&EPA
Environmental Protection
Agency
(4204)
June 1998
Outreach And
Technical Assistance Programs
[, i i '-,'!:-*_
1997 Accomplishments
i ii
Small Underserved Communities Team
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f.,
It
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Contents
Underserved Communities: the Problem ........... . i
Role of the Small Underserved Communities Team .. 1
Why This Report? ..... ...... 2
Small Community Needs 2
-1997 Program Accomplishments-
Technical Assistance 3
Field Assistance -....;• . . 3
Rural Community Assistance Program ...... ...... 3
Demonstration Projects ... 4
National Small Flows Clearinghouse Onsite Demonstration Program ......... 4
Alaska Sanitation Facilities Operations and Maintenance Pilot Project.. .. ..... 5
Tribal Wastewater Peer Match Program .... ..... . 5
Wastewater Treatment Grants ... '.''-.,'..'.'.- .. 5
Clean Water Act Indian Set-Aside Grant Program 6
Alaska Native Village Sanitation Grant Program .. ......... ... 6
U.S.-Mexico Tribal Border Grant Program 7
Colonias Wastewater Assistance Program .,....!. 7
Training .-.*..';..' .......... .. 9
Operator Training Program ..! 9
National Environmental Training Center for Small Communities 9
Outreach .... .'....;.....- ..;...... ;.. ....;. ; 11
Small Community Outreach and Education (SCORE) . .....: 11
The National Small Flows Clearinghouse 11
\
Team Publications 13
Team Contacts ............. , .: 14
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Underserved Communities: the Problem
EPA defines "small underserved communities" as those that have fewer than 10,000 people and
that have inadequate wastewater collection or treatment systems. Among them are communities
and tribes throughout the United States as well as native villages in Alaska and economically
• disadvantaged areas along the United States-Mexico border. More than a million homes in
America still lack basic indoor plumbing, and many small communities have central wastewater
systems that need extensive repair. These conditions pose serious health and environmental
problems for residents. ' ..'•.,•'
Role of the Small Underserved Communities Team.
The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Office
of Wastewater Management (OWM) administers -'•••-
programs that can help small, rural, and underserved
communities get adequate wastewater treatment and
disposal systems. These programs are managed in the
' Municipal Support Division (MSD) by the Small •'"'/'
Underserved Communities Team (the team). Chartered *^^™II^^"I1^^^™IIII^^""'I'III1B
by MSD management in December 1997, the team was created to. help spcioeconomically
deprived communities attain wastewater treatment services that meet water quality and public
health standards. The team consists of program analysts and environmental protection specialists
who manage program resources arid activities.;
Team Vision:
To help ensure the attainment
of adequate wastewater
treatment services by small
underserved communities so
;that their water quality:and
public health needs are met.
Team Mission:
• To administer programs
through which small
underserved communities
can access information or
financial and technical
assistance to achieve
adequate, cost-effective
wastewater systems.
• • To help focus and increase
assistance efforts for small
underserved communities.
While some of the programs administered by the team
provide direct financial assistance to build wastewater
facilities, most take the form of information development
and technical expertise initiatives that can help
communities solve their own problems. Team activities
stimulate outreach that delivers appropriate information
to decisionrnakers in needy communities. Outreach is
conducted by partners who receive EPA funding for a
variety of activities and products, such as newsletters,
hotlines, wastewater system information, over-the-
shoulder technical assistance for wastewater operators,
technology and management demonstration projects, and
delivery of training materials to environmental trainers,
educators, and others who work with small communities.
EPA's Office of Wastewater Management Outreach and technical Assistance Programs
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Why this report? This report highlights accomplishments of the assistance programs the team
manages. It describes team programs and outreach initiatives, resources provided, and major
1997 accomplishments that helped small communities comply with Clean Water Act (CWA)
requirements and improve their quality of life. Team contacts in EPA's Municipal Assistance
Branch can provide specific information about the programs.
\ ' , , .
Small Community Needs. The wastewater treatment needs of small communities are
significant. According to the 1996 Needs Survey Report to Congress, total documented needs for
communities with fewer than 10,000 people are $13.8 billion—11 percent of the Nation's total
documented needs. Also, small communities have greater basic infrastructure needs than larger
communities: secondary treatment comprises 28 percent of the total documented needs for small
communities compared to 20 percent for larger ones, and new collector sewers account for only 6
percent of the need for larger communities but 29 percent for small ones. These statistics reflect,
in part, continuing efforts to extend wastewater collection and treatment to small communities.
As part of this effort, the EPA 1997 Congressional Appropriations bill provided approximately
S82.5 million for small community wastewater programs administered by the team. The chart
below shows how those funds were distributed.
Small Underserved Communities Team
Program
^^^^^^^^^^* "'^^^'^^•^•'•^^••^••^•^^•^••^••M
Rural Community Assistance Program
National Small Flows Clearinghouse
Onsite Demonstration Program
Alaska Operations & Maintenance Pilot 'Project
Tribal Wastewater Peer Match Program
Clean Water Act Indian Set-Aside Grant Program
Alaska Native Village 'Sanitation Grant Program
U.S.-Mexico Tribal Border Grant Program
U.S. Colonias Wastewater Assistance Program
Operator Training Program (104(g)(l))
National Environmental Training Center for Small
Communities
Small Community Outreach and Education (SCORE)
National Small Flows Clearinghouse
TOTAL
FY 1997
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^MM^^^HB^^MMM
$521,000
$1 million
$500,000
$0 (team support)
$6.7 million
$15 million
$4.5 million
$50 million (Texas)
$1.79 million
$1 million
$0 (team support)
$1.52 million
- $82.53 million
•""%
•-/ a.
*vX J o
— A? **
EPA's Office of Wastewater Management Outreach'andTechnicai Assistance Programs'
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Technical Assistance: 1997 Program Accomplishments
To help communities build and operate self-sufficient wastewater systems that comply with
CWA requirements, EPA and Congress over the years have made funds available to create
several information, training, and technical assistance programs. Often communities.and tribes
can avoid costly construction projects by improving their management skills, seeking adequate •
financing, selecting appropriate technology, and improving the operation and maintenance of
their facilities. In FY 1997, many small communities were able to do just that through EPA
assistance programs managed by OWM's Small Underserved Communities Team.
Field Assistance
BLural Community Assistance Program (RCAP).
RCAP's Small Community Wastewater Project operates
under a cooperative agreement funded by EPA's
congressional add-on grant. The program is carried out
through a
States with RCAP Wastewater national network
Projects in 1997 of nonprofit
organizations
that focus on
helping small,
rural, arid
underserved
communities
meet CWA
requirements. .
Most of the
communities are
populated by -
low-income
minorities who
have problems addressing their wastewater treatment issues. In FY 1997, EPA targeted
$307,000 for RCAP technical assistance to communties hi the areas of operations and
maintenance,.financing, management, and facilities planning and development. Additionally,
RCAP contributed $ 15,923 of in-kind services to the proj ect. FY 1997 accomplishments
included the following: ' '
The following communities
have success stories to share
about RCAP-supported V
wastewater projects:
Latty, OH
' Elmwood Heights, WV
Mille Lacs, MN
Rivertoh, MN
Fairfield Community, NC
Holman Drive, NC
Northern Northampton, VA
Chemehuevi, CA
Mora, NM ..•.-.-.
Amenia, NY
Colrain, MA.
Pollock, LA
Blue Water Cove, TX
To read about them, visit the
RCAP or OWM websites at:
http://www.rcap.org.or
http://www.epa.gov/OWWl
EPA's Office of Wastewater Management Outreach and Technical Assistance Programs
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Technical Assistance: 1997 Program Accomplishments
* RCAP provided onsite technical assistance for wastewater
projects in 57 small rural communities in 20 states. Project
types included 35 facilities development plans,
5 management and finance seminars, 9 systems
operations and maintenance, 5 community program
planning, and 3 supplemental funding assistance.
»• RCAP networked with more than 19 state pollution control
agencies, EPA Small Community Outreach and Education
Of sssvme
Uftftl .eO
(SCORE) coordinators, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development
agencies, U.S. Indian Health Services (IMS)—Health and Human Services—and
numerous other federal, regional, and state agencies; tribal councils; and other
organizations to address small, rural community wastewater treatment needs,,
>• RCAP leveraged $1,463,000 to assist small
communities, most with fewer than 3,000
residents. A population of 37,771 people
directly benefited from RCAP's assistance.
Demonstration Projects
o
04
^
National Small Flows Clearinghouse
Onsite Demonstration Program. This
&
multiple-phased project demonstrates the
effectiveness of alternative onsite
w ^P wastewater technologies (treatment of
4TI° wastewater on the property where it
originates or by means of cluster systems serving several
homes). The National Onsite Demonstration Project is
funded under a cooperative agreement between the EPA and
the National Small Flows Clearinghouse. The program calls
for construction of onsite systems at various locations in
more than 10 states. It also includes monitoring of system
performance, documentation of costs, active public
education programs, and development of management
approaches to assure proper operation and maintenance.
The program aims to develop model programs for managing
and maintaining onsite systems and for training local
officials, installers, and engineers. Congressional add-on
funding has provided $4.75 million for the program through
FY 1997. Program highlights for FY 1997 include:
Gloucester, Massachusetts. In
"November 199,4, North
Gloucester, an old fishing port
in Massachusetts, became the
first of six communities
nationwide to complete
construction of onsite
wastewater systems as part of
the National Onsite
Demonstration Project. The
project increased the number of
viable options available to the
city's homeowners and may
thereby lessen the need for
sewers. But the real cost
savings for Gloucester's onsite
systems will be realized over
the long haul by cutting
operational fees in half. To
develop a base of knowledge
within Gloucester, separate
contractors were hired to install
each of three systems..:System
construction came in ahead of
schedule and under budget.
EPA's Office of Wastewater Management Outreach and Technical Assistance Programs
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Technical Assistance: 1 997 Program Accomplishments
A meeting of phase I communities featured presentations on the results of
each project. Monitoring has been completed, and results for phase I will be
published by September 1998.
Six proposals were selected for funding under phase II of the demonstration
project.
Wastewater treatment plant
inKiana, AK
Alaska Sanitation Facilities Operations and
Maintenance (O&M) Pilot Project As in most
.communities in the United States, rural Alaska
communities manage, operate, and maintain their
sanitation facilities. But a variety of technical,
geographic, climatic, and economic factors make O&M
• a greater challenge in rural Alaska than elsewhere. That
. is why in-1995 OWM and EPA Region 10 entered into a
cooperative agreement with the Alaska Native Health
Board (ANHB) to conduct a series of pilot projects that
explore ways to help rural communities achieve
adequate O&M of their drinking water and wastewater
treatment facilities. The goals of the pilot program were
to protect government and community investments in
sanitation facilities, to build community capacity for sanitation facilities management and O&M,
to demonstrate the feasibility of reducing life-cycle costs through alternative technologies, and to
protect public health through effective O&M of water and sanitation facilities. In F Y 1997:
*• More than 30 rural Alaskan communities and villages entered into
partnerships with the ANHB to identify and implement improved O&M
practices in their communities.
* OWM provided $2.5 million in total funding for the pilot projects.
Tribal Wastewater Peer Match Program. The National Tribal Environmental Council
(NTEC), a nonprofit tribal membership organization, helps Indian tribes protect and preserve ,
tribal lands. NTEC was created to address the needs expressed by many
tribes for training and technical assistance to develop and manage their
environmental programs. OWM entered intp a 2-year cooperative
agreement totaling $ 125,000 with NTEC to establish a Tribal Wastewater
Peer Match Exchange Program to. help tribes address their water pollution'
EPA's Office of Wastewater Management Outreach and Technical Assistance Programs
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Technical Assistance: 1997 Program Accomplishments
problems. This innovative pilot approach to intertribal technical assistance and training
establishes "ad hoc" networks or "peer relationships" with experts in environmental systems and
wastewater management. As of FY 1997:
>• Sixteen peer matches helped tribes better learn how to operate and maintain
wastewater treatment systems, monitor septic systems to protect
groundwater, design and build new systems, establish water quality
standards, and identify funding sources for treatment systems.
Wastewater Treatment Grants
Clean Water Act Indian Set-Aside (ISA) Grant Program. This grant program helps pay for
planning, designing, and constructing wastewater treatment systems for Indian tribes and Alaska
Native Villages (ANVs). All federally recognized tribes, ANVs, and tribes on former
reservations in Oklahoma are eligible to apply for an ISA grant. The EPA administers this grant
program in cooperation with IHS. This partnership optimizes the technical resources available
through both agencies to address tribal sanitation needs. Each year, 0.5 percent of the CWA
Title VI (State Revolving Fund) is set aside for construction of tribal wastewater systems.
Through FY 1997, the EPA ISA Program has disbursed more than $72 million for 176 projects.
> Twenty-five tribal wastewater systems were funded from the
$6.7 million set-aside.
»• Outreach materials—a brochure and Q&A document—were developed
to increase tribal awareness of the ISA program.
Alaska Native Village Sanitation Grant
Program. Congress and EPA created this grant
program in 1995 to help ANVs and rural Alaska
communities fund construction of water and
wastewater sanitation facilities. Of the 268
cornmunities in Alaska, 192 are considered
ANVs. More than half of these have
unacceptable drinking water and wastewater
sanitation systems to service their residents
(about 75,000 people). In some villages, the
occurrence of fecal contamination and
"Honey Bucket" haul station
in Kipnuk, AK
• EPA's Office of Wastewater Management Outreach and Technical Assistance Programs
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Technical Assistance: 1997 Program Accomplishments
communicable disease is quite high. Most of these villages nave only basic sanitation systems,
such as pit privies or "honey bucket" haul systems .as the sole means of sewage collection and
disposal. As of FY 1997, $45 million has been made available for more than 100 sanitation
.systems in these communities and villages, The State of Alaska has provided matching funds
equivalent to EPA's investment. In FY 1997:
> OWM provided $15 million to build a total of 41 water and wastewater
sanitation systems for rural Alaska communities and ANVs.
U.S.-Mexico Tribal Border Grant Program. Funding for Indian tribes within 100 kilometers
(62 miles) of the United States-Mexico border was appropriated by Congress in 1996 to assist
tribes with the planning, design, and/or construction of high-priority drinking water and
wastewater treatment projects. Approximately $17 million was made available to address the
pressing need for infrastructure financing on Indian reservations and on a number of Indian lands'
along the border. Tribes were asked, to submit project proposals addressing specific criteria to
EPA Region 10 for review and approval. In FY 1997:
* Ten (10) projects were selected for funding.
Approximately $4.5 million in grant awards
were made to 4 of the 10 selected tribes.
U.S. Colonias Wastewater Assistance Program.
Colonias—impoverished communities along the United
States-Mexico border—came about when developers
sold small tracts on marginal land in unincorporated
subdivisions to poor immigrants who could not afford
better. Unacceptable environmental and sanitation
conditions, including a lack of safe drinking water and
wastewater treatment services, have caused a high rate
of hepatitis A and gastrointestinal diseases in these
communities. Approximately 1,200 colonias, with a
total population exceeding 300,000, have been .
identified in Texas and New Mexico. A few also exist
in Arizona and possibly in California. In 1993, EPA
began awarding grants to Texas and New Mexico to
construct wastewater facilities and alleviate these '-.
unsanitary conditions. Congress has appropriated
Colonias Programs Provide Clean
Start
For decades, communities have existed
along the United States-Mexico border
lacking the most basic services that U.S.
residents generally take for granted—safe
drinking water, sanitary wastewater
treatment, paved roads, trash pickup,
and, in some cases, even electricity. One
such community, Lull.colonia, located
near Edinburg, Texas, had not had access
to sewage treatment since the 1920s.
Most of the 1,300 residents who live
there had water hookup in their homes for
cooking and bathing, but not necessarily
for drinking—and often there was no
indoor plumbing. Through the use of
grants and loans from EPA, the United
States Department of Agriculture, the
State of Texas, and the City of Edinburg,
Lull residents—having endured decades of
neglect—now have modern water and
sanitation facilities.
EPA's Office of Wastewater Management Outreach and Technical Assistance"Programs"
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Technical Assistance: 1997 Program Accomplishments
Colonia on the Texas-Mexico border, with
raw sewage flowing
$270 million through FY 1997. Federal
grants, matched by state resources, help finance
construction of wastewater facilities in
colonias. Community general technical
assistance, preparation of project proposals,
overall management of infrastructure projects,
technical review of project designs, and
project construction management are
provided by the Texas Water Development
Board and the New Mexico Environment
Department, which are responsible for day-to-
day program management. By the end of FY
1997:
Eighty-nine colonia projects were under way in Texas, with 50 in the
planning phase and 39 under design or construction. About 287,000
colonia residents benefit from these projects.
In New Mexico, 13 colonia projects were underway, including 4 under
design or construction.
EPA assisted the Texas Attorney General's efforts to promote
legislation to close the loopholes that allowed colonias to develop in
the first place. The state legislature has adopted such laws and the
Attorney General has taken legal action against developers who sold
colonia lots without basic services.
EPA staff conducted an assessment of the colonia assistance program
for Texas. Meetings were held with staff from the Texas Attorney
General's Office and the Texas Water Development Board. Colonias in
the Brownsville and El Paso areas were visited.
EPA staff also assessed the colonia assistance program for New
Mexico. Staff met with State Environment Department officials and
visited colonia wastewater projects, including the alternative
wastewater technology demonstration site near Las Graces.
EPA's Office of Wastewater Management Outreach and Technical Assistance Programs
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Training: 1997 Program Accomplishments
The Small Underserved Communities Team manages outreach programs that offer various
educational and hands-on training opportunities.for people living in small communities or for
owners or operators of small wastewater systems. Programs focus on a variety of operator
training, curricula development, outreach workshops and conferences, and peer matching
activities. FY1997 program accomplishments are highlighted below.
Operator Training Program. By authority of Section 104(g)(l) of the CWA, EPA initiated the
Operator Training program to provide hands-on technical assistance and operator training to
address noncompliance problems at small publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). The
program's goal is to optimize POTW performance by identifying design, administrative,.
maintenance, and operational performance limiting factors and determining feasible solutions.
To date, more than 6,000 POTWs have received onsite assistance/with 80 percent reaching
compliance or showing improved performance. Following are FY 1997 program
accomplishments:
> EPA regional offices allocated more than $1.79 million to 48 states to
continue onsite technical assistance for operators across the country.
> EPA developed a survey to determine the effectiveness of the Section
104(g)(1) onsite assistance program. Survey questions were screened
by operators at local wastewater treatment facilities to ensure their
appropriateness. A report, to be distributed in 1998, will summarize
results of the national survey.
* Approximately 150 technical assistance providers attended the annual
National Operator Training Conference. .
e.14 VI fin
National Environmental Training Center for Small Communities (NETCSC). Established
in 1991, NETCSC is located at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West. Virginia. It is
funded by EPA' s congressional add-on grant and serves as a
national training and education center for environmental
* -" "
' trainers nationwide to improve the quality of wastewater,
drinking water, and solid waste services in communities with
fewer than 10,000 people. NETCSC develops new training '
curricula, redesigns existing curricula, and — in partnership
with other organizations— presents training courses, around the
country to ne^P smaU communities meet federal and state
EPA'S Office of Wastewater Management Outreacii
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Training: 1997 Program Accomplishments '
environmental requirements. NETCSC supports a toll-free technical information resource center
that maintains several electronic databases and a materials, repository for environmental trainers.
The center publishes a quarterly newsletter and a resource catalog and maintains a website. The
website is located at http://www.estd.wvu.edu/netc/netcsc_homepage.html.
Highlights of FY 1997 accomplishments for NETCSC include:
> Development and Delivery. NETCSC produced an omnibus training
course that consists of four stand-alone courses in troubleshooting
wastewater systems for trainers who work with small communities.
NETCSC conducted 13 training sessions with 26 co-sponsors, reaching
nearly 400 participants in 6 EPA regions. It also began an effort to
incorporate NETCSC curricula into state certification programs and
served as a regional downlink site for three satellite video conferences.
> Training Assistance. NETCSC training offerings earned a 93.5-percent
customer satisfaction rating from course participants. NETCSC
provided training information or products to nearly 400 environmental
professionals and expanded information in its databases on training
activities, materials, and organizations. Entries in the trainers database
increased by nearly 50 percent. NETCSC displayed materials at 14
national and 18 state conferences and negotiated three formal
cooperative agreements with two national organizations and one state
organization to share and distribute training information.
*• Promotions and Outreach. NETCSC's website logged 865 hits in its
first year with a growing monthly volume exceeding 175 hits. Four
updates to the website were completed, including eight links. NETCSC
distributed 17 news releases to 1,006 sources, and NETCSC-related
stories appeared in 22 different national, regional, and state
publications.
*• Publications. NETCSC published and distributed four issues of
E-train—a free quarterly training newsletter—to 6,300 subscribers. It
also published and distributed a training resource catalog and an
evaluation resource package for environmental trainers.
-^/
*- - * 1 n EPA's Office of Wastewater Management Outreach and Technical Assistance Programs
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Outreach: 1997 Program Accomplishments
Several EPA outreach initiatives undertaken by team-managed programs brought new
information, knowledge, and skills to small underserved communities. Databases, telephone
hotlines, publications, and presentations assisted a variety of small community audiences with
their wastewater needs. The following describes several outreach highlights for FY 1997.
Small Community Outreach and Education (SCORE). This
information network is part of EPA's information and technical
assistance outreach efforts for small communities. Created in 1988 to
help small communities build and maintain self-sufficient wastewater
facilities that meet CWA requirements, SCORE works with states,
federal agencies, public interest and advocacy groups, and
educational institutions to deliver its messages to audiences: namely,
that self-sufficient wastewater facilities result from appropriate
technology, sound financial management and operations, pollution
prevention, and public education. States play the key role in outreach delivery to their
communities. EPA in past years provided small grants, most under $10,000, to states to establish
small community outreach activities, the SCORE network at present includes EPA
Headquarters and regional SCORE coordinators and state and advocacy organizations mentioned
above. SCORE serves as a vehicle to spread the messages of the various programs managed by
the Small Underserved Communities Team
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL. PROTECTION AGENCY
II unite OF-WATER HHIItl
illllllllllllfllllllilllliJIIli
>• In FY 1997, SCORE networked with other small community
outreach programs in Headquarters, the regions, and advocacy
organizations. A teleconference held with regional SCORE
coordinators, the Small Underserved Communities Team, and a
representative from the HQ Office of Regional Operations and
State and Local Relations highlighted small community activities
and products. These included team programs, the HQ Office of
Regional Operations and State and Local Governments, the
Small Town Task Force, and the Local Government Advisory
Committee. EPA distributed an updated SCORE coordinators
list and other small community publications and materials to
SCORE partners.
The National Small Flows Clearinghouse. The National Small Flows
; Clearinghouse (NSFC) serves as the national collection and distribution center
FJ ' *
for information on small community wastewater systems and
innovative/alternative technologies. NSFC helps small communities find
EPA'S Office o Wastewater Management Outreach and Technical"Assistancei Programs'
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Outreach: 1997 Program Accomplishments
affordable, onsite wastewater treatment services through various means. These include a toll-
free technical assistance hotline, an Internet home page with online discussion groups, computer
databases, two newsletters, a journal, and technical publications and videos. NSFC helps
America's small communities save thousands of dollars in consulting and construction costs
• . r
while maintaining their quality of life. NSFC is the only national resource of its kind dealing
with small community wastewater infrastructure. It has become a model for other agencies
seeking to establish technical assistance programs for small communities. NSFC is supported by
a congressional add-on grant.
In FY 1997, NSFC distributed 88,473 products,
achieving a 90-percent customer satisfaction rate ^••••••^^•^•••••^^••^•B
with its level of service. Highlights of the various
service areas are listed below:
Website: Usage increased from 265 hits in
the 1st quarter to 3,000 in the 4th quarter.
Computer Databases: NSFC maintains four
databases that contain (1) articles from
professional journals, (2) listings of
manufacturers and consultants,
(3) innovative and alternative facilities, and
(4) regulations. In FY 1997, these databases
continued to expand to include information
geared to community-sized wastewater
facilities. Plans were made to make more of
the information available online,
Periodicals: Small Flows, a quarterly
newsletter geared to a technical audience,
had a circulation of 43,000 in FY 1997;
Pipeline, for small community governments,
had a circulation of 20,000; and the Small
Flows Journal, a refereed technical journal,
had a circulation of 6,000.
Toil-Free Hotline: Calls to the hotline totaled
15,000-18,000, at about 1,300-1,500 per
month.
Sometimes, It Only Takes i Phone Call
It all started witfva phone call from Rockwall,
Texas. A homeowner's association in that
small community east of Dallas needed help.
Their septic systems vvere failing and they
knew that it Was just a matter ;of time before
they would draw the attention of regulatory
agencies and face fines. They were
considering forming a public improvement
district and extending sewers from a hearby
treatment plant. The $ 11,000-per~household
price tag for that option was well out of
reach for many in the community, The
association called NSFG and askediseyeral
questions. Using materials supplied by NSFC,
along with references for several nearby
consultants and state off icials who could help
them, the; group decided on a small-diameter
sewer system discharging:into the treatment
plant. At a cost of about $2,400 per
household, the system is saving the
community about $8,600 per connection.
The group has formed a nonprofit /
corporation. Is accepting memberships in the
association as a management unit, and will
soon select an engineer to design its system.
One phone call put a small community in
touch with more than 35 trained professionals
who could help them.
n
EPA's Office of Wastewater Management Outreach and Technical Assistance Programs
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Team Publications: 1997 Team Products
Here is a list of the informational material published in 1997 by members of the Small
Underserved Communities Team.
+ Fact Sheet: Rural Community Assistance Program (RCAP) Help for Small Gorrimunity
Wastewater Projects, EPA 832-F-97-003, October 1997.
4 Federal Funding Sources for Small Community Wastewater Systems, EPA 832-F-97-004,
November 1997. : .
+, Small Currents Newsletter, A Periodic Roundup of Team Activities for Our Small
Community Wastewater Assistance Partners, Issue 1, January 1998.
+ The Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Water Act Indian Set-Aside Grant Program
(brochure), EPA 832-F-97-006, November 1997. • N
+ Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the EPA's Clean Water Indian Set-Aside
Grant Program, EPA-832-K-97-002, January 1998. -
+ Publications describing EPA technical assistance for Wastewater programs in small
underserved communities highlighted by the National Environmental Training Center, the
Small Flows Clearinghouse, and the Drinking Water Clearinghouse.
4 4 Grantees: Key publications and activities. " , •
Copies of these publications may be obtained by contacting the National Center for
Environmental Publications .and Information (NCEPI) at 513-489-1890 or 800-490-9198, or by-
accessing the world wide web at http://www.epa.gov/ncepihom.. Include the document control
number with your request.-Also see http://www.epa.gov.owm/home. .
%2»^ EPA's Office of Wastewater Management Outreach and Technical Assistance Programs :-v»»«.
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Team Contacts
The Small Underserved Communities Team is made up of staff from the Municipal Support
Division of EPA's Office of Wastewater Management. Current team members or advisors and
their programs and telephone numbers are as follows:
Charter Manager
Gary Hudiburgh, Chief, Municipal Assistance Branch 202-260-4926
Alaska O&M Pilot Project, Tribal Wastewater Peer Match Program,
CWA Indian Set-Aside Grant Program, Alaska Native Village
Sanitation Grant Program, U.S.-Mexico Tribal Border
Grant Program (Sylvia Bell) 202-260-7255
Rural Community Assistance Program (Maria Campbell) 202-260-5815
National Environmental Training Center for Small Communities,
SCORE (Betty Ford) 202-260-8510
U.S. Colonias Wastewater Assistance Program, National Small Flows Clearinghouse,
NSFC Onsite Demonstration Program (Steve Hogye) 202-260-5841
State Operator Training Program (Gary Hudiburgh) 202-260-4926
Advisors
Decentralized Wastewater Technologies (Joyce Hudson) 202-260-1290
Small Hardship Grant Program (Stephanie vonFeck) 202-260-9762
Technology Transfer (Charles Vanderlyn) 202-260-7277
GT' */ 14 EPA's Office of Wastewater Management Outreach and Technical Assistance Programs
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