|     home

EPA Lake Protection Funding Issue
This letter was received from Peter Lowell of Lakes Environmental. 319 Funding is what AVGOG and LAON have been using to fund the demonstration projects in the Norway lakes area. This new guidance will have a direct impact on future funding. Please take the time to send an email to the representatives listed below.

FROM THE MAINE CONGRESS OF LAKE ASSOCIATIONS.

The EPA has changed the guidance rules for 319 funding.  As it stands all incremental 319 funding must be used only for projects on 303d/TMDL lakes, (lakes that have experienced significant water quality problems.)  This means that little or no funding will be available for very necessary work on threatened lakes or lakes that are very sensitive.

There are only  53 lakes in Maine that are 303d/ TMDL lakes but there are about 180 (threatened) priority non-point source watershed lakes and another 50 lakes that are "most at risk from development",  not to mention thousands of pristine lakes in Maine.  Under current EPA guidelines the money that should be used for watershed management and fixes on all Maine lakes will now be focused exclusively on the 53 Maine lakes that qualify as "polluted." This policy will threaten much of the progress we have made in lakes restoration and remediation.  It will undermine watershed coalitions and organizations that try to act in a unified approach and it will reduce the available funds for our State just because we have many lakes that are not polluted.  This policy may make sense for other more populated states with a few seriously polluted lakes but much of Maine's beauty and economy is still based on the quality of our lakes and we need to preserve our lakes by preventing them from becoming polluted.  We need to support those communities and organizations willing to protect their watersheds and lakes. The current EPA guidelines for incremental 319 funding need to be changed at least in Maine and EPA Region 1, (the New England States.)  

Please:  We need to send letters & or Email to our representatives and to the people who can help at the EPA.   The letters should be personal if possible.   We all know of personal, specific examples of why this is so important.

>>> LAON Members should reference AVCOG projects to control non-point-source pollution.>>>

Thank you, Jon Van Bourg, Maine COLA
Send your letters to:

Charles Sutfin
Director of Assessment and Watershed Protection Division
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue
N.W. Washington D.C.  20460
2503-F
sutfin.charles@epa.gov

Director, Christine Todd Whitman
US EPA Headquarters, 3rd floor
Ariel Rios North
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue
N.W. Washington D.C.  20460
202-564-4700
whitman.christine@epa.gov

U.S. Senators

Olympia J. Snowe
154 Russell Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-1903
Tel. 202-224-5344
olympia@snowe.senate.gov

Susan M. Collins
172 Russell Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-1903
Tel. 202-224-2523
senator@colins.senate.gov

Representatives to congress

John Baldacci
1740 Longworth House Office Bldg
Washington, D.C.  20515-1901
Tel. 202-225-6306
Baldacci@me02.house.gov

Thomas H. Allen
1717 Longworth House Office Bldg
Washington, D.C.  20515-6116
Tel. 202-225-5590
rep.tomallen@mail.house.gov