Contact Information
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Wastewater Management
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
202-564-0753
www.epa.gov/owm
West Virginia University
National Environmental Services Center
P.O. Box 6064
Morgantown, WV 26506
800-624-8301/304-293-4191
www.nesc.wvu.edu
Rural Community Assistance Program (RCAP), Inc.
1522 K Street, NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005
888-321-7227/202-408-1273
www.rcap.org
Wastewater Treatment Programs
Serving Small Communities
mall communities often face
significant challenges as they work
to manage wastewater effectively.
These challenges can be financial or
technical. They might include the
planning, design, and construction of new
or upgraded systems or the operation
and maintenance of existing systems.
Small communities also face challenges
in working with homeowners to ensure
that onsite treatment systems like septic
systems are properly designed, installed,
and maintained. This brochure provides a
brief overview of EPA and EPA-sponsored
programs that provide assistance on
wastewater issues to small communities.
tales
mental Protection
December 2002
EPA 832-R-02-004
Unitedstates
Environmental Protection
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EPA-Sponsored
Waste water Programs
for Small Communities
Wasteivater carries a wide variety of pollutants, including toxins, nutrients, and disease-causing
organisms. Improperly treated ivasteivater adversely affects the health of our citizens and our rivers,
lakes, coastal waters, and groundwater. EPA estimates that small communities—communities with fewer
than 10,000 people—will need to spend nearly $14 billion to meet the wastewater-related requirements of
the Clean Water Act.
Alaska Native Village Sanitation Grant
Program
www.epa.gov/owm/mab/indian/anvrs.htm
Residents of many Alaska Native villages lack
adequate sanitation systems. This program
provides grants to such villages for drinking water
and wastewater facility construction, training, and
technical assistance.
Clean Water Tribal Grant Program
www.epa.gov/owm/mab/indian/cwisa.htm
Tribal lands cover 13 percent of the nation's
watersheds. This program provides grants
to Indian tribes (including tribes on former
reservations in Oklahoma) and Alaska Native
villages for planning, design, and construction of
wastewater facilities.
Colonias Program
www.epa.gov/owm/mab/mexican
The southwestern United States contains more
than 1,200 colonias—Hispanic communities along
the U.S.-Mexican border. This program offers
grants for the planning, design, and construction
of wastewater and drinking water facilities in
those communities.
National Environmental Training Center
for Small Communities (NETCSC)
www.nesc.wvu.edu/netcsc
The Center develops and delivers training courses
on wastewater, drinking water, and solid waste
to environmental trainers and state and local
officials. Services include a toll-free technical
assistance hotline, a Web site, computer
databases, newsletters, and other activities.
Management of Onsite/Decentralized
Systems
www.epa.gov/owm/onsite
This effort provides voluntary national
management guidelines and other
information to regulators, community and
business leaders, and citizens in small
communities served by a variety of onsite
wastewater technologies, including septic
systems.
Clean Water State Revolving Loan
Fund Program
www.epa.gov/owm/cwfinance/cwsrf
All 50 states and Puerto Rico operate loan
programs that provide low-interest financing
for wastewater and other water quality
projects. All of these programs provide
assistance to small communities, and over
half of the states have developed special
programs for disadvantaged communities.
National Small Flows Clearinghouse
(NSFC)
www.nesc.wvu.edu/nsfc
The Clearinghouse collects and distributes
information about small wastewater
treatment solutions. Services include a toll-
free technical assistance hotline, an Internet-
based discussion group, computer databases,
newsletters, and other publications.
Operator On-Site Technical Assistance
Program—104(g)
www.epa.gov/owm/mab/smcomm/104g
This program provides hands-on assistance to
small municipal wastewater treatment plant
operators to address compliance assistance,
maintenance, and performance improvement
matters by providing operations and maintenance,
financial, and technical assistance at no cost to the
community.
Rural Community Assistance Program
(RCAP)
www.rcap.org
This network of nonprofit organizations provides
community-specific information and technical
assistance at no cost. The goal of the program is to
improve the ability of rural communities to plan,
design, operate, and maintain wastewater systems.
Small Communities Outreach and
Education Network (SCORE)
www.epa.gov/owm/mab/smcomm/scmore.htm
SCORE information and outreach help small
communities build and operate self-sufficient
wastewater facilities that meet clean water standards.
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Small Community
Wastewater Facts
• More than 70 percent of the
nation's housing units that have
inadequate plumbing are in small
communities.
• Nearly 1 million housing units in
small communities use outhouses
or privies for sewage disposal.
• More than 19 million housing
units in small communities use
septic tanks or cesspools as the
primary source of treatment.
• Many small community
wastewater problems can be
addressed with assistance from
EPA's wastewater programs for
small communities and from
partner organizations.
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