EPA provides documents detailing watershed assessment progress

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has updated its web site with several documents related to its ongoing watershed assessment of Bristol Bay. These include a draft watershed assessment outline, presentations and diagrams from the Intergovernmental Team Meetings it held last week.

The meetings were held in order to talk with scientists and technical staff from other federal, state and tribal governments in Alaska. “The purpose of these meetings is to discuss the status of EPA’s Bristol Bay assessment with government partners and find out if there is additional technical or scientific information that should be incorporated into our work,” said Judy Smith, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator.

The information presented at the meetings represents “a sample of where EPA is currently at in the evaluation, assessment and information gathering process,” said Smith. “We have a lot of work left to do on the assessment, but we are making progress, especially on pulling together information about the current conditions of the watersheds.”

Learn more.

Download the August 2011 watershed assessment outline (PDF)

Download the following presentations (PDF)

Download the following draft conceptual diagrams (PDF)

The EPA is using conceptual diagrams as a tool during the watershed assessment and explains that “these diagrams can be useful tools throughout an assessment, from structuring and clarifying initial brainstorming, to providing a framework for data collection and analysis, to organizing and presenting results.”

  • Conceptual Diagram Introduction
  • Diagram 1: Environmental impacts of mining in Bristol Bay: construction & operation, habitat effects
  • Diagram 2: Environmental impacts of mining in Bristol Bay: construction & operation, water quality effects
  • Diagram 3: Environmental impacts of mining in Bristol Bay: post-closure, water quantity/habitat & water quality effects
  • Diagram 4: Environmental impacts of mining in Bristol Bay: accidents & catastrophic failures

Members of the Intergovernmental Technical Team

  • EPA Region 10
  • EPA Office of Research and Development
  • EPA Office of Water, Oceans and Watersheds
  • Curyung Tribal Council
  • Ekwok Village Council
  • Iliamna Village Council
  • Koliganek Village Council
  • Levelock Village Council
  • Newhalen Tribal Council
  • Nondalton Tribal Council
  • South Naknek Village Council
  • Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
  • Alaska Department of Natural Resources
  • Alaska Department of Fish and Game
  • Alaska Department of Public Health
  • National Park Service
  • US Fish and Wildlife Service
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Bureau of Land Management

Principles of the Intergovernmental Technical Team