&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water
(4204)
EPA 833-K-98-001
May 1998
http://www.epa.gov/owm/
Waste water Primer
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Contents
Introduction 5
The Problem: Water Pollution 5
The Solution: OWM Programs 7
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) Permit Program 7
State NPDES Programs 7
Section 316(b) - Cooling Water Intake Structures 8
NPDES Watershed Strategy 8
Stormwater Management 9
Combined Sewer Overflows 9
Sanitary Sewer Overflows 9
Animal Feeding Operations 10
Hardrock/Mining 10
Coal Mining 11
Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) 11
Pretreatment 11
Biosolids 11
Financial Support and Flexibility -
Construction Grants/State Revolving Fund 12
Public-Private Partnerships (P3) 12
Section 106 Water Pollution Grants 13
Water Quality Cooperative Agreements 13
Indians Grants Management 13
Indian Set-Aside Grants 13
Alaska Native Village Sanitation 13
Wastewater Assistance to U. S. Colonias On the
Mexico Border 14
Small Community Initiatives 15
Small Community Outreach and Education
(SCORE) Program 15
Rural Community Assistance (RCAP) Program 15
National Small Flows Clearinghouse (NSFC) ^
National Environmental Training Center
For Small Communities (NETCSC) 15
Wastewater Operator Onsite Technical
Assistance 16
Technical Assistance Programs 16
Municipal Technologies 16
Innovativea nd Alternative Technologies 16
Clean Water Needs Survey 16
Water Alliances for Voluntary Efficiency
(WAVE) Program 17
Youth and the Environmental Program 17
National Wastewalcr Management Excellence
Awards Program 17
Voluntary Environmental Management Systems 17
Reinvention Efforts 18
Information Resources 18
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The United States Environmen-
tal Protection Agency's Office
of Wastewater Management
(OWM) oversees a range of
programs contributing to the well-being
of the nation's waters and watersheds.
Through its programs and initiatives,
OWM promotes compliance with the
requirements of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act, commonly
referred to as the Clean Water Act,
OWM Programs Include:
.Direction of the National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
Permit Program, including stormwater
management, and control of combined
sewer and sanitary sewer overflows
.Oversight of the National Pretreatment
Program, emphasizing control and
prevention of water pollution from
industrial facilities
.Enhancement of the Agency's biosolids
(sewage sludge) management program
that promotes the understanding and
compliance with the Federal Part 503
biosolids rule as well as the adoption of
additional user and environmentally
friendly practices for managing biosolids
.Administration of the Clean Water
State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and the
Clean Water Action Section 106 and the
Water Quality Cooperative Agreements
Section 104(b)(3) grant programs for
environmental infrastructure investment
. Completion and closeout of the
wastewater Construction Grants program
.Provision of technical advice and
training to industries and municipalities
in an effort to improve compliance with
wastewater regulatory requirements
. Support of the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) environ-
mental infrastructure program in the
U.S.-Mexico border area
.Administration of programs to ensure
that animal feeding operation (AFO)
wastes are managed to minimize
environmental and public health effects
.Administration of outreach, technical
assistance and training programs to help
small, rural and underserved communi-
ties provide adequate wastewater
treatment and disposal services; targeted
populations include Alaska Native
Villages, Indian tribes, and U.S.-Mexico
border - colonias
.Management of EPA's National award
recognition program for wstewater
management excellence in municipalities
and wastewater treatment facilities,
presented for outstanding and innovative
practices in operations and maintenance,
beneficial biosolids use, pretreatment
management, storm water and combined
sewer overflows controls
.Collaboration with other federal
agencies (DOI, USDA) and states to
address pollution from abandoned mines
.Reporting on the nation's water
requirements in the Clean Water Needs
Survey
The Problem: Water Pollution
Cleaning and protecting the nation's
water is an enormous task. Under the
Clean Water Act, the Office of Wastewa-
ter Management (OWM) works in
partnership with EPA regions, states and
tribes to regulate discharges into surface
waters such as wetlands, lakes, rivers,
estuaries, bays, and oceans, Specifically,
OWM focuses on control of wastewater
that is collected in discrete conveyances
(also called point sources), including
pipes, ditches, and sanitary or storm
sewers.
Traditionally, the Agency has had
separate programs for point sources and
nonpoint sources (which include
agricultural runoff, erosion, and other
sources not directly linked to a specific
source of pollution). Now, however, as
we adopt a more comprehensive strat-
egy, OWM is working with other EPA
offices and with our stakeholders to
apply a watershed approach to water
management, promoting integrated
solutions to address all sources of
pollution to surface water, groundwatcr,
and habitats on a watershed basis.
A watershed may be affected by
discharges from municipal and/or
industrial facilities, as well as pollutants
from other sources that are not as easily
identified, and therefore harder to
control.
Municipal wastewater consists
primarily of domestic wastes from
households and industrial wastewater
from manufacturing and commercial
activities. Both types of wastewater are
collected in sanitary sewers, and are
usually treated at a municipal wastewater
treatment plant. After treatment, the
wastewater is discharged to its receiving
water (e. g., a river, an estuary, or an
ocean).
Wastewater entering a treatment
plant may contain organic pollutants
(including raw sewage), metals, nutri-
ents, sediment, bacteria, and viruses.
Toxic substances used in the home -
motor oil, paint, household cleaners, and
pesticides - or substances released by
industries, also make their way into
sanitary sewers.
Industrial processes, such as steel or
chemical manufacturing, produce
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billions of gallons of wastewater daily.
Some industrial pollutants are similar to
those in municipal sewage, but often are
more concentrated. Other industrial
pollutants are more exotic and include a
variety of heavy metals and synthetic
organic compounds. In sufficient
dosages, they may present serious
hazards to human health and aquatic
organisms.
Unlike municipal or industrial
sources of pollution, which come from a
single discrete facility, other sources are
usually more diffuse. For example, rain
water or snowmelt washing over
farmlands may carry topsoil and fertil-
izer residues into nearby streams. This
type of runoff, called stormwater, may
carry oil and gasoline, agricultural
chemicals, nutrients, heavy metals, and
other toxic substances, as well as
bacteria, viruses, and oxygen-demanding
compounds.
A recent EPA study indicated that
roughly one third of identified cases of
water quality impairment nationwide are
attributable to stormwater, whether from
farmland, streets, parking lots, construc-
tion sites, or other sources.
Animal Feeding Operations (AFOS)
are livestock-raising operations, such as
hog, cattle and poultry farms, that
confine and concentrate animal popula-
tions and their waste. Animal waste, if
not managed properly, can run off to
nearby water bodies and cause serious
water pollution and public health risks.
There are approximately 450,000 AFO's
in the United States.
Acid Mine Drainage is one of the
most significant environmental impacts
resulting from past and current mining
activities. It has been cited as a major
cause of stream pollution in northern
Appalachia (PA, W. VA, VA, MD); over
50 percent of streAm miles in PA and
WV do not meet water quality standards
because of acid mine drainage impacts.
In addition, there are an estimated
200,000 abandoned hardrock mines
nationwide and somewhere between
2,000 and 10.000 active ones. Some of
these mining operations produce waste
material and other conditions that resulf
in acid mine drainage as well as dis-
charges of heavy metals which affect
aquatic life and drinking water sources.
Mine sites may also affect public safety
because of mine debris and open entry-
ways, shafts and processing facilities.
Combined sewer overflows (CSSOSO)
arc mixtures of sewage, industrial
wastewater, and storm water discharged
prior to reaching a treatment plant. They
can cause beach closings, shell fishing
bans, and a range of public health
problems and can occur in about 1,100
communities that have antiquated water
infrastructure.
Sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) are
raw sewage overflows from separate
sanitary sewer collection systems. Over
the years, many sanitary sewer collection
systems have deteriorated due to
inadequate preventive maintenance and
insufficient rehabilitation and replace-
ment. SSOs can discharge to surface
waters, flood basements, and overflow
from manholes into streets and across
private properly. Cracked and leaking
sanitary sewers can also discharge raw
sewage during dry weather periods.
Sanitary sewer overflows can result in
health risks, properly damage, and water
quality impacts.
Sewage sludge, now generally
referred to as biosolids, is the semi-solid
residue from wastewater treatment
processes. Although biosolids result
from the treatment of wastewater, they
can be utilized as a valuable resource.
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The Solution: OWM Programs
In 1993, the Government Performance
and Results Act (GPRA) was signed into
law requiring agencies to establish
measurable goals and objectives as part
of a strategic planning process. Accord-
ingly, EPA created a strategic plan that
sets a number of specific objectives that
allow the Agency to meet its overall
environmental protection goals.
One of the goals is Clean and Safe
Water for all Americans. To help meet
this goal, the Agency has committed to
achieve a 20 percent reduction by 2005
in pollutant discharges from key point
sources and nonpoint sources from 1992
levels. To achieve this objective, OWM
is committed by 2005 to reducing annual
point source loadings from combined
sewer overflows (CSOS), publicly owned
treatment works (POTWS), and industrial
sources by 30 percent from 1992 levels.
Recognizing that the nation's waters are
significantly impaired by other sources,
such as CAFOS and storm water runoff,
we are also working to develop perfor-
mance measurement approaches for
them.
The Office of Wastewater Manage-
ment (OWM), in cooperation with states,
EPA offices, and other stakeholders,
manages the following programs to
achieve the goals and to continuously
improve the quality of the nation's
waters.
• Regulatory Programs
and Tools
This section of the Primer deals with
OWM's regulatory programs, which
operate under authority of the Clean
Water Act,
National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES)
Permit Program
The Clean Water Act requires that all
point source wastewater dischargers
obtain and comply with an NPDES
permit. NPDES permits regulate the
discharges from publicly owned waste-
water treatment facilities, other wastewa-
ter treatment facilities, industrial
facilities, concentrated animal feeding
operations, aquiculture, and other "point
source" dischargers, The NPDES
program also regulates wet weather
discharges such as stormwater dis-
charges from industrial activities (e.g.
factory stomwater runoff) and munici-
pal stormwater discharges including,
urban stormwater runoff, combined
sewer overflows, and storm sewer
overflows.
NPDES permits are developed to
ensure that such discharges to receiving
waters are protective of human health
and the environment. They establish
specific discharge limits, monitoring,
and reporting requirements and may also
require that dischargers undertake
measures to reduce or eliminate pollu-
tion to receiving waters. Violations of
permit conditions are enforceable under
the Clean Water Act. EPA uses a variety
of techniques to monitor permitters
compliance status, including on-site
inspections and review of data submitted
by permitters. NPDES permits are
issued for a term of five years (or less).
State NPDES Programs
The Clean Water Act provides that
states may be authorized to operate their
own NPDES programs provided such
programs meet minimum federal
requirements, As of February 1998, 42
states and the United States Virgin
Islands have authorized NPDES pro-
grams. Indian nations can also be
authorized to operate an NPDES
program, More than 200,000 sources are
regulated by NPDES permits nationwide,
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Section 316(b) CWA - Cooling
Water Intake Structures
OWM is currently developing
regulations under Section 316(b) of the
Clean Water Act ("'CWA"), 33 U.S.C.
Section 1326(b). This section provides
that any standard established pursuant to
sections 301 or 306 of the Clean Water
Act and applicable to a point source shall
require that the location, design, con-
struction, and capacity of cooling water
intake structures reflect the best technol-
ogy available for minimizing adverse
environmental impact, This regulation is
unique in that it applies to the intake of
water and not the discharge, The goal of
this regulation is to minimize the
impingement (where fish and other
aquatic life are trapped in cooling water
intake screens) and entrainment (where
aquatic organisms, eggs and larvae are
sucked into cooling water systems) of
fish and other aquatic organisms as they
are drawn into an industrial facility's
cooling water intake.
NPDES Watershed Strategy
OWM developed the NPDES Water-
shed Strategy with input from states
and EPA regions. The final strategy
reflects a first step towards the Office
of Water's goal of fully integrating
the NPDES permitting program into
the agency's broader watershed
protection approach.
The Watershed Strategy identifies
six areas that must be addressed to
improve water quality on a watershed
basis nationwide.
.Statewide coordination: support the
development of state-wide basin
management frameworks, and
coordinate interstate basin efforts to
facilitate implementation of the
watershed protection approach.
.NPDES Permits: streamline the
process for NPDES permit develop-
ment, issuance, and review, and
develop innovative approaches to
permitting on a watershed basis where
feasible
.Monitoring and assessment: develop
a state-wide monitoring strategy, and
establish point-source ambient moni-
toring requirements.
.Programmatic measures and environ-
mental indicators: revise existing
national accountability measures to
facilitate implementation of the
watershed protection approach.
.Public participation: utilize existing
NPDES public participation process in
development of watershed protection
plans, and seek broad public participa-
tion in identifying local environmental
goals.
.Enforcement: include emphasis on
facilities that discharge to priority
basins.
Implementation of the watershed
strategy is now underway, and will
include the completion of assessments
of each state's watershed protection
activities and needs. OWM will
coordinate with other EPA Offices and
states to ensure that ongoing program
activities take watershed planning into
consideration.
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NPDES Watershed Permitting
A NPDES Watershed Strategy has
been developed to ensure that the
NPDES Program protects watersheds as
effectively as possible.
NPDES Wet-Weather Strategies
Chief among the NPDES program's
responsibilities is the effective
implementation of EPA's wet-weather
strategies, including stormwater
management and the control of
combined sewer and sanitary sewer
overflows.
Stormwater Management
Stormwater discharges from many
sources are largely uncontrolled. For
this reason, the mandate of the
Stormwater Program is particularly
challenging.
Amendments to the Clean Water Act
established a two-phased approach to
address stormwater discharges. Phase 1,
currently being implemented, requires
permits for separate storm water systems
serving large and medium-sized
communities (those with over 100,000
inhabitants), and for stormwater
discharges associated with industrial and
construction activity involving at least
five acres.
To address the large number of
industrial dischargers of stormwater—for
populations over 100,000-EPA has
developed a strategy with a tiered
framework to control administrative
burden while emphasizing reduction in
risk to human health and ecosystems.
Phase 2, now under development, will
address remaining stormwater
discharges. A proposed regulatory
approach would require permits for
municipalities in urban areas with
populations under 100,000, and smaller
construction sites.
Combined Sewer Over-ows (CSOS)
A combined sewer overflow is a
discharge from a sewer system that is
designed to carry sanitary wastewater
and stormwater in the same pipe to a
sewage treatment plant. In periods of
rainfall or snowmelt, a combined sewer
system can discharge excess wastewater
directly to rivers, lakes, and estuaries,
cause health and environmental hazards
because treatment plants can not handle
the extra flow.
In Apnl 1994, EPA issued the CSO
Control Policy, which calls for
communities to control CSOS using a
combination of immediate measures,
such as public notification and better
operation and maintenance, and long-
term control activities, such as
construction of storage or treatment
facilities for wet weather flows. Despite
its rigorous approach to controlling
CSOS, the CSO Control Policy provides
communities with the flexibility to
develop a workable, cost-effective
solution to a major environmental
problem.
Sanitary Sewer Overflows
EPA is currently evaluating the
extent of sanitary sewer overflows across
the country. The agency will work with
the public and with constituent groups
across the country to identify and
evaluate issues associated with these
overflows to protect human health,
properly, and water quality.
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Animal Feeding Operation
(AFOS)
There are approximately 450,000
AFOS throughout the United States,
ranging from small livestock production
facilities with few animals to the current
trend of large and geographically
concentrated facilities generating animal
wastes equivalent with a medium-sized
city. AFOS, either singularly, or in
Under Section 502 of the Clean
Water Act, concentrated animal feeding
operations (CAPOS) are point sources
and must apply for a National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
permit. Of approximately 6,600 CAFOS,
fewer than a quarter have NPDES
permits.
During the past few years, significant
attention to AFOS has put the issue in the
spotlight. The lagoon spills from hog
combination with other AFOS in a
watershed, have been shown to cause
significant environmental and public
health concerns, including nutrient
enrichment of surface waters,
contamination of drinking water
supplies, fish kills, and odor problems.
farms in North Carolina in the summer
of 1995 and public concerns about the
potential relationship between nutrient
enrichment and occurrence of the
microorganism, Pfiesteria, that attacks
fish, is an example of environmental
and public health issues.
Mining
Active and inactive mines throughout
the United States present many complex
environmental and regulatory issues.
Mining is regulated under various
federal and state authorities. Federal
statutory authority is spread among
several agencies; no one agency has
overall responsibility.
Regulation of hardrock activities
occurs via a complex web of sometimes
overlapping jurisdictions, laws and rules
covering several environmental media.
Recognizing the significance of
environmental impacts and the statutory
and regulatory complexities of hardrock
mining activities, EPA published the
Hardrock Mining Framework document
in September 1997. Developed by a
national workgroup, the Framework is
designed to help EPA implement a
multi-media, multi-statute approach that
focuses on understanding and improving
the use of existing EPA authorities and
improving EPA's partnership role with
other federal agencies and stakeholders.
To focus scarce financial and human
resources on priority sites, several
federal agencies have developed a joint
watershed approach to address
abandoned mines on federal lands,
which includes a collaborative effort
with state and local agencies, tribes, and
private parties. This approach consists
of four phases and utilizes a flexible
schedule and pace for conducting each
phase,
1 ) identifying and prioritizing
watersheds
2) characterizing and ranking individual
sites
3) developing and implementing a cost-
effective mitigation plan for priority
watersheds
4) monitoring for environmental, public
health, and safety objectives and
effectiveness
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Coal Mining
Abandoned coal mines cause many
of the greatest impairments to water
quality throughout the Appalachian
region of the United States. EPA, the
Office of Surface Mining (OSM), the
Interstate Mining Compact Commission
(IMCC) and concerned states have
combined their efforts to develop a
proposed comprehensive watershed
restoration program to help improve
water quality in the areas where
abandoned mines are located. These
efforts are designed to clean up rivers
and streams polluted by coal mine
drainage, as well as continuing to work
with all affected stakeholders.
The program includes, among other
things, efforts to provide incentives for
remining of abandoned sites, use of best
management practices (BMPs) to
achieve limitations on various chemicals,
and an increased focus on a cumulative
watershed approach that relies upon total
maximum daily loads (TMDLs) to
achieve compliance with water quality
standards (WQS).
Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET)
WET is the total toxic effect Of an
effluent measured by a biological
toxicity test.
A WET test captures the effect of all
toxicants on exposed test organisms
without requiring the identification of
specific toxicants.
WET replicates to the greatest extent
possible the actual environmental
exposure of aquatic life to effluent
toxicants. WET tests use the same
essential procedures as those used to
generate water quality criteria.
WET is used in NPDES permits in
two fundamental ways:
.to regulate the toxicity of a discharge
.to generate data on the toxicity of a
discharge
NPDES permit limits for WET
typically are expressed either as a
concentration of effluent in clean water
that must not result in an unacceptable
WET test endpoint (such as lethality of
more than half of the test organisms) or a
number of toxic units (such as 3 TU)
which corresponds to an effluent
concentration.
WET limits are typically calculated
to ensure that state water quality criteria
for toxicity (numeric or narrative) are
attained and maintained. Alternatively,
WET monitoring requirements instead of
WET limits are often included in NPDES
to generate toxicity data for use in
making future decisions about whether
WET needs to be controlled at a
particular discharge point.
Pretreatment
The National Pretreatment Program
is a cooperative effort of federal, state,
and local regulatory environmental
agencies established to protect water
quality. The program is designed to
reduce the level of pollutants discharged
by industry and other non domestic
wastewater sources into municipal sewer
systems, and thereby, reduce the amount
of pollutants released into the
environment through wastewater. The
objective of the program is to protect the
Publicly Owned Treatment Works
(POTW) from pollutants that may
interfere with plant operation, prevent
untreated pollutants from being
introduced into the POTW, and to
improve opportunities for the POTW to
reuse wastewater and biosolids that are
generated.
The General Pretreatment
Regulations require POTWS that meet
certain requirements to develop 1 ocal
pretreatment programs to control
industrial discharges into their municipal
sewer systems. These programs must be
approved by either EPA or the state
acting as the pretreatment Approval
Authority. More than 1,500 POTWs
have developed Approved Pretreatment
Programs.
EPA has also developed national
categorical pretreatment standards that
apply numeric pollutant limits to
industrial users in specific industrial
categories. The General Pretreatment
Regulations include reporting and other
requirements necessary to implement
these categorical standards.
Biosolids
OWM's National Biosolids Program
regulates biosolids (sewage sludge) that
are used or disposed of through land
application, surface disposal, or
incineration. Anyone who works with
biosolids is probably regulated under this
program. While all compliant practices
are permitted by this program, EPA and
other federal agencies have continued to
promote the beneficial use of the
valuable biosolids resource.
EPA's program for biosolids
management was mandated by the Clean
Water Act. OWM's enhanced biosolids
program promotes understanding and
compliance with the Federal Part 503
biosolids rule as well as the adoption of
additional user and environmentally
friendly practices for managing
biosolids. Through partnerships with
stakeholders OWM is working for the
adoption of a biosolids environmental
management system that goes beyond
compliance with federal and state rules
and helps gain public acceptance of
biosolids recycling.
OWM and other EPA offices also
offer guidance and technical assistance
for the beneficial use of biosolids as soil
amendments and fertilizer, By helping
the public understand the benefits or
using biosolids and other similar by-
products, EPA enhances pollution
prevention by promoting the recycling of
biosolids—a beneficial technology for a
better environment.
Biosolids Environmental Management
System (BEMS) is a stakeholder-based
program for biosolids management that
goes beyond compliance with federal
and state rules. BEMS is expected to
include a code of good practice,
guidance for meeting the code, action
plans for entities pledging to meet the
code, training programs, and various
forms of third-party verification that
entities are adhering to their action plans.
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Types of regulated Pollutants
CONVENTIONAL POLLUTANTS are
contained in the sanitary wastes of
households, businesses, and
industries. These pollutants include
human wastes, ground-up food from
sink disposals, and laundry and bath
waters. Conventional pollutants
include:
PATHOGENS are organisms which
cause disease in humans.
TOXIC POLLUTANTS are a group of
more than 100 pollutants that have
been found to be harmful to animal
or plant life by certain pathways of
exposure. They are primarily
grouped into organics (including
pesticides, solvents, polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBS), and dioxins) and
metals (including lead, silver,
mercury, copper, chromium, zinc,
nickel, and cadmium).
NONCONVENTIONAL
POLLUTANTS are any additional
substances that are not conventional
or toxic that may require regulation.
These include nutrients such as
nitrogen and phosphorus.
• Financial Support
As a leader in wastewater control,
OWM is involved in many activities that
promote improved wastewater treatment.
The Office provides direction and
assistance to national, state, and local
programs abate and prevent municipal
water pollution. Here is an overview.
Construction Grants
Program
During the 1970s and 1980s, the
Construction Grants Program was a
major source of federal funds,
providing more than $60 billion for
the construction of publicly owned
and operated wastewater treatment
projects. These projects, which
constituted a significant contribution
to the nation's water infrastructure,
included sewage treatment plants,
pumping stations, and collection and
interceptor sewers; rehabilitation of
sewer systems; and the control of
combined sewer overflows. EPA's
effective management of the
construction grants program led to
the improvement of water quality in
thousands of municipalities
nationwide.
With the 1987 amendments to
the Clean Water Act, Congress set
1990 as the last year that funds
would be appropriated for the
Construction Grants Program. By
phasing out the construction grants
program, EPA shifted the primary
method of municipal financial
assistance from grants to loans
provided by State Revolving Funds
(see below), Since 1990, Congress
has continued to earmark grant funds
for special projects, frequently at
levels exceeding $100 million per
year. As a result of this earmarking,
OWM continues to manage a new-
construction grants program.
Public-Private Partnerships (P3)
EPA's Public-Private Partnerships
(P3) initiative removes barriers to the
private ownership of municipal
wastewater facilities for those facilities
constructed with EPA grant funds.
Local officials are in the best position to
develop capital financing options that
State Revolving Funds
The Clean Water State Revolving
Fund (CWSRF or SRF) program is
an innovative method of financing a
range of environmental projects.
Under the program, EPA provides
grants or "seed money" to all 50
states plus Puerto Rico to capitalize
state loan funds. The states, in turn,
make loans to communities,
individuals, and others for high
priority water quality activities. As
money is paid back into revolving
funds, new loans are made to other
recipients that need help in
maintaining the quality of their
water. Currently, the program has
over $26 billion in assets with
approximately $3 billion distributed
in new loans annually.
The SRF program is a powerful
partnership between EPA and the
states. It allows states the flexibility
to provide funding for projects that
will address their highest-priority
water quality needs. Since the
program is managed largely by the
states, project eligibility varies
according to each state's program
and priorities. Eligible loan
recipients may include communities,
individuals, citizens' groups,
nonprofits, and others. Loan funds
may be used to better the quality of
watersheds through a wide range of
water-quality related projects; loans
may also be used for the protection
of groundwater resources.
In additional to managing the
CWSRF program, OWM is
supporting OGWDW in managing
the new Drinking Water SRF
program.
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meet their particular needs. EPA is
committed to supporting these
communities and allowing them
flexibility in financing the wastewater
treatment infrastructure needed to
achieve the highest possible level of
environmental protection.
Section 106 Water Pollution Control
Program Grants
Section 106 of the Clean Water Act
authorizes EPA to provide federal
assistance to states (including territories,
the District of Columbia, and Indian
tribes) and interstate agencies to
establish and implement water pollution
control programs.
Prevention and control measures
supported by State Water Quality
Management programs include
permitting; pollution control activities;
surveillance, monitoring, and
enforcement; advice and assistance to
local agencies; and the provision of
training and public information.
Increasingly, EPA and states are
working together to develop basin-wide
approaches to water quality
management. The Section 106 program
is helping to foster a watershed
protection approach at the state level by
looking at states water quality problems
holistically, and targeting the use of
limited finances available for effective
program management. In the near term,
the program is seeking ways to
streamline the grants process to ease the
administrative burden on states.
Federal assistance is available to
qualified Indian tribes under section 106
for developing and establishing Water
Quality programs on reservation lands.
Activities supported by tribal water
quality programs include developing
water quality standards, water quality
monitoring and problem assessment,
and initiating actions to establish
permitting and enforcement programs.
Water Quality Cooperative Agreements
Through this program and under
authority of Section 104(b)(3) of the
Clean Water Act, EPA makes grants to
state water pollution control agencies,
interstate agencies, municipalities and
other nonprofit institutions,
organizations, and individuals to
promote the coordination of
environmentally beneficial activities.
These activities include municipal
compliance with the Clean Water Act,
stormwater control, sludge management,
and pretreatment.
Among the efforts eligible for
funding under this program are research,
investigations, experiments, training,
environmental technology
demonstrations, surveys, and studies
related to the causes, effects, extent, and
prevention of pollution.
EPA's regional offices select grant
proposals that are most likely to advance
the states' and EPA's ability to deal with
water pollution. Headquarters also
manages grants that address concerns of
a national scope. Unlike the Section 106
program, these grants may not be used to
fund ongoing program activities or
construction except to a limited extent as
part of demonstrations.
Indian Grants Management
Tribal communities and Native Alaskan
Villages face significant human health
and environmental problems due to the
lack of adequate wastewater treatment
systems. The office of Wastewater
Management is committed to working
with tribes and other federal agencies to
assure that funding will be available to
help Native Americans and Alaskan
Villagers preserve their environmental
and public health,
Clean Water Act Indian Set-Aside Grant
Program
In 1987, the Indian Set-Aside Grant
(ISA) Program was created under section
518(c) of the Clean Water Act (CWA)
Amendments to increase Indian tribes'
ability to plan design, construct, operate,
and maintain wastewater treatment
systems. The program is administered in
cooperation with the Indian Health
Service. This partnership maximizes the
technical resources available through
both agencies to address tribal sanitation
needs. Millions of dollars in grant funds
have been made available for wastewater
projects on Indian lands and in Alaska
Native Villages. To date, CWA ISA
Program has disbursed more than $78
million in funding.
Alaska Native Village Sanitation
Program
There are 268 communities in
Alaska, of which 70 percent are
considered Alaskan Native Villages
(ANVs). Many of these villages lack
basic drinking water and sewage
disposal systems to service their
residents. In 1995, EPA created a grant
program for ANVS and rural Alaska
communities to assist them with funding
to construct water and wastewater
sanitation facilities. Other sources of
funds are also provided for training and
technical assistance activities. To date,
$47 million has been made available to
improve sanitation in Alaska rural
communities and Native Villages.
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Wastewater Assistance to U.S.
Colonias on the Mexico Border
Colonias are impoverished
communities along the U.S.-Mexico
border which lack basic services such as
roads, safe drinking water or wastewater
treatment. Over 1,200 (total population
of over 300,000) have been identified in
Texas and New Mexico. EPA grants,
matched by state resources, provide for
construction of wastewater facilities in
these communities. $320 million has
been appropriated by Congress for this
program.
EPA Activities on the
U.S. - Mexico Border
The United States and Mexico 2000+
miles of common border. More than
nine million people live along it,
mostly in fifteen "sister city" pairs.
The rapid increase in population and
industrialization in the border cities
has overwhelmed existing wastewater
treatment, drinking water supply, and
solid waste disposal facilities.
Untreated and industrial sewage often
flows north into the United States from
Tijuana, Mexicali, and Nogales, and
into the Rio Grande.
Some 300,000 people on the
United States side of the border also
lack safe drinking water, wastewater
collection and treatment systems, and
adequate solid waste disposal
facilities. They live in unincorporated
areas called colonias.
As part of the Administration's
efforts to implement the North
American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA), EPA is working with other
federal, state, and local agencies to help
find and fix environmental problems on
the border. Some $8 billion in a mix
from federal, state, local, and private-
sector finding will be required to
adequately protect public health and the
border ecosystem.
OWM's and Regional partners, border
development activities include:
.Identification of border community
needs, and help in meeting them
• Grants for funding of wastewater
treatment construction in the colonias
and elsewhere on the border
.Helping improve environmental
information collection on the border
.Providing technical assistance and
training to officials and border residents
EPA will continue working to
improve environmental conditions
along the border. Border offices have
been opened in San Diego and El Paso
to serve as community outreach centers
for people on both sides of the border.
EPA will also continue to support the
work of the Border Environment
Cooperation Commission, the North
American Development Bank, the
U.S.-Mexico Foundation for Science,
as well as other initiatives to improve
the border environment and the health
of its residents.
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Small Community Initiatives
Living without basic indoor plumbing or
adequate wastewater disposal systems is
a common lifestyle in many small rural
communities, including Alaska Native
Villages, Indian tribes and economically
disadvantaged communities along the
United States - Mexico border
(colonias). OWM's Small, Underserved
Communities Team directs several
programs to provide financial and
technical assistance, information and
outreach to help these communities
address health and environmental
problems and meet Clean Water Act
requirements. The team focuses on
communities with fewer than 10,000
people.
Small Community Outreach and
Education (SCORE) Program
SCORE is a national information
and outreach network that aims to help
small communities with fewer than
10,000 people provide self-sufficient
wastewater facilities. SCORE'S message
is that the keys to self-sufficient facilities
are appropriate technology, sound
financial management and operations,
pollution prevention, and public
education. SCORE works through
states, federal agencies, public interest
and advocacy groups, and educational
institutions to deliver its messages. The
headquarters SCORE coordinator
conducts periodic teleconferences with
EPA regional office SCORE
coordinators to keep abreast of issues
that effect their small community
audiences.
Rural Community Assistance (RCAP)
Program
RCAP is a national network of
nonprofit organizations which provide
onsite technical assistance through a
cooperative agreement to help small
rural communities develop and maintain
adequate water and wastewater disposal
systems. RCAP coordinates work with
state and local officials to provide
technical assistance, including facilities
development, management and finance,
operations and maintenance (O&M),
program planning and supplemental
funding needs in small rural
communities. The program's focus is on
unsewered communities under
administrative orders, small systems with
O&M problems, communities with
permitting violations and other
management, financing, and construction
needs.
National Small Flows Clearinghouse
(NSFC)
Funded by EPA, the NSFC serves as
the national collection and distribution
center for information on small
community wastewater systems and
innovative/alternative technology. The
Clearinghouse provides a variety of
services, including a toll-free technical
assistance hotline, a free computer
bulletin board system, Internet home
page, computer databases. 2 newsletters,
a journal and technical publications and
videos. The Clearinghouse also manages
the National Onsite Demonstration
Program. This four-phased program
funded by EPA seeks to demonstrate the
successful implementation of alternative
onsite wastewater technologies in small
communities nationwide. The program
funds the design, installation and
monitoring of wastewater systems in
selected communities, objectives
include the development of model
programs for managing and maintaining
onsite systems and for training local
officials, installers and engineers.
National Environmental Training Center
for Small Communities (NETCSC)
The Municipal Assistance Branch
manages a cooperative agreement with
the NETCSC at West Virginia University
in Morgantown, WVA. NETCSC serves
as a national environmental training
center that supports 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 ones, and
presents training courses around the
country to help small communities meet
federal and state environmental
compliance requirements. Services also
include a toll-free technical assistance
center, quarterly newsletter, resource
catalog, web site, and electronic
databases.
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Waste water Operator Onsite Technical
Assistance
Using funding under Section 104(g)
of the C WA, this program operates
through a network of operator training
personnel in states to provide over-the-
shoulder operator training and technical
assistance to small wastewater treatment
plants (under 5 MGD) with compliance
problems. Approximately 800 facilities
receive this assistance annually from
state water pollution control agencies or
state training centers.
Technical Assistance Program
EPA provides technical assistance to
other EPA offices and regions, state
agencies, other federal agencies,
municipalities, and a range of other
constituents.
Municipal Technologies
The Agency provides both direct and
indirect assistance in municipal
wastewater treatment technologies.
Direct assistance includes one-on-one
discussions about design, operation, and
maintenance of systems, and the
identification and solution of problems.
Indirect assistance includes support for
the development of regulations; technical
information; guidance, assessments,
evaluation, and cost estimates for the
design, construction, and operation and
maintenance of municipal wastewater
treatment facilities. Areas of expertise
include:
.conventional collection/pumping
systems
.combined sewer and sanitary sewer
overflow treatment and control
.stormwater treatment and management
.fixed film and suspended growth
biological processes
.physical/chemical treatment processes
.advanced treatment processes
.conventional sludge treatment and
disposal procedures
.biosolids technologies
.disinfection and odor control
.operation and maintenance
.safety
.plant startup and post-disaster
assistance
Innovative and Alternative Technologies
EPA also provides technical
assistance for the development of
innovative and alternative treatment
technologies. Areas of expertise include:
.alternative collection systems
.on-site treatment systems
.land application of effluent
.innovative and alternative treatment
technologies
.biosolids technologies
.land application of biosolids
.constructed wetlands
.comporting technologies
.alternative disinfection technologies
.odor control
.operation and maintenance
Clean Water Needs Survey (CWNS)
The Clean Water Needs Survey
(CWNS) is a biennial cooperative effort
between EPA and the states. In 1996,
the overall needs for water quality
projects and other activities were $139.5
billion, The heart of the CWNS is the
database with technical and cost
information on 16,000 publicly owned
wastewater treatment facilities. The
database also contains cost and technical
information for other programs and
projects that target documented water
quality or public health problems. The
CWNS does not address private
wastewater treatment facilities — these
are, of course, integral parts of the
nation's water quality infrastructure.
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Water Alliances for Voluntary Efficiency
(WAVE) Program
In 1992, EPA established the Water
Alliances for Voluntary Efficiency
(WAVE) Program to help businesses
reduce water use. WAVE is a voluntary
efficiency program whose goal is to
prevent pollution by conserving water
and reducing associated energy use.
At present, WAVE is focused on
improving water efficiency in the
lodging industry. Hotel/Motel Partners
commit to surveying their facilities for
opportunities to upgrade water-using
devices and improving operating
practices. The WAVE program will be
expanded to office buildings and
educational institutions in 1998.
To assist Partners, EPA established a
WAVE Supporter program with
equipment manufacturers and
distributors, water management
companies, utilities, state and local
governments, and others. Supporters
promote the benefits of water efficiency
and provide information to WAVE
partners and water conservation
professionals.
EPA assists Partners and Supporters
by publicly recognizing the
environmental efforts of participants,
and by providing materials they can use
to educate their customers and
employees about water efficiency.
Youth and the Environment Program
Introduced in 1990, the Youth and
the Environment Program gives
economically disadvantaged urban and
rural youth the chance to explore career
opportunities in the environmental field.
By combining summer employment
with academic training and hands-on
experience, this program exposes
students to many environmental career
options. Students have worked in water
supply management, wastewater
treatment, recycling, energy, marine
environments, hazardous waste, and
natural resources protection.
Besides providing valuable work
experience for disadvantaged teenagers,
Youth and the Environment fosters a
sense of stewardship among the
participants,
National Wastewater Management
Excellence Awards Program
OWM manages a national awards
recognition program that publicizes
water quality achievements made in
wastewater treatment facilities and
programs. Award winners demonstrate
exceptional technical expertise and a
dedicated commitment to clean water.
Traditionally, the Assistant
Administrator for Water presents an
engraved plaque to honor municipalities,
individuals and programs for
outstanding, innovative practices in the
areas of operations and maintenance,
beneficial biosolids use, pretreatment
management, stormwater and combined
sewer overflow controls.
Voluntary Environmental Management
Systems
The use of voluntary environmental
management systems (EMS) by
organizations is rapidly increasing
around the world. These systems provide
a framework for organizations and
communities to more effectively manage
their environmental obligations,
including those required to comply with
applicable statutes and regulations. In
addition, these systems can be useful for
moving beyond compliance, improving
overall environmental performance, and
making greater use of pollution
prevention approaches. From a business
standpoint, EMSs can help organizations
meet their environmental obligations
more efficiently, thus maintaining their
competitive position in the global
marketplace.
The most prominent environmental
management systems standard now in
place is the ISO 14001 International
Standard, which was completed in
September, 1996. Organizations around
the world are now beginning to put in
place EMSs based on ISO 14001. Many
are also considering becoming certified
to the standard by third-party auditors.
Government agencies, especially at
the federal and state level, are now
beginning to look closely at the
possibility of integrating environmental
management systems into their
regulatory programs, including the ISO
14001 standard, EPA and several states
are pursuing pilot projects with various
organizations, to test these EMSs to
determine if they really can help
improve environmental performance.
Another important project EPA is
undertaking focuses exclusively on
counties and municipalities. Specifically.
EPA is providing focused training and
other forms of assistance to a select
group of these communities who are
interested in establishing an
environmental management system
based on the ISO 14001 standard.
Information on these projects is available
on the OWM Home Page at http://
WWW.EPA. GO V/OWM/
wm046200.htm.
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Reinvention Efforts
The Permits Division in OWM is
engaged in many reinvention
activities that simplify the process by
which permit and permit program
decisions are made. Some of these
result in regulatory changes, but
others do not. Here is a short
summary of these activities.
Revising permit applications to
obtain necessary information more
efficiently through electronic
submission, eliminating unnecessary
data requests, and giving waivers
from reporting information already
available through other sources.
Revising the pretreatment
program to give POTWs greater
flexibility to streamline their
programs and to reduce the burden to
both the cities and industrial users.
Revising state program
requirements for biosolids to
enable states with well run biosolids
programs to more quickly become
authorized without making
unnecessary administrative changes
in their programs.
Making several improvements to
NPDES permit regulations to
eliminate unnecessary regulations,
reduce the administration of the
NPDES program, and expand the use
of general permits. This is a
continuing project, and further
changes might likely be made.
following electronic submission
of NPDES reporting to make
reporting faster and less expensive.
Reducing reporting and
monitoring burdens based on
levels of compliance to allow for an
overall 27% reduction in reporting
without sacrificing any assurance of
environmental protection.
Information Resources
The Office of Wastewater
Management provides public access to
information about its programs. Please
contact the following for additional
information about wastewater and other
EPA issues.
FOR DOCUMENTS :
Water Resource Center
U.S. EPA
Mail Code RC-41OO
401 M Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460
Telephone: (202) 260-7786
Fax: (202) 260-0386
Internet: waterpubs@epamail.epa.gov
National Small Flows Clearinghouse
West Virginia University
Post Office Box 6064
Morgantown, WV 26506
Telephone: (800) 624-8301
Fax: (304)293-3161
Internet: http://www.nsfc.wvu.edu
National Center for Environmental
Publications and Information (NCEPI)
11029 Kenwood Road
Building #5
Cincinnati, OH 45242
Telephone: (513) 489-8190 or (800)
490-9198
FOR MORE SPECIFIC
INFORMATION ABOUT
WASTEWATER PROGRAMS:
Office of Wastewater Management
(OWM)
U.S. EPA
Mail Code 4201
401 M Street, S. W.
Washington, D.C. 20460
Internet: http://www.epa.gov/owm/
FOR GENERAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE U.S. EPA:
EPA Information Resources Center
U.S. EPA
Mail Code 3404
401 M Street, S. W.
Washington, D. C. 20460
Telephone: (202) 260-5922
Fax: (202) 260-6257
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