Poster abstracts and manuscripts from the Third International ...

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gained during this USEPA funded pilot study to establish a longterm
floating debris control operation for all District
waterways.
The pilot program has had a visible effect on reducing floating
debris on the tidal Anacostia River. The testing and evaluation
of various floating debris control measures, equipment, and
personnel deployment strategies demonstrated the most practical
and cost-effective, means of controlling floating debris on the
river.
The obvious, effectiveness of the project was the impetus behind
the establishment and funding of a permanent floating debris
control program for District of Columbia waterways in March,
1993.
Halperin, Laurie
Million Points of Blight Network
Center for Marine Conservation, Hampton, Virginia, USA
Non-point source pollution, or "pointless" pollution, originates
from many different places. Some of this pollution is created
when rain washes pollutants such as cigarette butts, street
litter, pet wastes, oil and grease, and excess fertilizers and
pesticides, down storm drains., Other types of non-point source
pollution are caused by various land-use practices, including
farming, timber harvesting, mining, and construction. The
Environmental Protection Agency has determined that non-point
source pollution is a leading cause of our nation's water quality
problems.
In November 1990, the EPA issued a final rule to implement
Section 402(p) of the Clean Water Act, federal legislation aimed
at preserving the quality of America's waters. This final rule
requires cities with populations greater than 100,000 that have
separate storm sewer systems to obtain a National Pollution
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. A main component of.
this storm water law is to educate the public about storm water
run-off and non-point source pollution and what they can do to
help reduce it. For this reason, many cities have become
interested in storm drain stenciling to help them comply with
these regulations.
The Center for Marine Conservation's national Million Points of
Blight storm drain stenciling campaign alerts people to a problem
that they can correct through responsible behavior. Many people
don't realize that the. storm drains in their neighborhoods are
direct links to nearby streams and rivers,. and ultimately, the
ocean. The goal of Million Points of Blight is to educate the
public, both- in coastal and inland states, about this direct
connection between storm drains and local waterways. With help
from volunteers, one million storm drains across the country will
be stenciled with clean water messages such as "Don't Dump,
Drains to Waterway" to help make that connection.