[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 182 (Wednesday, September 21, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-23283]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: September 21, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Geological Survey
Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data; Intergovernmental
Task Force on Monitoring Water Quality
AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of the availability for public review and comment of the
draft final report prepared by the Intergovernmental Task Force on
Monitoring Water Quality (ITFM).
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the opportunity for the public to
review and comment on the draft final report of the ITFM. The title of
the draft report is ``The Nationwide Strategy for Improving Water-
Quality Monitoring.'' The report is available by request to the address
below.
DATES: The public review and comment period extends through December 1,
1994.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the report can be obtained by writing the Office
of Water Data Coordination, U.S. Geological Survey, 417 National
Center, Reston, Virginia 22092, or by telephoning (703) 648-5023.
Review comments should be sent to the Executive Secretary, ITFM, at the
same address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nancy Lopez, Chief, Office of Water Data Coordination, USGS, at the
above address or by telephoning (703) 648-5014. Also, for information
about the ITFM and the final draft report, you may contact the
chairperson of ITFM Elizabeth Fellows at (202) 260-7062. Ms. Fellows is
the Chief, Monitoring Branch; Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and
Watersheds; Office of Water; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
established in Memorandum No. 92-01, dated December 10, 1991, the
requirements to conduct a nationwide review and evaluation of water-
quality monitoring and to recommend needed improvements. The ITFM is a
partnership of representatives from Federal, State, Native American,
and interstate governmental organizations. Working since January 1992
in consultation with representatives of other public and private
organizations, the ITFM is developing an integrated, nationwide,
voluntary strategy for water-quality monitoring. The proposed strategy
and associated recommendations to improve water-quality monitoring are
presented in the draft final report that is now available for review.
Water resources considered in the strategy include surface water and
ground water, near-coastal waters, associated aquatic communities and
habitats, wetlands, and sediments. The five general purposes of water-
quality monitoring identified in the report include characterizing
status and trends, identifying and ranking in order of priority
existing and emerging problems, designing and implementing programs and
projects, evaluating program success and project compliance, and
responding to emergencies. The scope of the ITFM proposals addresses
physical, chemical (including toxicological), and biological (including
habitat and ecological) aspects of water-quality monitoring. The
monitoring functions considered in the strategy include the full range
of activities from identifying monitoring objectives, planning and
designing monitoring programs, conducting field sampling and laboratory
analysis, interpreting and reporting monitoring results, to evaluating
the effectiveness of monitoring efforts. The ITFM will complete the
report by January 1995, and will distribute copies to the OMB, Federal
agencies in the Executive Branch, Congress, Governors and others as
requested or as appropriate.
P. Patrick Leahy,
Acting Chief Hydrologist.
[FR Doc. 94-23283 Filed 9-20-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-31-M
