.

EPA seeks applications to support the National Tribal Water Council

Posted Tue, 2011/02/15 - 12:16pm by RCAP

EPA anticipates making approximately $880,000 available through a cooperative agreement to provide support for the National Tribal Water Council (NTWC). The NTWC was established in 2006 through a cooperative agreement with EPA, and during the last four years has operated to increase tribal awareness and expertise on a wide variety of issues related to the quality of tribal water resources, watersheds, drinking water, and the health of tribal communities.

EPA’s Office of Water welcomes Acting Assistant Administrator Nancy Stoner

Posted Tue, 2011/02/15 - 12:13pm by RCAP

Nancy Stoner, who has been serving as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since February 2010, began her new position this week as the Acting Assistant Administrator for Water.

EPA submits draft hydraulic fracturing study plan to independent scientists for review

Posted Fri, 2011/02/11 - 5:20pm by RCAP

The draft plan is open to public comment

WASHINGTON (EPA) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted its draft study plan on hydraulic fracturing for review to the agency’s Science Advisory Board (SAB), a group of independent scientists, on Feb. 8. Natural gas plays a key role in our nation’s clean energy future, and the process known as hydraulic fracturing is one way of accessing that vital resource.

EPA offers proven solutions to support sustainable community goals

Posted Mon, 2011/02/07 - 11:50am by RCAP

WASHINGTON (EPA) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the formation of Sustainable Communities Building Blocks, a program designed to help interested communities adopt sustainable planning methods. Sustainable planning helps safeguard the environment and spur economic development while also improving Americans’ health. Interested communities are invited to apply to receive technical assistance during a day-long session that will help them achieve their sustainable planning goals. The application period opened on Feb. 3 and ends on Feb. 23.

RCAP on the State of the Union address

Posted Wed, 2011/02/02 - 5:27pm by RCAP

In his State of the Union address on Jan. 25, President Obama called for “rebuilding America” through renewed investment in our aging infrastructure. In so doing, he highlighted the key role that infrastructure plays in our national economy.

NYT: Gas Drilling Technique Is Labeled Violation

Posted Wed, 2011/02/02 - 12:33pm by RCAP

By TOM ZELLER Jr.

Oil and gas service companies injected tens of millions of gallons of diesel fuel into onshore wells in more than a dozen states from 2005 to 2009, Congressional investigators have charged. Those injections appear to have violated the Safe Water Drinking Act, the investigators said in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday.