Rural Community Assistance Partnership

Practical solutions for improving rural communities
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water

New tool provides access to water-pollution data

Posted Wed, 2012/02/01 - 12:03pm by RCAP

EPA announced the release of a new tool that provides the public with important information about pollutants that are released into local waterways.  The discharge monitoring report pollutant loading tool brings together millions of records and allows for easy searching and mapping of water pollution by local area, watershed, company, industry sector and pollutant.  The public can use this new tool to protect their health and the health of their communities.

Water is focus of writing and arts contest

Posted Wed, 2012/02/01 - 12:01pm by RCAP

EPA invites the public to submit creative projects to the 6th annual Rachel Carson intergenerational “Sense of Wonder” contest.  There are four categories: photography, essay, poetry and dance.  This year, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, the contest will focus on a “Sense of Water.”  Contest submissions are encouraged to focus on the various properties of water – how it sounds, feels, tastes and looks – and what water means to the entrants.

New York Times: As gas drilling spreads, towns stand ground over control

Posted Fri, 2011/12/16 - 4:06pm by RCAP

A Dec. 14 article in the New York Times begins:

SOUTH FAYETTE, Pa. — As energy companies move to drill in densely populated areas from Pennsylvania to Texas, battles are breaking out over who will have the final say in managing the shale gas boom.

The fight, which pits towns and cities against energy companies and states eager for growth, has raised a fundamental question about the role of local government: How much authority should communities have over the use of their land?