Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data; Intergovernmental Task Force on Monitoring Water Quality

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]

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