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<TITLE>Congressional Briefing, Private Drinking Water Wells, March 27th , 9:30 - 11:30 a.m., Washington D.C.</TITLE>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT FACE="Arial"> **Please distribute to your staff, memberships, and other colleagues.**</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><BR>
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<B><FONT FACE="Arial"> Congressional Briefing: Private Drinking Water Wells</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Arial">The Water Environment Federation (WEF), in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Water Quality Assessment Program, will sponsor a congressional briefing to discuss new USGS findings about the quality of our Nation's private drinking water wells.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Arial">The briefing is scheduled for</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B> <FONT FACE="Arial">Friday, March 27 from 9:30-11:30 a.m.</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Arial"> in the Cannon Caucus Room of the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Arial">About 43 million people—or 15 percent of the Nation’s population—rely on private wells for drinking water. Water quality in private wells is not regulated under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, which applies only to public-water supplies. While some state and local governments set rules to protect users of these wells, the water and its sources are not subject to federal standards and are not regularly monitored by experts for quality and safety. Private wells may contain contaminants that occur naturally in the environment or from human activity. Households with private wells must take special precautions to ensure the quality, safety, and maintenance of their drinking water supplies.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Arial">During the briefing, USGS will release findings on 2,100 wells sampled in 48 states from 30 of the Nation's 62 major aquifers. As many as 219 properties and contaminants, such as pH, major ions, nutrients, radionuclides, trace elements, pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and microbial contaminants were measured.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Arial">Experts will describe how cooperating federal agencies and scientists are using the information to answer important questions about the overall quality and safety of private well water and to address public health issues, including research by the National Cancer Institute on arsenic in drinking water and relations to bladder cancer. In addition, the briefing will provide guidance on state well drilling and well testing requirements, maintenance and testing, and water treatment options.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Arial">Featured speakers include:</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><BR>
<FONT FACE="Arial">· Dr. Leslie DeSimone, USGS Hydrologist and lead scientist of the USGS study</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><BR>
<FONT FACE="Arial">· Mr. Kevin McCray, Executive Director, National Ground Water Association</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><BR>
<FONT FACE="Arial">· Dr. Kenneth Cantor, Senior Investigator, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><BR>
<FONT FACE="Arial">· Dr. Matthew Larsen, USGS Associate Director for Water (Moderator)</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Arial">This briefing is free and open to the public. No RSVP is required. For more information, contact Donna Myers (dnmyers@usgs.gov, 703-648-5012) at USGS or Nick Bardis (nbardis@wef.org, 703-684-2400 x7731) at WEF.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><A NAME=""><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2>Deborah L. DeBiasi</FONT></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial"><BR>
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B></B></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2>Email: dldebiasi@deq.virginia.gov</FONT></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial"><BR>
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2>WEB site address: www.deq.virginia.gov</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial"><BR>
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2>Virginia Department of Environmental Quality</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial"><BR>
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2>Office of Water Permit Programs</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial"><BR>
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2>Industrial Pretreatment/Toxics Management Program</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial"><BR>
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2>PPCPs, EDCs, and Microconstituents</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial"><BR>
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2>Mail: P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><I></I></B></SPAN><B><I><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial"></FONT></SPAN></I></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><I></I></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><I></I></B></SPAN><B><I><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" SIZE=2>(NEW!)</FONT></SPAN></I></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial"><BR>
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2>Location: 629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial"><BR>
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2>PH: 804-698-4028</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial"><BR>
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2>FAX: 804-698-4032</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
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