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Learn about EPA's role in hurricane recovery, assistance for water infrastructure, monitoring processes, and ecosystem restoration. Understand response activities, infrastructure assistance, water monitoring, and ecosystem restoration efforts. Discover short and long-term activities for improving emergency response and supporting utilities. Gain insights into water monitoring, ecosystem restoration themes, and environmental information sharing. Explore collaborative restoration approaches to inform adaptive management practices.
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Hurricane Recovery EPA Water Program OverviewBriefing for ACWI
Briefing Overview • EPA’s Role • Assistance for Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure • Water Monitoring & Assessment Processes • Ecosystem Restoration • Closing
EPA’s Role • Direct/coordinate and/or provide technical assistance for environmental response activities at the incident site • USCG lead for coastal zone; EPA lead for inland zone
Typical response activities include: • Incident Action Plan development • Site safety plan development (response planning) • Sample collection & analysis (air/water monitoring) • Alternative water supply provisions (potable water) • Source control & stabilization (berms, booms, dikes, plugging release points) • On-site treatment (neutralization, thermal destruction, solidification, detonation) • Off-site disposal or treatment • Temporary relocation • Evidence collection and other law enforcement efforts
Assistance for Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure • Short-term Activities • Tracking the operational status of systems • Technical assistance for emergency repair • Mobile labs • Technical assistance and advice for FEMA Public Assistance
Assistance for Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure • Long-term Activities • Improving future emergency response and recovery • - "Utilities helping Utilities" - Mutual Aid Agreements • (Modeled after FlaWARN) • Participating on ESF #14 Interagency Working Group • Support states in providing technical assistance to utilities: • Funding assistance and advice
Water Monitoring & Assessment Processes • Short-term Activities • Floodwater Sampling with LA DEQ • Mississippi Bays Study with State of Miss. • BOLD surveys with other Federal/State Agencies • Weekly monitoring calls with other federal agencies, states • Data flow/approvals and web postings
Water Monitoring & Assessment Processes • Long-term Activities • Coordinated efforts on water monitoring with other federal and state agencies • to analyze data and interpret, collectively, what it means • Participation on State-Federal Taskforce on Sampling and Analysis of Fish and • Shellfish from Katrina Affected Coastal Areas • Participation on White House Task Force Working Group on Environmental • Impacts and Cleanup Subcommittee on Bio-monitoring and Sampling
Ecosystems Restoration • Short-term Activities • Promote EPA’s restoration message: • Reconstruction PLUS Restoration for True Protection • Commit EPA staff now to emerging activities (LTCR plans) • Build on existing EPA Region/State collaborations (CWPPRA Task Force)
Ecosystems Restoration • Long-term Activities • Support three primary restoration themes: • - River reintroductions • - Barrier island restoration • - Pipeline sediment transfer for wetlands restoration • Explore funding and collaboration alternatives (private/corporate as • well as governmental) needed for full implementation • Inform/adaptively manage restoration with assessment results
Closing Remarks • Environmental Information Sharing across all levels of government was and remains critical • Timeliness and Quality Assurance of Monitoring Results • Data Standards are a good start but Agencies must adopt and implement them from Field – Lab – Analysis – Results!