OOOK77100
                              UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
j   * ' >>.,va
U , .<,; '*ySi*g

-------
                                                                          October 1977

       Six major programs within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have combined
       forces to produce this brochure displaying the Agency's overall effort toward water
       pollution control.  The six programs are  Construction  Grants, Effluent Guidelines,
Manpower and  Training, Section 208  Planning, Operations and Maintenance, and Technol-
ogy Transfer.
  These  six major programs were created by  Public Law 92-500, which states, "The objec-
tive of this Act is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of
the Nation's waters."
  The information that follows describes the functions, responsibilities, and activities of the
six  programs in some detail  Also included are a map of the  United States indicating the
geographic boundaries of  EPA's 10  Regions  and a list of the addresses for each Regional
Office

-------
                                                                         MUNICIPAL
  The U.S.  Environmental  Protection Agency's
Construction  Grants  Program is the major pollu-
tion  abatement program  ot  the  Federal Govern-
ment  in  partnership  with  State  and  municipal
governments.  Its purpose  is to abate water pollu-
tion by providing grant dollars to construct needed
municipal wastewater treatment facilities
  In recent decades,  a tremendous concentration
of municipal  wastewater  discharges has resulted
from  rapid population growth and the  enormous
buildup of urban and  suburban areas Communities
as a  rule could not construct treatment facilities
fast enough  to cope with  the increasing  flows,
primarily  because money  was short. The Federal
construction grants program is the  result of legisla-
tion passed to aid cities and towns with  their water
pollution control efforts.
  The Federal  Water Pollution  Control Act of
1956  gave the initial  impetus to  municipal waste
treatment  by authorizing  Federal  grants to  help
finance construction  of   municipal sewage treat-
ment  facilities. Beginning with  relatively  small
grants, the construction grants program has been
expanded  by  amending  legislation  to what  is
currently the largest  public works program in the
Nation  The 1972 amendmems enacted by Public
Law 92-500 authorized $18 billion  for 75-percent
Federal  grants to assist municipalities  in construct-
ing  waste treatment facilities. The  Program has
provided tens  of  thousands  of  jobs and  other
economic  benefits  in   addition  to  its primary
function cf improving water quality.
  The Agency's needs surveys have illustrated the
high  level  of  funding  called  for  to  meet the
Nation's pollution control requirements  EPA, with
the  strong support  of  the Administration, has
emphasized that  long-term funding commitments
will be necessary, so that communities can depend
on  continuing  assistance to finish multiyeat  con-
struction programs.
  Now  that grants under Public Law  92-500 have
been made for several years, implementation legis-
lation and program operations  are being reviewed
to  see  what improvements can  be  made  For
example, multiyear planning and extended priority
lists are now being used  to effectively  plan and

-------
CONSTRUCTION  GRANTS
      manage  individual  projects.  The planning, design,
      and construction steps necessary for completion
      are being coordinated with  annual authorizations
      to use available program funding.
         Operation  Streamline  is  also  underway  to
      identify  bottlenecks  and  simplify construction
      grant  requirements   In this spirit,  many  grant
      approval  activities  that were formerly  carried
      on  at both  Federal and State levels  have now
      been  delegated  to State water pollution  control
      agencies Communications problems between EPA
      and grantees are constantly  being sought out and
      resolved
         A new  Construction  Operations Review Pro-
      gram,  focusing on the construction phase, has been
      established  This step is consistent with the natural
      evolution of the construction grants program from
      the planning and design  stages  into actual  project
      construction.  Under the  Program, recommenda-
      tions and assistance are provided to the municipal-
      ity  and  its consulting engineer based on  on-site
      reviews of selected projects during the construction
      phase.
  The program is further refined to establish and
enforce,  with discharge permits, schedules for the
use  of grant money in order to ensure the most
effective use of Federal funds.  In  addition, the
Permit Compliance Program will be strengthened
to  make certain  that  facilities  are  effectively
operated
  As  successful as the Municipal  Construction
Grants Program has been, it is neither desirable nor
possible  for  the Federal  Government to do the
entire job alone  Authority under the Program will
continue to be delegated to individual States as
they demonstrate  the  capacity to  handle them,
with EPA retaining an  oversight role in a balanced
Federal-State working relationship.
  Through  the  cooperative  efforts  of  those
involved  with the Municipal Construction Grants
Program, many improvements  have  been made in
the  quality of our Nation's waters, and significant
environmental improvements can be made  in the
future But, as in the past, success depends on joint
and cooperative efforts between  many  levels of
government and the concerned citizen

-------
   EFFLUENT
GUIDELINES
  The Nation's program to prevent, reduce, and
eliminate water pollution of all navigable waters is
being carried out under Public Law 92-500.
  This  1972 law created,  for  the first time, a
system of national effluent limitations and national
performance standards for industries and publicly
owned waste treatment plants. An effluent limita-
tion is defined as the maximum amount of a
pollutant that  a polluter is permitted to discharge
into a water body

-------
   The  following  effluent  limitations apply  to
industries discharging directly  to navigable waters

Best Practicable Control Technology Currently
Available (BPCTCA)

   Effluent  limitations  based  on  BPCTCA  must
have been met by July 1, 1977. They represent the
average of the best  existing waste treatment per-
formance within  each industrial category  or sub-
category. Effluent   limitations  may  be  met  by
m-plant  controls, treatment facilities, or a combi-
nation of the two.  In-plant controls  include water
and resource conservation,  including  recycle, good
plant maintenance,  and processing techniques. The
result  is optimum  conservation of raw materials,
energy, and, ultimately, economics

Best Available Technology Currently Achievable
(BATEA)

   Effluent limitations based on BATEA must  be
met  by July 1, 1983. Since 1976,  they have been
refined to apply to  a listing of 65 designated prior-
ity pollutants, some  of these pollutants are individ-
ual and others are classes of compounds.  BATEA
will be based on application of the very best control
and treatment  measures that have been developed
or are capable of being developed for the appropri-
ate industrial  category or subcategory  Moreover,
industries must eliminate the discharge of pollutants
completely by July  1, 1983, if EPA finds that this
goal  is "technologically and economically  achiev-
able."

New Source Performance Standards (NSPS)  or
Best Available Demonstrated Controlled
Technology (BADCT)

   NSPS  or  BADCT limitations  reflect  control
technology,  including where practicable, a standard
permitting no discharge of pollutants. They may  be
somewhat  more stringent  than 1977 and  1983
limitations. Significantly, these limitations apply to
new  industrial  facilities built after publication  of
proposed  regulations prescribing  a  standard  of
performance.
   Industrial discharges into publicly owned treat-
ment  works (POTW's) are also subject  to national
effluent  limitations under  Public  Law  92-500.
These limitations require pretreatment of industrial
pollutants that might interfere with  the  proper
operation  of   public  treatment  plants  or pass
through  without adequate  treatment.  All  sewage
treatment plants  in operation on July 1,  1977,
built with or without the aid of Federal funds and
no  matter  when  constructed,  must  provide  a
minimum of secondary treatment. A plant  built
with the help of Federal  funds approved before
June 30, 1974, however, has until June 30, 1978,
to comply  with  the secondary treatment require-
ment. All POTW's will have to use "best practica-
ble" treatment by July 1, 1983

Development of Guidelines

  The  Effluent  Guidelines  Division  of  EPA's
Office of Water Planning and Standards is responsi-
ble  for  developing guidelines involving  the  fore-
going different  classes of  effluent limitations as
well as pretreatment.  Effluent  limitations are being
applied to at least 48 industries  and well over 500
subcategories.
  The procedures involved  for setting these limita-
tions require a  multidisciplmary approach encom-
passing   the  inputs   of   engineers,  scientists,
mathematicians,   economists, and  lawyers. Indus-
trial plant  surveys,  treatment technology,  and
economic evaluations form  the  backbone for per-
forming the requisite  cost/effectiveness determina-
tions. The  latest  BATEA determinations involving
the 65  priority  pollutants  will  also involve  cost/
benefit considerations, incorporating  the input of
biologists as well.
  Decision-making  on  limitations  and  standards
ultimately  evolves  from  the  efforts of  various
internal  working groups, interagency review, and
industrial and other sources of  public comments.

-------
  The Manpower Planning  and Training Branch,
Municipal Operations and Training Division, Office
of Water Program Operations—in cooperation with
the EPA Regions, States, and training institutions-
develops training programs and  guidance  docu-
ments, and  provides assistance with the objective
of developing an adequate supply of trained water
pollution abatement and  control manpower. Spe-
cific programs are' Manpower Planning, State and
Areawide  Program  Related Training,  Operator
Training and Certification, and Academic Training.
  The Manpower Planning Program provides guid-
ance  and  assistance to  Regions  and  States  for
developing  State and  local manpower planning
capabilities  in water programs. The Program devel-
ops and administers grants  and  programs to work
toward  an effective manpower planning system to
forecast supply and demand  of  water quality
occupational categories,  develops  and conducts
manpower  needs assessments and  surveys, and
develops training  courses  for State  manpower
planners.
  The Stete and Areawide Water Quality Manage-
ment Program works in cooperation with Regions
and  States  to assess Public Law 92-500 program
training needs and develops  profiles of staffing and
training needs and resources at Public Law 92-500
program agencies. This Program cooperates  in  the
development, design, and implementation of State
and   areawide   water-quality-management-related
training programs and  curricula, identification of
MANPOWER
PLANNING
AND
TRAINING

-------
needs, and  development  of  training delivery sys-
tems in response to the identified needs
  The Operator  Training arid  Certification Pro-
gram  evaluates and assesses municipal  facilities for
operator staffing,  training, and  certilication needs
and develops  profiles of capabilities and resources
in these areas at State and local levels. The program
also  develops and  administers  mteragency  agree-
ments with  the Department  of  Labor and Health,
Education,  and Welfare,  State  Operator Teaming
Grant  Projects, State Training Center Projects, and
Certification  Projects  in  cooperation  wit'n  the
Associated Boards of Certification and othep~ train-
ing  programs  leading to the  development o< State
and local agency manpower training capabilities
  The Academic Training Program provides "man
cial assistance through  State  agency lel'owships
and professional  training  grants primarily  to Fed-
eral, State,  and  local  governments  or to  training
institutions  for  developing   agency  piotessionai
staffs  in  water  programs   It  also  develops and
administers  undergraduate   training  urants and
demonstration grants for developing new cumcula
and training resources.
  The National Training and Operational Technol-
ogy  Center   (NTOTC)  is   located   at  the  EPA
Environmental  Research  Center  in Cincinnati,
Ohio.  NTOTC is responsible  for  all operat ona
aspects of planning,  developing, conducting, and
evaluating the water pollution  control  education
and training functions of EPA  NTOTC  personnel
work directly with personnel at wastewater treat-
ment plants,  and conduct on-site training in waste-
water   treatment  process  control.  Based   on
extensive  field  experience  in  the  operation  of
activated sludge treatment facilities, information is
offered on  design  criteria,  new  process control
strategies, and  training  of wastewater  treatment
personnel
   Modern  laboratory  and classroom facilities are
used to conduct an annual schedule of specialized
pol ution control courses. Topics range from water
quality management to biological and bacteriologi-
cal analyses  Training manuals, instructor  guides,
and supporting audio-visual materials are developed
by NTOTC and  are available for use by educational
and training organizations and institutions
   An integral part of the NTOTC operation is the
Instructional Resources Center  (IRC).  IRC  inven-
tories,  evaluates, catalogs  and disseminates infor-
mation  on existing instructional resources available
for pesticides,  water supply,  and water  pollution
education and  training. These resources include
course outlines,  audio-visual materials, texts, and
related  information   An  audio-visual and  library
iacii  ty,  where   individuals  can  review  current
instructional  materials, is located'at the NTOTC. A
lending library  service of  EPA-developed training
materials is  also available A periodic  bulletin  of
courses, new materials, and related training infor-
mation  is available to those on  the NTOTC mailing
list
     ——y/%#sr»--•-

-------
       SECTION  208-
                       WATER
                    QUALITY
      MANAGEMENT
  The Section  208  Water Quality Management
Program was established by the Congress in recog-
nition of  the  increasing  need for areawide and
statewide approaches to solving water quality and
other related environmental problems. Section 208
is broad based, encompassing  authority for essen-
tially all  water-quality-related planning and man-
agement programs. The law places special empha-
sis  on  non-point-source  controls,  construction
grants, and NPDES permits, especially  considera-
tion  of  advanced waste treatment  levels. The
Program requires the States to manage and coordi-
nate the overall effort, including responsibility for
doing the planning in nondesignated areas. Particu-
lar stress is placed on ensuring continuous public
involvement and education. Since 1974, a total  of
$230 million  in Federal funds  has been made
available to 225 area and State agencies
  Within the broad mandate  of Section 208 and
operating  under timing and funding constraints,
EPA has emphasized  the need to establish priori-
ties Grantees have identified a limited number of
high  priority problems that they are working  to
solve during the initial 3-year  planning phase. The
grantees are  required  to develop technically and
politically   feasible  solutions and  to  identify
management agencies with adequate financial and
legal authorities to carry out the programs. The
majority  of  areawide agencies  are  emphasizing
municipal  point source and urban runoff problems,
the statewide  plans  are dealing  principally with
non-point-source  problems, including agriculture,
construction, silviculture, and mining.
  The initial  plans are now  being submitted for
review and approval by the States and  EPA. Ninety
areawide plans are due by October 1977; all 225
initial plans must be submitted by November 1978.
Continuing funding will be provided to successful
agencies to develop additional priority programs,
emphasizing  pretreatment and  non-point-source
controls.

-------
         OPERATIONS
                           AND
  MAINTENANCE-
             MUNICIPAL
          TREATMENT
                    PLANTS
  The  Municipal Operations Branch of EPA's
Office of Water Programs Operations and  counter-
part personnel at regional and  State levels are
responsible for overseeing and reporting on the
efficiency of  the Nation's publicly owned treat-
ment works (POTW). As part of this important job,
they are responsible for identifying the  types of
problems encountered  at POTW's, and for develop-
ing appropriate  guidance  and EPA programs to
assist in correcting these problems.
  No single problem  or type of problem can be
identified as critical to efficient performance, but
several broad categories appear frequently

• Design  or construction  oversights  affecting
  operabihty,  maintainability,  flexibility,  and
  reliability of plants
• Inadequacy of  laboratory  facilities and proce-
  dures  for operation control and performance
  reporting
• Inadequate staffing  levels, staff organization,
  and management procedures
• Inadequate m-plant  or other support training for
  operational personnel
• Inadequate operation and  maintenance (O&M)
  manuals
• Inadequate operation and  maintenance budgets

  Over  the  last several  years,  data  collected
through the national POTW operation and mainte-
nance inspection program have shown a consistent
pattern of  between 30 and 50 percent of plants
failing to perform at BOD, TSS, or secondary
treatment levels for which they  were designed
Latest data show that even where the less stringent
permit requirements are used, up to one quarter of
plants inspected failed to meet standards set
  Since  its inception,  the Municipal Operations
Branch has worked closely with other EPA, State,
local, and private activities to identify and imple-
ment special  programs to assist POTW's. In co-

-------
operation   with  the   Municipal   Construction
Division,  supplementary  Federal  guidelines  for
design  and  construction  of  POTW's have  been
issued.  Program  Requirements  Memoranda  for
Construction  Grants  covering   development  of
facility plans of operation and grant eligibility  for
startup  costs  also have been developed  and  ap-
proved.
   Independently,  the  branch  has developed a
whole series OT special operations and maintenance
guidance manuals  for use  in  planning, designing,
constructing, and  operating  plants These docu-
ments have  been developed  in  cooperation  with
EPA's regional technical personnel,  State and local
municipal officials, and the consulting engineering
community. Tne primary objective of the materials
is  to assure the adequate consideration of opera-
tion  and maintenance characteristics in the  plan-
ning,  design,  and   construction  of  municipal
wastewater treatment facilities. The  guidance docu-
ments  also  provide  improved  procedures   lor
identifying  and isolating operation and  mainte-
nance problems, formulating alternative solutions,
and  combining corrective  action  with short- and
long-range ""ollowup
  Available operator's manuals address such topics
as anaerobic sludge digestion, the aerobic biological
treatment process, and lagoons. Also, several series
of very  popular and successful seminars have been
held for regional, State, and  private sector person-
nel.  Topics have addressed  preparation of opera-
tion   and   maintenance   manuals,   design  of
wastewater  treatment  facilities   for  operability,
mamtainab hty, flexibility, and reliability,  and the
implications  of  available  guidance  manuals  and
current  construction  program  requirements  for
private  sector opportunities  It  is expected  that
additional seminar series will  be initiated.
  Finally,   in  the   interests of   informing local
administrators  and  the   public   about  the
importance  of good operation and maintenance in
POTW's, the Branch  is distributing  the film  "An
Investment  To Protect" to plants and local public
interest  grcups.  The film  is  a case history of one
community's commitment to effective wastewater
treatment.

-------
        TECHNOLOGY
                 TRANSFER
  The  Office of Research and  Development has
recently established the Environmental Research
Information  Center (ERIC),  whose mission is to
actively transfer  proven process control  technol-
ogies and disseminate information emanating from
non-"hard"-technology  areas  ERIC combines the
technological expertise and the top level marketing
talent necessary  to  effectively  transfer the  latest
viable  pollution  control  technologies  from  re-
search,  development,  and demonstration  to  all
potential users.
  ERIC was initiated  in 1970 under the  name of
Technology  Transfer.  The program's initial goal
was  to  make an impact  on  the construction  of
municipal  wastewater  treatment facilities because
applications  for  construction  grants  were  not
including new  technologies. Thus, a special tech-
nology transfer effort was mounted to overcome
traditional conservatism in the  pollution control
field (an area that includes water supply)  in order
to prevent  a major investment  in obsolete  treat-
ment and control facilities and to enable munici-
palities  to  meet increasingly  stringent  pollution
standards  In addition the Technology  Transfer
Program  now  has  programs  in  industrial and
non-point-source  pollution control.
  The  Clean Air  Act of 1970 and  Public Law
92-500  established  environmental  standards for
industrial sources.  To comply  with these  regula-
tions,  EPA  has  funded many  research,  develop-
ment, and  demonstration  programs to determine
the best control  technology.  The Industrial Tech-
nology  Transfer  Program  is  responsible  for dis-
seminating  process and control  technology  infor-
mation as it relates to air, water, and energy
   Under Section 208 of Public Law  92-500, the
Congress incorporated  the areawide waste  treat-
ment management  planning  process that stresses
planning by  local governments for control of point
sources and non-point-sources  of  pollution from
both urban and rural areas. Included are industrial
and  municipal discharges, landfills, urban  storm
runoff,  agriculture,  silviculture,  mining, and con-
struction activity pollutants. Technology Transfer's
goal  in this area  is to effectively  translate the
Agency's  guidelines  for  the  program  and the
technology necessary  to achieve control  of point
sources and non-point-sources of pollutants.
   ERIC's objective is to make effective impact on
the  construction,  installation,  and  operation  of
pollution  control  and  abatement  facilities,  to
ensure  that  the  latest viable  technologies are
transferred to potential users, and to eliminate the
possible large investment in obsolete facilities The
program's  primary  function is  to  bridge the gap
between research and  full-scale use by evaluating
and transferring newly  developed, successful tech-
nologies  to  consulting engineers,  conservation
groups,  industries,  State and local  engineers, and
others  exerting  influence  over the  design  and
construction  of  all  pollution  control  and  abate-
ment facilities. A further goal is to  firmly establish
the newly emerging technologies as practical and
feasible alternatives nationally, to  be routinely
considered and evaluated in the planning of these
facilities.
  The   Center  meets  the foregoing  objectives
through a  broad  information  program.  It issues
design  manuals, technical capsule reports, seminar
publications,  handbooks,  process  brochures,
project brochures, technology transfer newsletters,
an  executive briefing  series,  and  a  number of
individual  publications  ERIC also conducts pollu-
tion control  seminars throughout  the  country,
prepares exhibits of new technology developments
for large conferences of professional organizations,
and produces audio-visual materials, technical and
nontechnical.

-------
  New York




Philadelphia

-------

REGION

      ADDRESS
I      Environmental Protection Agency
      John F. Kennedy  Federal Building
      Room  2313
      Boston, Massachusetts 02203
      (Maine, N.H., Vt., Mass., R.I., Conn.)

II     Environmental Protection Agency
      26 Federal  Plaza
      New York, New York 10007
      (N.Y.,  N.J., P.R , V.I.)

Ill    Environmental Protection Agency
      6th & Walnut Streets
      Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106
      (Pa., W. Va., Md., Del., D.C., Va.)

IV    Environmental Protection Agency
      345 Courtland Street, N.E.
      Atlanta, Georgia 30308
      (N.C., S.C., Ky., Tenn., Ga., Ala.,
      Miss , Fla.)

V     Environmental Protection Agency
      230 S. Dearborn Street
      Chicago, Illinois 60604
      (Mich , Wis., Minn.,  III., Ind., Ohio)

VI    Environmental Protection Agency
      1201 Elm Street
      First International Building
      Dallas, Texas 75270
      (Texas, Okla., Ark.,  La., N Mex.)

VII   Environmental Protection Agency
      1735 Baltimore Avenue
      Kansas City, Missouri 64108
      (Kansas, Nebr.,  Iowa, Mo.)

VIM   Environmental Protection Agency
      1860 Lincoln Street
      Denver, Colorado 80203
      (Colo., Mont., Wyo., Utah, N D
      S.D.)

IX    Environmental Protection Agency
      100 California Street
      San Francisco, Calif. 94111
      (Calif., Ariz , Nev., Hawaii!

X     Environmental Protection Agency
      12006th Avenue
      Seattle, Washington  98101
      (Wash., Ore., Idaho,  Alaska)

-------