National
rATER
Program
Guidance
Fiscal
Year
2005
A 4k
Office of Water
US Environmental Protection Agency
April 2004
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
Acknowledgements
The Office of Water acknowledges the important
development of this document.
Office of Water: Immediate Office of the
Assistant Administrator
Tim Fontaine, Jeff Peterson, Marjorie Jones,
Mike Weckesser, Kimberley Roy
Office of Science and Technology
Tim Gonzales, Ellen Haffa, Russ Kinerson,
Greg Spraul
Office of Wedands, Oceans and Watersheds
Robert Brown, Christine Ruf,
Charles Spooner, Hazel Groman,
Concepcion Cahanap
Office of Wastewater Management
Jim Home, Elaine Brenner,
Gary Hudiburgh
Office of Ground Water and Drinking
Water
Sara Massarello, Clare Donaher,
Will Bowman
American Indian Environmental Office
Jeff Besougloff
Office of the Chief Financial Officer
Arden Calvert
contributions of the following EPA staff to the
Region 1: Bill Nuzzo, Lynne Hamjian
Region 2: Paul Molinari, Judy-Ann Mitchell,
Michelle Josilo
Region 3: Virginia Thompson
Region 4: Wayne Aronson
Region 5: Timothy Henry, Jori Taylor
Region 6: James Brown, Shirley Bruce,
Karen Young
Region 7: Regina Kidwell
Region 8: Jennifer Harris, Cynthia Gonzales
Region 9: John Kemmerer
Region 10: Dan Phalen, Christine Psyk,
Amber Wong
Great Lakes: Michael Russ
Chesapeake Bay: Nita Sylvester
Gulf of Mexico: Gloria Car
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
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UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
£ \
s 1 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
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APR 2 1 2004 OFFICE OF WATER
TO: National Water Program Managers and Staff/1 f\ >
FROM: Benjamin H.
Acting Assistant Administrator
SUB J: National Water Program Guidance and Priorities: FY 2005
The development over the past year of a new Strategic Plan for the Environmental
Protection Agency provided a chance for all of us working to improve the quality of the
Nation's waters to think about new and better ways of getting this critical job done. Some of the
questions we worked on were:
How to express clear and measurable environmental and public health goals for
clean and safe water, rather than programmatic "beans," and then hold ourselves
accountable for progress toward these goals?
How to build stronger working relationships among EPA, States, Tribes, local
governments, and nongovernmental sectors and a stronger consensus about
program priorities?
How to identify and promote innovative approaches to meeting water quality
goals, especially voluntary and incentive-driven programs?
- How to promote better coordination among core water programs, especially
between clean water and safe drinking water programs?
- How to build better partnerships among the range of other Federal agencies
implementing programs that benefit water quality and drinking water?
The new EPA Strategic Plan offers no silver bullets for these tough questions, but it
does present the best of the ideas and innovations we heard from program managers and staff at
Federal, State and local governments and from stakeholders and citizens.
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BASICS
This National Program Guidance for FY 2005 builds on the new Strategic Plan to
provide general direction for the management of water programs over the next several years,
especially fiscal year 2005. As your read the Guidance, 1 hope you will keep the following three
fundamental ideas in mind:
- Public Health and Environmental Results: The National Water Program must
define its mission in terms of delivering improvements in public health and the
environment, rather than program activities. All of us need to agree on the
specific improvements we are trying to accomplish and the strategies most likely
to get us there. Most important, we actually have to go there - we must change
our programs and priorities as needed to implement results-oriented strategies.
The Strategic Plan started this process by defining objectives and subobjectives
that express public health and environmental improvements to be made by 2008.
This National Water Program Guidance takes another step by framing the
activities that support these objectives for fiscal year 2005. The next step is for
all of us - HQ, Regions, States and Tribes - to use this Guidance to define
operational plans for FY 05 that tailor resource allocations to support defined
environmental and public health results for each State and Tribe.
- Setting National Priorities that Recognize State and Tribal Needs: We need
to manage with public health and environmental goals in mind, but water
program managers at all levels also need to work with a common set of key
program tools. This Guidance describes a core set of Program Activity Measures
(PAMs) that were developed in a cooperative process with States and Tribes over
the past year. The Guidance defines expectations for progress in these programs
by 2005 and 2008 at Regional and national levels. And, it provides a sense of the
relative priority of each measure at the national level.
Although this Guidance defines activities, expectations, and priorities, it also
provides flexibility for each State and Tribe to allocate resources among
activities in the way that is most likely to result in public health and
environmental improvement given the conditions in that State or Tribe.
- The Road to Higher Performance: The National Water Program has a strong
record of accomplishment and continues to perform well - but we can do better.
Over the coming year, we need to assess our progress, identify what is working,
and fine-tune our program efforts to deliver the best results. This Guidance
defines this adaptive management approach to higher performance.
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PRIORITIES
Based on my own experience in the U.S. Congress and EPA, and lessons from our State
and Tribal partners, I became more convinced than ever of the common themes and critical
needs between Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act programs. As we work together
to integrate efforts and develop workplans for FY 2005,1 hope you will keep in mind three key
areas of critical importance to both the clean water and drinking water programs.
1) Monitoring Water: We must do a better job of understanding both the
condition of the Nation's waters and the safety of the Nation's drinking water.
In the case of surface water, we have relied for years on information that is useful
for some program management purposes but does not form a sufficient basis for
the range of increasingly complex decisions we now face at the waterbody,
watershed, and national levels. Work is now underway to build a broad
consensus on how to improve surface water monitoring and it is critical that we
promptly complete this work and implement a new monitoring approach.
In the case of drinking water, there is growing evidence that information on the
compliance of drinking water systems with safety standards is not as reliable as it
needs to be. Here, too, critical work is underway by Federal, State and local
program managers to assess problems and design needed changes.
Establishing or improving monitoring networks will help ensure water is not only
clean and safe, but secure, as well.
2) Conserving, Sustaining and Securing Water Infrastructure: Steady
population growth and the ravages of time have combined to put the integrity of
the Nation's water clean water and drinking infrastructure in jeopardy at the same
time that the security of this infrastructure is at greater risk.
Over the past several years, we have recognized the seriousness of this problem
and taken some steps toward defining solutions. Many of these solutions apply
to both clean water and drinking water infrastructure. We know the usefulness of
tools like asset management, full cost pricing, and voluntary water conservation.
Advancing a "water star" program, including voluntary labeling of water efficient
products will remain a priority. We have also taken key first steps to improve the
security of water infrastructure. Now we must bring these tools together and
deliver them more widely to drinking water and wastewater systems.
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3) Restoring and Protecting Watersheds and Source Waters: We can make
better decisions about managing water when we think more comprehensively
about the resource, from surface water to ground water and wetlands to
tributaries.
In the case of the clean water program, we are increasingly making decisions
about individual waterbodies in the context of the larger watershed. Water
quality trading and watershed based permitting will continue to offer innovative,
efficient and effective approaches to runoff and other wet weather flows that
challenge communities and their budgets.
In the case of the drinking water program, we are increasingly complementing
the water treatment that assures compliance with drinking water regulations with
efforts to protect the quality of the source of the water.
Ensuring not net loss of wetlands will remain apriority, not only to meet Clean
Water Act goals and requirements, but to advance source water protection.
Finally, any preface to the work that the National Water Program will do in FY 2005
would not be complete without mention of the important decisions to be made in response to the
report of the National Oceans Commission this fall. Coastal and ocean waters are among the
most important of our water resources in ecological and economic terms and they are under
significant pressure. Later this year, the Oceans Commission will issue a final report
recommending steps to protect this vital resource, prompting discussion and debate on a wide
range of coastal and ocean issues integrating issues and programs under the Clean Water Act,
Safe Drinking Water Act, and Ocean Dumping Act. The Administration will also be preparing
a comprehensive, multi-Agency response. I hope that managers throughout the National Water
Program will join me in active participation in these discussions and will help to define effective
responses that complement the work we are doing.
Thank you for the outstanding work you have done to continue thirty years of progress
toward cleaner and safer water for all Americans. Special thanks also go to Tim Fontaine, Jeff
Peterson, and Mike Shapiro for their hard work and leadership on the National Program
Guidance. I look forward to working with you all over the coming months as we continue this
vital mission.
ATTACHMENT:
National Water Program Guidance: FY 2005
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
Table of Contents
Executive Summary vii
Introduction 1
Strategies for Protecting Public Health and the Environment 5
J) 1) Water Safe to Drink 5
2) Fish and Shellfish Safe to Eat 13
3) Water Safe for Swimming... 16
4) Restore and Improve Water Quality on a Watershed Basis 1 8
5) Protect Coastal and Ocean Waters 29
6) Protect Wetlands 31
7) Protect Mexico Border Water 33
8) Protect the Great Lakes 35
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
9) Protect the Chesapeake Bay
10) Protect the Gulf of Mexico
Water Program Management System
1) EPA Region/State/Tribe Consultation/Planning
2) Program Evaluation and Adaptive Management
Appendices
Subobjectives, Strategic Targets, and Program Activity Measures: All
Slides of Program Activity Measures with Regional/National Targets
Water Grant Programs — Narrative
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Executive Summary
This National Water Program Guidance for
FY 2005 describes how EPA, States, Tribes
and others will work together in FY 2005 to
protect and improve the quality of the
Nation's waters. The steps outlined in the
Guidance are designed to implement the
general directions established in the new
Environmental Protection Agency Strategic
Plan for 2004 - 2008.
Three key questions addressed in this
Executive Summary are:
• What are we trying to accomplish in
public health and environmental terms?
• What is our strategy for making the best
use of program tools and other resources to
accomplish public health and water
quality improvements?
• How will we evaluate our progress over time?
What Are We Trying to Accomplish
With the help of States, Tribes and other
partners, EPA expects to make significant
progress toward protecting human health and
improving water quality by 2008 including:
Water Safe to Drink
Water Safe for Swimming
Restore polluted waters to allow swimming
again in at least 5% of the waters where
swimming is now unsafe;
Healthy Watersheds
Restore polluted waters so that, of the 2,262
major watersheds across the Nation, at least
600 have few remaining problems (i.e. at least
80% of assessed waters meet State water
quality standards) and show improvement in
200 watersheds;
Healthy Coastal Waters
Show steady improvement in seven specific
indicators of the health of each of the four major
coastal ecosystems around the country; and
More Wetlands
Achieve a net increase of 400,000 acres of
wetlands.
The new Strategic Plan identifies additional
goals for environmental improvements in
critical waters including the Gulf of Mexico,
the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, and the
Mexico Border area.
Increase the rate of compliance with drinking
water standards from 93% to 95%;
Fish and Shellfish Safe to Eat
Reduce pollution in waters with fish advisories
so that consumption limits can be relaxed for
3% of problem waters while increasing the
percentage of shellfishing acres that are open
from 77% to 85%;
What Is the Strategy?
The National Water Program Guidance for
FY 2005 describes, in general terms, the work
that needs to be done in FY 2005 in order to
reach the public health and water quality goals
we want to attain by FY 2008. At the national
level, each strategy for progress toward a
specific environmental improvement includes
some common elements (see below) that provide
a conceptual framework for more detailed
plans at the Region/State/Tribal level.
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
Common Elements of Strategies
This Guidance presents a strategy for
addressing each of ten specific objectives for
improvement in public health and water
quality. More detailed information is available
in Subobjective Implementation Plans and
Regional Plans; see www.epa.gov.water/
waterplan. Some of the common elements of
these strategies are
Describe Core Water Programs
Strategies describe how the core national
programs (e.g., State Revolving Funds, water
quality standards, discharge permits
development of safe drinking water standards,
source water protection, etc.) will contribute
to meeting the environmental goals of the
Strategic Plan.
Describe Key Program Activities
For each core program, a minimum number of
key program activities are identified (see
Appendix 1). Some of these activities are
undertaken by EPA (e.g., development of
drinking water standards, approval of State
water quality standards) while other activities
are carried out by States or Tribes.
Define FY 05 Targets for Key Program
Activities
For some of the program activities, EPA asks
States and Tribes to simply report progress. For
other activities, EPA works with States or
Tribes to define specific commitments to
measurable progress in FY 05 (see Appendix 2).
Develop Innovations and Voluntary Program
Throughout the Guidance, innovations in
program management are identified and
promoted (e.g., cost savings attainable through
water quality trading and development of
watershed permits). Subobjective strategies
also promote voluntary programs (e.g., water
conservation, guidelines for subsurface sewage
disposal) and partnerships.
Engage Other EPA Programs and Other
Federal Resources
The Guidance describes how core water
programs will complement one another
(e.g., clean water program support for safer
drinking water) and how core water programs
will be supplemented with the work of other
EPA programs (e.g., research, compliance
assurance, pesticides) and other Federal
agencies (e.g., Department of Agriculture,
Bureau of Indian Affairs).
The Guidance goes beyond the common
elements of a strategy described above to
identify specific estimates of progress for each
EPA Region to work toward for FY 05 and 08
for two key environmental/public health goals:
• improving the percentage of population
served by community water systems that
provide safe drinking water; and
• restoring and improving water quality on a
watershed basis.
EPA recognizes that the estimates of progress
toward these key goals in each Region
contained in this Guidance are preliminary.
During the spring, EPA Regions will have a
chance to work with States to review data,
consider the likely effect of programs, and
develop revised estimates of progress. This
process presents difficult challenges, but is a
critical step toward shifting the focus of
program managers at all levels from delivery of
individual program activities toward more
integrated management of diverse program
tools with the aim of accomplishing a
measurable improvement in public health and
the environment. As information about
progress toward environmental and public
health goals becomes the basis for decision-
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
making, program managers can implement an
adaptive management process to continually
refine understanding of needs and better focus
programs and resources.
Region/State/Tribal Contributions to
National Guidance:
Regions have developed Regional Plans that
express the core water programs in the context
of the specific conditions and needs of the
Region and describe water issues in the Region
that are not addressed by the national
program. In addition, Regions and National
Program Managers have jointly identified
"Regional straw targets" for those program
activity measures that include a target and, in
the case of the drinking water and watershed
goals, estimated progress to be made in the
form of either a Regional estimate or a
proportional share of progress needed to meet
the national goal for FY 05.
In the spring of 2004, EPA Regions will work
with States and Tribes to develop annual grant
workplans or Performance Partnership
Agreements. The goal of this joint effort is to
allocate available resources to those program
activities that are likely to result in the best
progress toward accomplishing water quality
and public health goals for that State/Tribe
(e.g. improved compliance with drinking
water standards, improved water quality on a
watershed basis). Regional straw targets in this
Guidance are the starting point for discussions,
but the more formal, State-specific commitments
that result from workplan discussions are
intended to reflect environmental and financial
circumstances in the State and to supplant
these straw targets. The tailored State/Tribal
program commitments that result from this
process will define, in an operational sense, the
"strategy" for the National Water Program for
FY 2005.
Key To Success - Solid Program
Execution:
The key to the success of the National Water
Program in meeting key water quality
improvement goals is solid execution of the
program activities that Regions, States and
Tribes identify as most likely to result in
progress toward these goals for each State and
Tribe. EPA will not press States/Tribes to align
resources with a single, comprehensive set of
"national program priorities" because this
would require revising the otherwise optimal
allocation of resources for meeting
environmental goals in that State/Tribe and,
thereby, undermine solid program execution.
At the same time, some program elements of
the National Water Program are essential to
the success of the program at the national
level. It is in the interest of all States and
Tribes that the National Water Program
maintain a cohesive structure and that core
elements of the program are advanced in a
coordinated manner. Twelve specific program
activity measures where significant progress,
equal to or exceeding the Regional/national FY
05 straw targets identified in this National Water
Program Guidance, is essential to maintaining
the cohesiveness and momentum of the
National Water Program are identified below.
Safe Drinking Water
1) Conduct sanitary surveys at Community
Water Systems (PAM #8).
2) Implement actions called for in source
water protection strategies (PAM #11).
Water Quality Standards
3) Assure effective operation of the standards
program (PAMs #38 and #43).
4) Adopt current bacteria criteria for coastal
recreational waters (PAM #33).
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
5) Adopt fish tissue criteria for mercury
(PAM #31).
Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment
6) Adopt/implement new comprehensive
monitoring strategies (PAM #44).
7) Develop integrated assessments of State
¦waters (PAM #45).
Waterbody and Watershed Restoration
8) Implement watershed-based plans to
protect water quality (PAM #49).
9) Develop TMDLs on an approved schedule
(PAM #52).
Discharge Permit Program
10) Issue high priority NPDES permits in
accordance with the Permitting for
Environmental Results Strategy (PAM #59).
11) Implement the new permit requirements
for Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operations (PAM #60).
12) Issue Phase II permits for storm water
from municipal sources and construction
sites (PAMs #61 and #62).
In the case of these twelve essential program
activities, the Regions will make every effort to
work with States to define "commitments" that
meet or exceed the Regional straw targets in
this Guidance, including making these
activities a priority in development of grant
workplans. Regions should consult with
National Program Managers if they anticipate
not meeting targets for these measures prior to
finalization of draft workplan commitments in
July.
How Will Progress Be Measured?
As the strategies and programs described in
this Guidance are implemented during fiscal
year 2005, EPA, States, and Tribes will
evaluate progress toward the environmental
and public health goals described in the new
EPA Strategic Plan. With this information,
EPA will work with States and Tribes, using an
"adaptive management" approach, to refine
program emphases to improve program
performance. Where information about
progress toward environmental and public
health goals is incomplete, EPA will use more
focused, program-specific evaluations to
improve operational effectiveness.
The National Water Program will evaluate
progress using three key tools:
National Water Program Performance
Reports
The Office of Water will use data provided by
Regions, States and Tribes to prepare
performance reports for the National Water
Program at the mid-point and end of each
fiscal year. The reports will include conclusions
about program performance and
recommendations for response actions based
on conclusions.
EPA HQ/Regional Dialogues
Each year, the Office of Water will visit up to
four EPA Regional Offices and Great
Waterbody Offices to conduct dialogues on
program management and performance. A key
topic for the HQ/Regional dialogues will be
identification of program innovations or "best
practices" developed by the Region, States,
Tribes, watershed organizations, and others.
Program-Specific Evaluations
In addition to looking at the performance of
the National Water Program at the national
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
level and performance in each EPA Region,
individual water programs will be evaluated
periodically by EPA and by external parties
(Inspector General, General Accounting
Office). EPA will develop an annual plan that
identifies all the water program-specific
evaluations that are expected to be underway
in that year.
INTERNET ACCESS: This National Water Program Guidance and supporting documents,
including the more detailed Subobjective Implementation Plans that are the basis for this
Guidance, are available on the Internet at: www.epa.gov/water/waterplan.
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
Introduction
In October of 2003, EPA published a new
Strategic Plan defining specific environmental and
public health improvements to be accomplished
by 2008. This National Program Guidance builds
on the new Strategic Plan by defining the process
for creating an operational plan for water
programs for fiscal year 2005 (FY 2005). Some
elements of the operational plan for FY 05 are
included in this Guidance (e.g., key national
program strategies and annual priorities).
Additional elements of the FY 2005 operational
plan (e.g., program specific commitments for
FY 2005) will be developed over the coming
months in discussions among EPA Regions,
States, and Tribes following the process
outlined in this Guidance.
Central Theme - Environmental
and Public Health Results
The central theme of the new EPA Strategic
Plan is that the rate of progress toward a
cleaner environment can be improved through
clearer definition of the specific environmental
improvements needed in the foreseeable future
(e.g., 5 years). The Strategic Plan defines specific
improvements in drinking water and surface
water quality to be accomplished by 2008 and
goes further to oudine general strategies for
accomplishing these improvements. Although
the Strategic Plan promises environmental
improvements, standing alone, it cannot make
these improvements a reality. Some of the
additional steps that are needed, and are
addressed in this National Program Guidance,
are described below.
• Today, clean water and drinking water
programs are too often delivered in
discrete programs without the integration
among programs that could dramatically
improve environmental results. This
National Program Guidance is organized
around environmental results (i.e.,
subobjectives from the Strategic Plan)
rather than traditional programs in an
effort to encourage program managers at
all levels to adopt an entrepreneurial spirit
in using a diverse array of program tools to
accomplish environmental improvements
(e.g. compliance/enforcement, other EPA
programs, programs of other Federal
agencies).
• In the past, national program managers
have asked Regions to commit to a share of
annual program outputs and Regions have
asked States to do the same. Under the
management system described in this
Guidance, Regions propose to the national
program annual program output targets
that make sense in that Region in a
"bottom-up" process. This process allows
Regions and States to shift program
resources to best fit the environmental
conditions and needs in that Region on an
annual basis while keeping a long-term
national program target in mind.
• Once program commitments are made, it
is critical that information about progress
toward commitments be evaluated and used
to make adaptive management decisions. The
management system described in this
Guidance provides for a comprehensive
process to evaluate progress.
Organization of this Guidance
This National Program Guidance is divided into
four major sections:
• strategies for attaining the objectives and
subobjectives related to water in the new
EPA Strategic Plan (see Table I);
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• description of the program management
system to be used by the EPA generally
and the National Water Program more
specifically;
• tables of "program activity measures"
addressing the measurement of program
activities that most directly contribute to
attaining objectives and subobjectives; and
• background information on program
grants to States, Tribes, and others that
support program activities.
Each of these sections is described briefly
below:
1) Subobjective Strategies
The EPA Strategic Plan addresses water
programs in both Goal 2, (i.e. "Clean and Safe
Water"), and Goal 4, (i.e. "Healthy
Communities and Ecosystems"). Within these
Goals, there are ten subobjectives that define
specific environmental or public health results
to be accomplished by 2008 (see Table I).
EPA has developed Draft Implementation
Plans for FY 2005 for each of the ten key
subobjectives related to water (see Table II).
These Subobjective Implementation Plans
were developed jointly by EPA Headquarters
and Regional offices and are available on the
Internet at www.epa.gov/water/waterplan.
This Guidance provides a summary of the more
detailed Subobjective Implementation Plans.
These summaries describe the basic strategic
approach to attaining each of the
subobjectives, identify the key program
activities that support this work, describe
innovative approaches developed by Regions,
and identify the EPA program grants in the
subject area.
Goals 2 and 4 of the EPA Strategic Plan
address public health and environmental
improvements that apply to all Americans,
including Americans living in Indian country.
Subobjective Implementation Plans address
outcomes or program activities that relate to
tribal waters or the health of people living on
tribal lands.
Table I
Traditional Water Programs Shared Between Two Goals
Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water
Goal 4: Healthy Communities and Ecosystems
Protect Human Health
Community Health
• Water Safe to Drink/Water Security
• US-Mexico Border Water Quality
• Fish/Shellfish Safe to Eat
Ecosystems
• Water Safe for Swimming
• Ecosystem Scale Protection and Restoration
(NEP Estuaries and Wetlands)
Protect Water Quality
• Great Lakes
• Improve Water Quality on a Watershed Basis
• Chesapeake Bay
« Improve Coastal and Ocean Waters
• Gulf of Mexico
Research and Science
• Protect Human Health
• Protect Water Quality
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2) Water Program Management System
This section of the Guidance describes a three
step process for management of water
programs.
• Step 1 is the development of this National
Water Program Guidance.
• Step 2 involves consultation among
Regions, States, and Tribes to be
conducted this Spring and Summer to
further define Regional and State priorities
and develop State and Regional
"commitments" to support each of the
Subobjective Implementation Plans.
A key product of this consultation process is
the conversion of "targets" for FY 05
activities provided in this Guidance into
more binding "commitments" to be
included in State/Tribal workplans and grant
agreements (i.e., draft commitments in July
and final commitments in September).
• Step 3 involves work to be done during
FY 05 to track progress in program
implementation and improve program
performance based on evaluation feedback.
3) Water Measures
The Appendix of this National Program Guidance
includes two tables of water program measures.
Appendix 1 includes all measures related to
water programs, including the environmental/
public health measures stated in the EPA
Strategic Plan and the measures of activity in a
range of program areas that support each
subobjective (i.e., "Program Activity Measures"
or "PAMs"). Program Activity Measures
address activities to be implemented by EPA
Headquarters, EPA Regional Offices, and by
States/Tribes that administer national
programs. They arc the basis for monitoring
progress in implementing programs to
accomplish the environmental improvements
described in the new Strategic Plan.
Appendix 2 includes only those Program
Activity Measures for which there are
management "targets" for FY 2005 and
FY 2008 and for which EPA, States and Tribes
will need to develop FY 2005 targets. For
these measures, the table provides "straw"
targets for each Region and for the country as
a whole. These targets are intended to provide
a point of reference as Regions and States/
Tribes define more formal "commitments" in
the Spring/Summer of 2004.
4) Grant Management
EPA provides a wide range of grant funding to
States, Tribes, and others to implement clean
water and drinking water programs and projects,
including the program activity measures
described above. The Office of Water places a
high priority on effective grants management and
is emphasizing three key areas as these grants
are implemented:
Table II
National Vaster Program Subobjectives
1) Water Safe to Drink
2) Fish and Shellfish Safe to Eat
3) Water Safe for Swimming
4) Restore and Improve Water Quality on a
Watershed Basis
5) Protect Coastal and Ocean Waters/Estuaries
6) Protect Wedands
7) Protect Mexico Border Water
8) Protect the Chesapeake Bay
9) Protect the Great Lakes
10) Protect the Gulf of Mexico
NOTE: Subobjective Hans not developed for
Research/Science Subobjectives
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
• standardizing the timing of issuance of
guidance for categorical grants;
• ensuring that high priority is placed on
effective grant management; and
• linking grants to the achievement of
environmental results as laid out in the
Agency Strategic Plan.
More information about grants management is
available in Appendix 3 and a table of key
water grant programs with applicable FY 2005
guidance is provided on the internet at
www.epa.gov. water/waterplan.
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Strategies for Protecting
Public Health and the Environment
For each of the ten key subobjectives related to
water that are addressed in the new EPA
Strategic Plan, EPA has worked with States and
other stakeholders to define strategies for
accomplishing the improvements in the
environment or public health expressed in the
subobjective.
The Strategic Plan includes general
descriptions of strategies and programs that
will apply over the 2004 - 2008 period. This
National Program Guidance describes plans
and strategies at a more operational level and
focuses on FY 2005. In addition, this
Guidance refers to "Program Activity
Measures" that define key program activities
that support each subobjective (see appendix).
Some of these Program Activity Measures
include national and Regional targets for
FY 2005 and FY 2008.
Finally, the text provided below is a summary
of more detailed "Subobjective
Implementation Plans" for each subobjective.
These plans provides additional information
concerning the subobjective and further
explanation of proposed strategies and actions
(see www.epa.gov/water/waterplan).
1) Water Safe to Drink (ffjjjjfi
For almost 30 years, H ¦
protecting the Nations fl
public health through safe
drinking water has been the > <
shared responsibility of EPA, the States, and
over 53,000 community water systems
(CWSs)1 nationwide that supply drinking
water to more than 260 million Americans
(approximately 90% of the U.S. population).
Within this time span, safety standards have
been established and are being implemented
for 91 microbial, chemical, and radiological
contaminants. Forty-nine States have adopted
primary authority for enforcing their drinking
water programs. Additionally, CWS operators
are better informed and trained on the variety
of ways to both treat contaminants, and
prevent them from entering the source of their
drinking water supplies.
During 2005 - 2008, EPA, the States, and
CWSs will build on these programmatic
successes while working toward the goal of
assuring that 95 percent of the population
served by CWSs receives drinking water that
meets all applicable standards.
A) Environmental/Health Results
Expected
Environmental and public health results
identified in the new EPA Strategic Plan
related to safe drinking water are:
1) Percent of the population served by
community water systems that receive
drinking water that meets all applicable
health-based drinking-water standards
through effective treatment and source
water protection.
2002 Baseline: 93.6%
2005 Target 93%
2008 Target: 95%
'Although the Safe Drinking Water Act applies to 161,201 public water systems nationwide (as of December 2003), which
include schools, hospitals, factories, campgrounds, motels, gas stations, etc. that have their own water system, this
implementation plan focuses only on CWSs. A CWS is a public water system that provides water to the same population
year-round. As of December 2003, there were 53,363 CWSs.
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
2) Percent of the population served by
community water systems that receive
drinking water that meets health-based
standards for those requirements with which
systems need to comply:
As of December 2001:
2002 Baseline: 93.6%
2005 Target: 94%
2008 Target: 95%
As of January 2002 or later:
2002 Baseline: N/A
2005 Target: 75%
2008 Target: 80%
3) Percent of community water systems that
provide drinking water that meets health-
based standards for those requirements
with which systems need to comply:
As of December 2001:
2002 Baseline: 91.6%
2005 Target: 94%
2008 Target: 95%
As of January 2002 or later:
2002 Baseline: N/A
2005 Target: 75%
2008 Target: 80%
4) Percent of the population served by
community water systems in Indian country
that receive drinking water that meets all
applicable health-based drinking-water
standards.
2002 Baseline: 91.1%
2005 Target: 90%
2008 Target: 95%
5) Percent of source water areas (both surface
and ground water) for community water
systems that will achieve minimized risk to
public health.
2002 Baseline: 5 %
2005 Target: 20%
2008 Target: 50%
B) Key National Strategies
The subobjective goal that 95 percent of the
population served by CWSs receive drinking
water that meets all applicable standards
reflects the fundamental public health
protection mission of the national drinking
water program. The standards do not prescribe
a specific treatment approach; rather,
individual systems decide how best to comply
with any given standard based upon their own
unique circumstances. Systems achieve
compliance with standards by employing
various elements of what public health experts
refer to as "multiple barriers of protection."
The multiple barriers may include source
water protection; various stages of treatment;
proper operation and maintenance of the
distribution and finished water storage system;
and customer awareness.
EPA has identified key activities within five
core program areas that are critical to ensuring
safe drinking water. The core program areas
are:
• Development or revisions to drinking
water standards;
• Implementation of drinking water
standards and other program
requirements;
• Promotion of sustainable management of
drinking water infrastructure;
• Protection of sources of drinking water
from contamination; and
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
• Assurance that critical water infrastructure
is secure from terrorist and other
intentional acts.
Each of these five key areas is discussed below.
Collectively, these core areas and other
interrelated elements of the national safe
"drinking water program form a balanced,
integrated framework that comprise the
multiple barrier approach to protecting public
health from unsafe drinking water. At the
national level, implementation of this
approach is expected to result in significant
progress toward the public health goals
described above.
Table III
Drinking Water
Subobjective
Strategic Target A
Strategic Target B
Subobjective 2.1.1
EPA
Percentage of
Percentage of
Percentage of
Percentage of
Percentage of
Region
national
population served by
population served
population served
population served
population
CWSs meeting all
by CWSs meeting all by CWSs meeting all
by CWSs to meet
served by
health-based
health-based
health-based
all health-based
CWSs'
standards (end of
standards with which standards with which
standards
year 2002)
systems need to
systems need to
(2005 targets)2
comply as of
comply as of January
December 2001
2002 or later (2005
(2005 targets)2
targets)2
1
9%
88%
78%
. 75%
71%
2
6%
81%
80%
70%
80%
3
9%
98%
94%
75%
93%
4
15%
96%
94%
75%
93%
5
12%
94%
95%
80%
95%
6
10%
93%
94%
75%
93%
7
8%
95%
94%
80%
94%
8
12%
97%
95%
75%
94%
9
11%
99%
95%
75%
94%
10
7%
91%
90%
70%
85%
National
100%
93.6%
91.8%3
75.2%3
90,6%3
05 Total
Stated
100%
93.6%
94%
75%
93%
National
(273 M)
05 Goal
'Based on January 2004 SDW1S data.
-'2.1.1 is not an average of Strategic Targets A & B.
'FY 2005 National Totals are weighted by population.
There are specific Regional explanations for lower FY 2005 targets, which bring down the national FY 2005 target. As part of EPA's continuing
data reliability analyses, we have identified a degree of under reporting of violations of health-based standards, and of violations of regulatory
monitoring and repotting requirements by states. As a result of these data quality issues.
the baseline statistic of national compliance with health-
based drinking water standards likely is lower than previously reported. EPA is continuing to pursue this issue by 1) improving and updating
SDWIS and the linkage between state and federal data submissions; and 2) working with states to more accurately quantify the impact of these
data quality problems by determining if the under-reporting is actually non-reporting of violations that occurred. As a
result, EPA may not reach
these FY 2005 and FY 2008 national projected targets. Note that CWSs are expected to comply with a wider range of drinking water standards
in 2005 than was required in 2002.
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
In support of the national strategy, each EPA
Regional Office has established Regional straw
targets for FY 2005 (see Table III). In addition
to implementing the core elements of the
national strategy, Regions defined in their
Regional Plans how they will work to attain
their FY 2005 straw targets (see Regional
Plans at www.epa.gov/water/waterplan).
1) Development or Revisions to Drinking
Water Standards
During FY 2005, EPA will be working with
States and other stakeholders on three new
drinking water regulations:
Ground Water Rule: This regulation, to be
promulgated in October 2004, will specify
the appropriate use of disinfection in ground
water and establishes multiple barriers to
protect against bacteria and viruses in drinking
water from ground water sources. In FY 05,
EPA will work with States to develop plans
and schedules for compliance with the
regulation.
Long-Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water
Treatment Rule: This regulation, to be
promulgated in June of 2005, targets
additional Cryptosporidium treatment
requirements to higher risk systems, mitigates
risks from uncovered finished water storage
facilities, and ensures that systems maintain
microbial protection as they take steps to
reduce the formation of disinfection by-
products.
Stage 2 Disinfectant and Disinfection By-
products Rule: This regulation, to be
promulgated in June of 2005, focuses on
public health protection by limiting exposure
to disinfection by-products, which can form in
water through disinfectants used to control
microbial pathogens.
EPA will also continue to conduct analysis of
contaminants in drinking water to support
decisions concerning regulation of unregulated
contaminants for a second round of the
Contaminant Candidate List process in
FY 2006 (see Program Activity Measures #2
and #3) and to develop information to support
regulations for bacteria in distribution systems
of public water supplies (i.e., Total Coliform
Rule); (see Program Activity Measure #1).
2) Implementation of Drinking Water
Standards:
During FY 05, EPA will support State efforts
to meet existing and new drinking water
standards using the following tools:
Public Witer System Supervision (PWSS)
Program Grants. The FY 2005 President's
Budget requests $105.1 million for this grant
program, an increase of $2.6 million from the
FY 04 appropriations and over $12.5 million
from the FY 2003 funding level. EPA will
issue new program guidance on priority
activities for States' use of these funds in FY 05.
For instance, the Agency will request States to
target their PWSS funds to ensure that:
• drinking water systems of all sizes that
meet existing and new health-based
standards continue to stay in compliance;
• all size systems not meeting existing and
new health-based standards get into
compliance and stay in compliance;
• all size drinking water systems are
preparing to comply with the new health-
based standards that will be in effect in
FY 05; and
• data quality and other data problems are
being addressed.
Sanitary Surveys: Sanitary surveys are on-site
reviews of the water sources, facilities,
equipment, operation, and maintenance of
public water systems. All States are to be in
8
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
compliance with requirements to conduct
sanitary surveys at CWSs once every three
years starting in 2004 (see Program Activity
Measure #8). For systems determined by the
State to have outstanding performance based
on prior surveys, subsequent surveys may be
conducted every five years. EPA will conduct
surveys at CWSs on tribal lands (see Program
Activity Measure #9).
Technical Assistance and Training: Reference
materials for new regulations (e.g., new arsenic
standard) will be developed and training
sessions (e.g., in person, satellite/webcast) on
implementation of new regulations will be
offered. As part of this effort, EPA is working
with States and stakeholder organizations to
continue a Small Systems Initiative that
provides a range of technical assistance to help
systems serving fewer than 3,300 people meet
existing and new drinking water standards. In
addition, the Drinking Water Academy will
develop and deliver training (in both English
and Spanish) on a variety of drinking water
topics.
Operator Certification: States must
implement programs to certify operators of
drinking water systems. In 2000, EPA
published guidance outlining minimum
requirements for States' operator certification
programs. In addition, EPA will be publishing
guidance on implementing a drinking water
operator certification program in Indian
country. EPA Regions will work with
certification provider organizations to begin
new, or amend existing operator certification
programs. EPA HQ will be providing grants
and working closely with the Regions as the
implementation of the Tribal Operator
Certification Program begins in FY 2005.
Data Access, Quality, and Reliability: EPA will
complete the modernization of the Safe
Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS),
which serves as the primary source of national
information on compliance with all health-
based, regulatory requirements of SDWA. New
drinking water program requirements will be
incorporated into SDWIS to help States (and
those Tribes having access to SDWIS) monitor
and report drinking water data. In addition,
EPA is continuing to work with States to
encourage use of SDWIS/State because of its
compatibility and ease of reporting with the
national SDWIS.
Finally, EPA will also work with the Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance to
identify instances of actual or expected
noncompliance that pose risk to public health
and to take appropriate compliance assistance
or enforcement actions as necessary.
3) Promotion of Sustainable Management of
Drinking Water Infrastructure
The Drinking Water State Revolving Loan
Fund (DWSRF), established under the Safe
Drinking Water Act, offers low interest loans
to help public water systems across the Nation
make improvements and upgrades to their
water infrastructure, or other activities that
build system capacity . In FY 2005, the
DWSRF program will provide and estimated
500-600 more loans. Program Activity
Measure #5 calls for the DWSRF fund
utilization (cumulative dollar amount of loan
agreements divided by cumulative funds
available for projects) to increase from a 2002
level of 75% to 86% in 2008.
EPA will also work with States to increase the
percentage of DWSRF loan agreements made
each year that return a system to compliance,
estimated to be 30% of loan agreements in 2002
(see Program Activity Measure #7). Finally, EPA
will monitor the number of DWSRF funded
projects that initiate operations; and the rate of
return on the Federal investment, estimated to be
$1.60 for each Federal dollar in 2002 (see
Program Activity Measure #4) and the number of
projects that have initiated operations (see
Program Activity Measures #6).
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
In addition, in FY 2005, EPA will implement
a Sustainable Infrastructure Leadership
Initiative addressing both drinking water and
wastewater infrastructure. EPA will work in
partnership with States, the water utility
industry, and other stakeholders to ensure
sustainability of water and wastewater systems.
The specific focus of this initiative is to
identify and promote new and better ways of
doing business in the water and wastewater
industry. EPA will work with the water
industry to identify best practices that have
helped many of the Nations utilities address
their own internal gap and extend their use to
a greater number of utilities.
4) Protection of Sources of Drinking Water
In FY 2005, EPA will work with States and
water systems to improve protection of sources
of drinking water in three key areas.
Voluntary Source Water Protection Strategies:
EPA will promote the concepts of a multiple
barriers approach to drinking water program
management and will work with States to track,
to the extent feasible, the development and
implementation of source water protection
strategies. EPA has set a goal of increasing the
number of source water areas (both surface and
ground water) for community water systems
that have minimized risk to public health from
an estimated baseline of 5% of all areas in
2002. In support of this goal, EPA will
monitor development and implementation of
source water protection strategies by CWSs
and tribal water systems (see Program Activity
Measures #10/#11/#12). EPA will also
support digitized delineation of source water
areas (see Program Activity Measure #14).
EPA will also work with States and water
systems to monitor progress in several key
program areas, giving special attention to
using information to identify the greatest
threats. Starting in FY 2004, States will
provide information on the susceptibility of
source waters to contamination. EPA and
States will focus efforts, to the extent feasible,
to address the greatest threats and to protect
susceptible systems (see Program Activity
Measure #13). EPA will also work with States
to identify each year, at the State level, the
most prevalent and threatening categories of
sources of contamination of water systems (see
Program Activity Measure #15).
Cross-Program Initiatives: In addition to
activities and programs authorized by the Safe
Drinking Water Act, EPA is encouraging States
and communities to expand their prevention
efforts to recognize authorities and resources of
other programs, such as water quality standards
under the Clean Water Act, pesticide programs,
the Underground Storage Tank program, the
Superfund program, and programs of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA).
In the case of Clean Water Act standards, EPA
will work in FY 2005 to complete the Phase 1
recalculation of water quality criteria to reflect
the new methodology for assessing human health
impacts of contaminants in surface waters. EPA
will also identify contaminants found in surface
water that are of concern for drinking water and
publish three new or revised human health
criteria under the Clean Water Act each year
(see Program Activity Measures #22 and #23).
In a related effort, EPA will work with States
to identify surface waters used by CWSs for
which States have, wherever attainable,
adopted "public water supply" as the designated
use under the Clean Water Act. Beginning in
FY 2005, EPA will set targets for adoption of
the public water supply use where attainable
(see Program Activity Measures #21 and #24).
EPA will also identify surface waters that are
used as public water supplies and are highly or
moderately vulnerable to contamination and
will track implementation of key activities
such as monitoring and the development and
implementation of TMDLs for these waters
(see Program Activity Measures #25/#26/#27).
10
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¦ . ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
In addition, EPA will work with the EPA
Office of Pesticides Programs to assure that
appropriate management controls, such as
label restrictions, limited use in sensitive areas,
and additional monitoring, are implemented
for all of the 31 pesticides now identified as
having a high leaching/persistence potential by
2008 and for 90% of these pesticides by 2005
(see Program Activity Measure #16). EPA will
also work with the USDA and state-based
water organizations to identify a minimum of
five drinking water systems whose water
supplies are seriously threatened by
agricultural contaminants like herbicides,
pesticides, and nitrogen. Once identified,
USDA's field offices (e.g., Extension Service,
Conservation Districts) will work with the
farmers within the watershed, especially those
with land near drinking water intakes, to
change their farming practices to those that are
more environmentally friendly.
Underground Injection Control: EPA works
with States to control injection of hazardous
substances and other waste to prevent
contamination of underground sources of
drinking water.
In 2005, EPA will continue to focus on
shallow wells (Class V) in source water areas.
EPA and the States will work to assure that all
identified Class V motor vehicle waste disposal
wells are closed by 2008 (see Program Activity
Measure #18). Finally, EPA and State will
work to increase the number of inspections of
Class V and Class II wells by 10% by 2008
(see Program Activity Measure #20).
EPA and States will also work to assure that
100 percent of Class I, II, III and V wells that
are identified in violation are addressed (see
Program Activity Measure #17). And, EPA
will work with States and other partners to
develop mechanisms that will provide
information on the Class V well inventory (see
Program Activity Measure #19).
5) Assurance that Critical Water
Infrastructure Is Secure
In FY 2005, EPA will continue its lead Federal
Agency responsibility in supporting States and
water utilities to secure their infrastructure
from terrorist threats and other intentional
acts.
EPA will provide training and technical and
limited financial assistance for the water
sectors preparation of voluntary best practices
for water utility security, including effective
security enhancements, innovative financing
mechanisms, and design standards to
incorporate security measures in new
construction/reconstruction. EPA and
stakeholders will work to achieve consensus on
best practices and establish a voluntary
program by which systems certify the
implementation of these practices. EPA expects
to track the number of systems that have
established core best practices starting in
FY 2005.
EPA will also work with States and water systems
to conduct training, including exercises and
simulations, for water utilities and others
organizations they would depend on in an
emergency (e.g., local law enforcement
officials, Hazmat teams, environmental
laboratories, other infrastructure, and public
health officials). Training will improve
response for all emergencies, such as blackouts
and hurricanes as well as those related to
homeland security.
A third critical area of water infrastructure
security is development of information tools to
provide up-to-date data on contaminant
characteristics, water treatment effectiveness,
detection technologies, analytical protocols, and
laboratory capabilities for use by individuals or
organizations responding to a water
contamination event. EPA will continue to
support the secure Information Sharing and
Analysis Center (WaterlSAC) to exchange and
¦ ..
SSil
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
analyze threat and incident information and to
serve as a clearinghouse for sensitive
information.
C) Key Regional Strategies
In addition to the national strategy described
above, several EPA Regional Offices have
developed innovative approaches to improving
the safety of drinking water.
In EPA New England, EPA has begun a
"Businesses for Safe Drinking Water Initiative"
with the goal of educating, inspiring, and
recognizing businesses that have worked with
water suppliers to protect public sources of
drinking water. More than twenty businesses
have come forward to be recognized for source
water protection efforts including storm water
management around reservoirs, water
conservation, land acquisition, and public
education.
In Region 3, EPA has engaged State agencies and
the US Geological Survey in developing a Nitrate
Strategy for the Delmarva Peninsula in response
to data showing violations in this area. The
Strategy is designed to identify the major sources
of pollution and define appropriate control
measures.
Region 6 is working with Oklahoma to
provide performance-based training for owners
and operators of small systems.
EPA Region 8 is developing a regional,
voluntary Tribal Operator Certification
program in Indian country to improve
institutional knowledge to maintain safe
drinking water.
D) Grant Program Resources
EPA has several program grants to the States,
authorized under the Safe Drinking Water Act,
that support work towards the drinking water
strategic goals including the Public Water
System Supervision (PWSS), Drinking Water
State Revolving Fund (DWSRF),
Underground Injection Control (UIC), and
water security grants. For additional
information concerning these grants, see the
grant program guidance website at
www. epa. gov. water/waterplan.
The PWSS grants to the States support the
States' primary activities (e.g., enforcement
and compliance with drinking water
regulations). EPA will issue new PWSS grant
guidance in April, and, as noted above,
encourages States to use the more than $12.5
million increase in requested funds from the
FY 03 level to improve and/or maintain
compliance by all systems and to manage their
data quality. Of the FY 05 President's Budget
request of $105.1 million, $6.8 million will go
to support implementation of the Tribal
Drinking Water Programs. EPA Regions directly
implement the PWSS program in Indian
country, and will be targeting funds towards
the same priority activities as the States.
In FY 2005, the DWSRF program will
provide an estimated 500-600 more loans to
public water systems for infrastructure
improvement projects. It is important to note
that EPA also allows States to reserve a portion
of their grant to support their drinking water
program as well as activities needed for source
water protection and enhanced water systems
management.
EPA also awards grants to States to carry out
primary enforcement (primacy) responsibilities
for implementing regulations associated with
Classes I, II, III and V underground injection
wells. In addition, emphasis is directed to
activities that address shallow wells (Class V) in
source water areas.
Water security grants will continue to maintain
the States' efforts in coordinating their critical
water infrastructure protection activities with
other homeland security responsibilities.
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
Finally, grants under section 106 of the Clean
Water Act are available to support State
ground water protection programs. EPA
recommends that States continue to direct
Section 106 funding for source water
protection actions to protect ground water and
drinking water.
Funding for development of infrastructure to
address public health goals related to access to
safe drinking water comes from several sources
within EPA and from other Federal agencies.
EPA provides funds "set-aside" from the
DWSRF program national appropriation for
grants for Tribal drinking water projects,
including both upgrading of tribal community
water systems and improving access through
construction of new systems. These funds are
estimated to be about $12.7 million in
FY 2005. EPA also administers a grant
program for water and wastewater projects in
Alaska Native Villages (about $43 million in
FY 2004, divided about equally between
drinking water and wastewater). Additional
funding is available from other Federal
agencies, including the Indian Health Service.
2) Fish and Shellfish
Safe to Eat
Across the U.S., States and
Tribes have issued fish
consumption advisories for a range of
contaminants covering almost half a million
stream miles and over 10 million lake acres. In
addition almost a quarter of the over 20 million
valuable shellfishing acres managed by States
nationwide are not open for use.
A) Environmental and Health Results
Expected
The new EPA Strategic Plan calls for improving
the quality of water and sediments to allow
increased consumption of fish and shellfish:
1) Improve the quality of water and sediments
to allow for increased consumption of safe
fish in a percentage of the river miles/lake
acres identified by States or Tribes as having
a fish consumption advisory in 2002.
2002 Baseline: 485,205 river miles and
11,277,276 lake acres under advisory
By 2005:1 % of advisory waters improved
By 2008:3%
2) Increase the percentage of shellfish-growing
acres monitored by States that are approved
or conditionally approved for use.
1995 Baseline: 77% of 21.6 million acres
open for use
By 2005:80% acres open for use
By 2008:85%
B) Key National Strategies
EPAs national approach to meeting safe fish
and shellfish goals is described below.
1) Safe Fish
The Agency approach to making fish safer to
eat includes several key elements:
• reduce air deposition of mercury;
• implement water pollution control
programs to address specific impaired
waters;
• use the Superfund program to restore the
condition of aquatic sediment, focusing on
PCBs; and
• improve public information and notifica-
tion of fish consumption risks.
Most of the fish consumption advisories are for
mercury and a critical element of the strategy
to reduce mercury in fish is reducing emissions
of mercury from combustion sources in the
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
United States. On a nationwide basis, by
2010, federal regulatory programs are expected
to reduce electric-generating unit emissions of
mercury from their 2000 level of 48 tons to
22 tons (see Goal 1: Clean Air, Subobjective
1.1.2: Reduced Risk from Toxic Air
Pollutants).
By using Mercury Maps (www.epa.gov/
waterscience/mercurymaps) it is possible to
evaluate the benefits of air emission reductions
or control of other sources for a specific
waterbody. This tool can also be used to
coordinate watershed level efforts to address
mercury contamination through water quality
standards, TMDL, and wastewater permitting
programs. EPA will use this tool to identify
priority areas where the combined effect of
reduced air emissions and control of other
sources of mercury would improve the safety
of fish.
The second most frequent cause of fish
consumption advisories is PCBs. Based on the
historical phase-out of PCB manufacture, EPA
expects that the most likely current source of
PCBs is sediment release. For this reason,
sediment remediation under the Superfund
program is an important action for reducing
the extent of current fish advisories. During
FY 04 and 05, the Office of Water and the
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
Response will work to identify and implement
sediment restoration projects that directly
contribute to restoring fish safety.
Another key element of the strategy to make
fish safer to eat is to expand and improve
information and notification of the risks of fish
consumption. As part of this work, EPA will
encourage States and Tribes to adopt the new
fish tissue criterion for mercury (see Program
Activity Measure #31).
In addition, by 2008, EPA expects that fish
tissues will be assessed to support waterbody-
specific or regional consumption advisories for
at least 40% of lake acres and 20% of river
miles (see Program Activity Measure #28).
EPA is also working to encourage increased
numbers of States and Tribes to monitor fish
tissue based on national guidance (see PAMs
#29 and #30).
2) Safe Shellfish
Shellfish safety is managed through the
Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference
(ISSC), a partnership of the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA), the State
shellfish control agencies, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), and the EPA. The State shellfish
control agencies monitor shellfishing waters
and can prohibit or restrict harvesting if the
waters from which shellfish are taken are
considered unsafe.
Success in achieving the shellfish goals relies
on implementation of Clean Water Act
programs that are focused on sources causing
shellfish acres to be closed. Important new
technologies include pathogen source tracking,
new indicators of pathogen contamination and
predictive correlations between environmental
stressors and their effects. Once critical areas
and sources are identified, core program
authorities, including expanded monitoring,
development ofTMDLs, and revision of
discharge permit limits can be applied to
improve conditions.
In addition, a wide range of clean water
programs that apply throughout the country
will generally reduce pathogen levels in key
waters. For example, work to control
Combined Sewer Overflows, to reduce
discharges from Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operations, to reduce storm water runoff, and
to reduce non-point pollution will contribute
to restoration of shellfish uses.
Finally, success in achieving the shellfish goal
also depends on the efforts of others outside of
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
the Office of Water. For example, EPA is
working with the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration and the Food and
Drug Administration to increase the number
of States that participate in the national
Shellfish Information Management System
(SIMS) (see Program Activity Measure #32).
EPA is also working to enter shellfish program
monitoring data into the EPA water
monitoring system (e.g., STORET).
C) Key Regional Strategies
In addition to the national strategy for
FY 2005 described above, several EPA
Regional Offices have developed innovative
approaches to improving the safety of fish and
shellfish.
Region 5 is working with Great Lake States to
increase the number of days that shellfish-
growing areas are open by targeting controls
for key pollution sources (e.g. sewage
treatment, combined sewer overflows, confined
animal feeding operations) shellfishing
growing areas that are closed.
In a related effort, the Gulf of Mexico Program
is working to reduce the rate of shellfish-borne
Vibrio vulnificus illnesses caused by
consumption of commercially harvested raw or
undercooked oysters by 60% (see Program
Activity Measure IV-GM-4).
EPA New England is working with the States,
the New England Interstate Water Pollution
Control Commission, and the US Geological
Survey to develop models that provide
information about sources of mercury, the
susceptibility of fish to mercury
contamination, the influences of landscape and
water variables on mercury in fish tissue, and
the relative magnitude of loadings from
mercury sources in watersheds around New
England. The models will be used to estimate
the amount of mercury reduction from
sources, especially air deposition, necessary to
meet EPA's mercury criterion of 0.3 mg/kg of
methyl mercury in fish tissue.
In the Great Lakes area, EPA is working with
States to reduce pollutant levels in fish, with
special emphasis on remediation of
contamination in sediments. The Great Lakes
Legacy Act, supported by additional funding
requested for FY 2005, will focus efforts on
restoration at identified Areas of Concern with
a goal of completing three sites each year (see
Program Activity Measure IV-GL-2).
Additionally, EPA will identify sediment sites
that are on the Superfund National Priority
List that contribute to fish consumption
advisories scheduled for remediation and
evaluate whether these site remediations will
enable increased consumption of fish.
D) Grant Program Resources
Grant resources supporting this goal include
the State program grant under section 106 of
the Clean Water Act, other water grants
identified in the Grant Program Resources
section of subobjective 4, and grants from the
Great Lakes National Program Office (see
grant guidance website for more information
www.epa.gov/water/waterplan) as well as
funding under the Superfund Program. In
addition, resources arc available for
contaminated sediment remediation via
project agreements under the Great Lakes
Legacy Act. Grant and Legacy Act guidance
from the Great Lakes National program Office
is available from http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/
fund/glf.html.
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
3) Water Safe for
Swimming
Recreational waters,
especially beaches in coastal
areas and the Great Lakes,
provide recreational opportunities for millions
of Americans. Swimming in some recreational
waters, however, can pose a risk of illness as a
result of exposure to microbial pathogens.
A) Environmental/Health Results
Expected
Environmental and public health results
identified in the new EPA Strategic Plan related
to safe swimming waters are:
1) Restore water quality to allow swimming in
waters identified by States in 2000 as unsafe
for swimming:
2000 Baseline: 90,000 stream miles/2.6
million lake acres
By 2005:2% of impaired water restored
By 2008:5%
2) Percent of days of the beach season that
coastal and Great Lakes beaches monitored
by State beach safety programs will be open
and safe for swimming:
2002 Baseline: 94%
By 2005:94%
By 2008:96%
B) Key National Strategies
For Fiscal Year 2005, EPA's national strategy
for improving the safety of recreational waters
will include four key elements:
• establish pathogen indicators based on
sound science;
• identify unsafe recreational waters and
begin restoration;
• reduce pathogens levels in all recreational
waters; and
• improve beach monitoring and public
notification.
1) Establish Pathogen Indicators Based on
Sound Science
EPA is working with States and Tribes
throughout the country to encourage the
adoption of the most recent (i.e., 1986)
scientific indicators of unsafe pathogens in all
recreational waters.
A top priority for FY 2005 is for all coastal
and Great Lakes States and territories to adopt,
for coastal recreational waters, water quality
criteria for E. Coli and enterococci. Of the
35 coastal and Great Lakes States, 11 have
adopted the 1986 criteria and another 11 are
in the process of doing so. Program Activity
Measure #33 indicates that EPA expects
25 States to have adopted new criteria by the
end of 2005. Congress called on all coastal and
Great Lake States to adopt new criteria by
April 10, 2004, and directed EPA to
"promptly propose" criteria for States that do
not act. During FY 2005, EPA will consider
promulgating such regulations if necessary.
2) Identify Unsafe Recreational Waters and
Begin Restoration
A key component of the strategy to restore
waters unsafe for swimming is to identify the
specific waters that arc unsafe and develop
plans to accomplish the needed restoration. A
key part of this work is to maintain strong
progress toward development of Total
Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) based on
the schedules established by States in
conjunction with EPA. Program Activity
Measure #52 indicates that most EPA Regions
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
expect to maintain 100% compliance with
schedules (providing for completion of
TMDLs within 13 years of listing).
In a related effort, the Office of Water will
work in a new partnership with the Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assistance
(OECA) to better focus compliance and
enforcement resources to unsafe recreational
waters. In addition, wet weather discharges,
which are a major source of pathogens, are one of
OECA's national priorities for FY 2005
through 2007.
3) Reduce Pathogen Levels in Recreational
Waters Generally
In addition to focusing on waters that are
unsafe for swimming today, EPA, States and
Tribes will work in FY 2005 to reduce the
overall level of pathogens discharged to
recreational waters using three key
approaches:
• reduce pollution from Combined Sewer
Overflows (CSOs);
• address major sources discharging
pathogens under the permit program; and
• improve management of septic systems.
Overflows from combined storm and sanitary
sewers in urban areas can result in high levels
of pathogens being released during storm
events. Because urban areas are often upstream
of recreational waters, these overflows are a
significant source of unsafe levels of pathogens.
EPA is working with States and local
governments to fully implement the CSO
Policy providing for the development and
implementation of Long Term Control Plans
(LTCPs) for CSOs. Program Activity Measure
#36 indicates that EPA expects that 41% of
the 745 CSO communities will have schedules
in place to implement approved LTCPs in
FY 2005; the FY2008 goal is 75% of
communities with schedules in place.
Other key sources of pathogens to the Nation's
waters are discharges of storm water from
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
(CAFOs) and municipal storm sewer systems
and industrial facilities. Program Activity
Measure #60 indicates that EPA expects to
work with States to assure that, by 2008, all
States have both updated regulations and have
issued general CAFO permits (45 States by
2005). Program Activity Measure #61
indicates that 93% of States will have issued
general permits requiring storm water
management programs for Phase II
municipalities in 2005; the 2008 goal is
100%.
Finally, there is growing evidence that
ineffective septic systems are contributing
pathogens to recreational waters. EPA will
work with State and local governments to
develop voluntary approaches to improving
management of these systems, including
design of decentralized treatment systems.
Program Activity Measure #37 addresses the
number of States that have adopted Voluntary
Management Guidelines for On-site/
Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems
published by EPA.
4) Improve Beach Monitoring and Public
Notification
Another important element of the strategy for
improving the safety of recreational waters is
improving monitoring of public beaches and
notifying the public of unsafe conditions. EPA
is working with States to implement the
Beaches Environmental Assessment and
Coastal Health Act and expects to provide
grant funding of $10 million to States to carry
out this work (see section D below). Program
Activity Measure #35 indicates that EPA
expects that 91% of significant public beaches
will be monitored and managed under the
BEACH Act in FY 05; the 2008 target is
100%. Finally, EPA will continue to conduct
the National Health Protection Survey of
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
Beaches with a focus on increasing
participation of inland States and will develop
internet information systems for beach safety
(http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches).
C) Key Regional Strategies
In addition to the national strategy described
above, several Regions have developed
innovative approaches to improving the safety
of recreation waters.
EPA New England, for example, is working to
reduce beach closures by supporting
appropriate and consistent, high-quality
monitoring and public notification;
supporting sanitary surveys to identify and
eliminate sources of bacteria and pathogens;
conducting extensive public outreach on the
strategy and the importance of reducing
pollution sources; and supporting new
technologies to improve identification of
pollution sources (e.g., microbial source
tracking).
EPA Region 9 is implementing a Coastal
Beach Strategy to further increase the safety of
coastal beaches through development of
TMDLs to address sources of pollution at the
approximately 245 waterbodies with pollution
problems. Some 80 TMDLs are projected for
completion by 2005. In addition, because
southern California has the highest number of
beach user days in the nation, EPA and the
State are focusing on storm water and sanitary
sewer overflows, including audits of many
municipal storm water sewer systems followed
by enforcement actions where needed.
D) Grant Program Resources
Grant resources supporting this goal include
the Clean Water Act section 106 grant to
States, nonpoint source program
implementation grants (section 319 grants),
and the BEACH Act grant program grants. For
additional information concerning these
grants, see the grant program guidance website
at www.epa.gov.water/waterplan.
4) Restore and Improve
Water Quality on a
Watershed Basis
A large share of the
resources available to the National Water
Program under the Clean Water Act directly
support efforts to restore and improve the
quality of rivers, lakes, and streams. Over the
next several years, EPA will work with States to
both assure the continued effective
implementation of core clean water programs
and to accelerate watershed protection efforts
by using a watershed approach.
a) Environmental/Health Results
Expected
Environmental and public health results
identified in the new EPA Strategic Plan
related to improved water quality on a
watershed basis are:
1) Use both pollution prevention and
restoration approaches to increase:
• the number of watersheds where water
quality standards are met in at least
80 percent of the assessed water segments:
2002 Baseline: 453 watersheds of the total
2,262 USGS cataloguing unit scale
watersheds across the Nation
2005 Target: 500
2008 Target: 600
~
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
• the number of watersheds where all
assessed water segments maintain their
quality and at least 20 percent of assessed
water segments show improvement above
conditions as of 2002.
2002 Baseline: 0 USGS cataloging unit scale
watersheds
2005 Target: TBD
2008 Target: 200
2) Percent of those waterbodies identified in
2000 as not attaining standards where water
quality standards are restored.
2000 Baseline: 21,632 waterbodies
2005 Target: 2%
2012 Target: 25%
3) Show improvement of at least 10% in each
of four key parameters at a number of the
900 water monitoring stations in tribal
waters:
2002 Baseline: 0 stations
2005 Target: 35
2008 Target: 90
4) Reduce the number of households on tribal
lands lacking access to basic sanitation.
2000 Baseline: 71,000 households
2005 Target: 51,000
2008 Target: 35,000
B) Key National Strategies
Developing a plan that addresses this complex
subobjective requires implementing a new
approach that integrates numerous water
program elements at a watershed level,
employs multiscale water quality data, applies
innovative ideas, and engages diverse Federal,
State and local stakeholders in problem
solving. These objectives can best be met using
a three part strategy:
• implement core clean water programs,
including innovations that apply programs
on a watershed basis;
• accelerate watershed protection; and
• apply an adaptive management framework
to make this process work.
1) Implement Core Clean Water Programs:
To protect and improve water quality on a
watershed basis in FY 2005, EPA and the
States need to continue to focus their work
on integrating the six key program areas that
form the foundation of the water program and
this subobjective. Core water program work
includes:
• strengthen the water quality standards
program;
• improve water quality monitoring and
assessment;
• develop Total Maximum Daily Loads and
related plans;
• implement effective nonpoint source
practices on a watershed basis;
• strengthen the NPDES permit program;
and
• support sustainable wastewater
infrastructure.
Priorities for FY 2005 in each of these key core
water program areas are described below.
Strengthen Water Quality Standards: State and
tribal water quality standards provide the
environmental baselines for water quality
programs. EPA provides scientific information
concerning contaminants in the form of "water
quality criteria" guidance and identifies
innovative approaches to support State and
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
tribal adoption of water quality standards that
protect water for such uses as swimming,
public water supply, and fish and wildlife.
The top priority for the criteria and standards
program in FY 2005 is the continued
implementation of the Water Quality Standards
and Criteria Strategy, developed in cooperation
with States, Tribes, and the public in 2003
(see Internet at: http://www.epa.gov/
waterscience/standards/strategy/).
The Standards Strategy provides for EPA to
continue work in developing scientific "criteria
documents" for key water pollutants,
including implementation protocols and
methods. As indicated in Program Activity
Measure #39, EPA expects to publish 3 new or
revised criteria documents in 2004 and 2005
as part of a larger goal of developing criteria
documents for 15 pollutants by 2008.
In addition, the Standards Strategy identifies
some key efforts to strengthen the program in
the coming years, including developing
nutrient criteria, adopting biological criteria,
and assisting tribal governments in adopting
water quality standards. EPA has a goal of
working with States to encourage adoption of
nutrient criteria for rivers, streams, lakes and
reservoirs in 25 States by 2008 with an
interim goal of 5 States by 2005 (see Program
Activity Measure #40). EPA is also working
toward a goal of adoption of biological criteria
in 45 States by 2008 from the 2002 level of
15 States (see Program Activity Measure #41).
In a related effort, EPA will encourage Tribes
to develop water quality standards and has a
goal of increasing the number of Tribes with
standards from 23 in 2002 to 33 in 2008 (see
Program Activity Measure #42).
Finally, EPA will work with States and Tribes
to ensure the effective operation and
administration of the standards program. For
example, all States and authorized Tribes are
expected to review and revise their standards
every 3 years, as required by the Clean Water
Act. Some 78 States and authorized Tribes
need to perform triennial reviews of standards
and EPA will work to increase the number
meeting this goal from the 2002 baseline of
55 (see Program Activity Measure #38). States
have asked the EPA to make every effort to
review and approve State standards within the
90 day period established in the Act. EPA has
set a goal of improving the review process, and
starting in FY 2005, EPA is committing to
meet a target of approving close to 75% of
standards within the 90 day period (see
Program Activity Measure #43).
Improve Water Quality Monitoring: Over the
next 5 years, EPA will work with States and
Tribes in defining and implementing a two-
part approach to building a more scientifically
sound water quality monitoring program:
• providing information to make good
watershed protection decisions; and
• tracking changes in the Nations water
quality over time.
Congress has recognized this improved
information about the condition of
waterbodies is critical to sound water quality
protection decisions and has provided new
funding to support expanded monitoring
work. The Presidents budget for FY 2005
includes a request for $17 million in new
funding to support water quality
monitoring.
A top priority for FY 2005 is to support States
in developing monitoring programs consistent
with national monitoring guidance published
in 2003, including State participation in
efforts to develop statistically valid monitoring
networks and State support of the national
STORET water quality database. EPA is
working to assist all 56 States and Territories
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in adopting and implementing monitoring
strategies by 2005 (see Program Activity
Measure #44). EPA is also supporting
development of comprehensive monitoring
strategies by Tribes and has a goal of helping
90 Tribes develop strategies by 2008 (see
Program Activity Measure #46).
In a related effort, EPA will work with States
and Territories to support development of
integrated assessments of water quality
conditions, including reports under section
305(b) of the Clean Water Act and lists of
impaired waters under section 303(d) of the
Act. EPA has a goal of all 56 States and
Territories providing integrated assessments in
2008 and has interim goals of 41 States
completing this work by 2005, increasing
from the 2002 baseline of 21 States (see
Program Activity Measure #45).
Develop Total Maximum Daily Loads and
Related Plans: Development of Total
Maximum Daily Loads or "TMDLs" for an
impaired waterbody is a critical tool for
meeting water restoration goals. TMDLs focus
on clearly defined environmental goals and
establish a pollutant budget, which is then
implemented via permit requirements and
through local, State, and Federal watershed
plans/programs.
EPA will track the degree to which States
develop TMDLs on approved schedules, based
on a goal of being 100 percent on pace each
year to meet State schedules or straight-line
rates that ensure that the national policy of
TMDL completion within 13 years of listing
is met (see Program Activity Measure #52).
EPA will also monitor the percentage of
TMDLs for which EPA takes approval action
within 30 days (see Program Activity Measure
#54). As noted below, EPA is also encouraging
States to develop TMDLs on a watershed basis
(see Program Activity Measure #51) and to
work with Tribes in this effort (see Program
Activity Measure #53).
Control Nonpoint Source Pollution on a
Watershed Basis: Polluted runoff from sources
such as agricultural lands, forestry sites, and
urban areas is the largest single cause of water
pollution. EPA and States are working with
local governments, watershed groups, property
owners, and others to implement programs
and management practices to control polluted
runoff on a watershed basis.
EPA provides grant funds to States under
Section 319 of the Clean Water Act to
implement comprehensive programs to control
nonpoint pollution. EPA recently published
new grants guidelines for the use of these
funds calling for expanding efforts to manage
nonpoint pollution on a watershed basis
through the development and implementation
of watershed plans, with special emphasis on
restoring impaired waters on a watershed basis
(see discussion below).
Nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment from
nonpoint sources are significant pollutants in
the Nation's waters. EPA will monitor progress
in reducing loadings of these pollutants (see
Program Activity Measure #57). In addition,
EPA estimates that some 5,967 waterbodies
are significantly impaired by nonpoint sources
of pollution and will track progress in
restoring these waters (see Program Activity
Measure #56).
In related efforts, EPA will collaborate with
State managers of Clean Water State Revolving
Funds to increase investments in projects to
reduce nonpoint source pollution. Properly
managed on-site/decentralized systems are an
important part of the Nations wastewater
infrastructure (sec Program Activity Measure
#58). EPA will also encourage State, tribal,
and local governments to adopt voluntary
guidelines for the effective management of
these systems (see Program Activity Measure
#37) and to use Clean Water State Revolving
Funds to finance systems where appropriate.
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
Strengthen NPDES Permit Program: The
NPDES program requires point sources
discharging to water bodies to have permits
and pretreatment programs to control
discharges from industrial facilities to sewage
treatment plants.
In FY 2003, EPA worked with States to
develop the "Permitting for Environmental
Results Strategy" to address concerns about
the backlog in issuing permits and the health
of State NPDES programs. The strategy
focuses limited resources on the most critical
environmental problems and addresses
program efficiency and integrity, which
includes activities to streamline permit
issuance and assessments of State programs
and permit quality. Beginning in FY 2004,
EPA will assess NPDES program integrity and
track implementation of followup actions that
result from the assessments (see Program
Activity Measure #69).
As part of this effort to strengthen the permit
program, EPA will work with States to set
targets for the percentage of permits that are
considered current. EPA has a goal of assuring
that not less than 90% of all permits are
current by 2005 and each year thereafter. In
addition, EPA and States are defining a subset
of permits that have high environmental
priority by July of 2004. EPA has asked States
to reissue these high priority permits and
achieve 95% of those scheduled in FY 2005
and each year thereafter (see Program Activity
Measure #59).
EPA is also working with States, Tribes, and
other interested parties to strengthen the
permit program in addressing Concentrated
Animal Feeding Operations (i.e., CAFOs) and
storm water discharges. The Agency has
requested additional funding of $5 million in
the Section 106 grant account to support this
work in FY 2005. EPA recently published new
refnilations concerning CAFOs and will work
tates to ensure that all States are
implementing the program consistent with
these new regulations including updating
regulations/statutes where necessary to reflect
new CAFO requirements and substantially
implementing the permit program consistent
with the new regulations (see Program Activity
Measure #60).
In addition, over the next 5 years, EPA expects
that 100 percent of NPDES programs will
have issued general permits requiring storm-
water management programs for Phase II
(mid-sized) municipalities and requiring
stormwater pollution prevention plans for
construction sites covered by Phase II of the
stormwater program. The 2005 goal for State
implementation of the stormwater program is
93% (municipalities) and 98% (construction)
(see Program Activity Measures #6l/#62).
Finally, EPA and States will monitor the
percentage of significant industrial facilities
that have control mechanisms in place to
implement applicable pretreatment
requirements prior to discharging to publicly
owned treatment works (see Program Activity
Measure #63).
Most industrial facilities discharging directly
to water bodies or to sewage treatment plants
have permit limits or pretreatment controls
based on national regulations developed for
the class of industrial activity. During
FY 2004 and 2005, EPA expects to complete
regulatory actions for meat and poultry
processing, construction and development
sites, aquaculture farms, and cooling-water
intake structures. In consultation with the
public, EPA will also establish program
priorities based on sound science and
demonstrated benefits, including the potential
for cost-effective risk reduction (see Program
Activity Measure #66). In addition to
evaluation of regulatory options, EPA will
consider other approaches (including
clarifying guidance, environmental management
systems, and permit writer support).
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
Support Sustainable Wastewater
Infrastructure: Much of the dramatic progress
in improving water quality is directly
attributable to investment in wastewater
infrastructure—the pipes and facilities that
treat the Nations sewage. But the job is far
from over. Communities are challenged to
find the fiscal resources to replace aging
infrastructure, meet growing infrastructure
demands fueled by population growth, and
secure their infrastructure against threats.
Clean Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRFs)
provide low-interest loans to help finance
wastewater treatment facilities and other water
quality projects. Recognizing the substantial
remaining need for wastewater infrastructure,
EPA expects to continue to provide significant
annual capitalization to CWSRFs for the
foreseeable future. This continued investment
will be tracked using measures of the return on
the Federal investment and the fund
utilization rate (see Program Activity Measures
#70/#71).
In addition, EPA will work with States to
encourage the development of integrated
priority lists addressing nonpoint pollution
and estuaries protection projects, as well as
wastewater projects with a goal of increasing
the number of States using these systems from
19 in 2002, to 29 in 2005 (see Program
Activity Measure #72).
Another important approach to closing the
gap between the need for clean water projects
and available funding is to use sustainable
management systems to prolong the lives of
existing systems and provide clean water at
lower cost. EPA will work to encourage rate
structures that lead to full cost pricing and
support water metering and other conservation
measures.
In a related effort, EPA will work with other
Federal agencies to improve access to basic
sanitation. The 2002 World Summit in
Johannesburg adopted the goal of reducing the
number of people lacking access to safe
drinking water and basic sanitation by 50%
by 2015. EPA will contribute to this work
through its support for development of
sanitation facilities in Indian country, Alaska
Native villages, and Pacific Islands
communities using funds set aside from the
CWSRF and targeted grants. Other Federal
agencies, such as the Department of Interior
and US Department of Agriculture, also play
key roles in this area.
The best way to accomplish the five year goals
for watershed and water quality improvement is
to deliver clean water programs on a watershed
basis. In addition to development of watershed
based plans, discussed in Section 2 below, core
programs can be implemented on a watershed
basis. Some examples of the core program
activities described above that are now being
implemented on a watershed basis as a result
of innovations developed by State, EPA
Regions, and others are include the following:
• Development of Watershed TMDLs: Many
impaired waters are clustered on a
watershed basis. For these waters, EPA is
encouraging States to develop TMDLs on
a watershed basis (see Program Activity
Measure #51). Integrating TMDLs into
more comprehensive watershed planning
can help develop and create the opportu-
nity for innovations such as water quality
trading and watershed-based permitting.
• Watershed Permits: Development of
discharge permits as part of a larger
watershed planning process can result in
more efficient administration of the permit
program and more cost-cffective control of
pollution sources. In FY 05, EPA will
monitor the number of watersheds in which
a watershed permit is issued consistent
with the recently published watershed
permit policy and the number of States
that issue permits on a rotating basin basis
(see Program Activity Measure #68).
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
• Watershed Trading: Implementing core
programs at the watershed level is an
important first step toward creating a
framework for trading of pollution control
responsibility among sources in order to
reduce the overall cost of attaining water
quality goals (see EPA Trading Policy at
www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/trading).
EPA will monitor the number of discharge
permits providing for trading. In addition,
EPA has set a goal of developing 200
TMDLs or watershed plans by 2008 that
are designed to restore nutrient limited
waters and also contain provisions to
enable trading (see Program Activity
Measures #67 and #55).
2) Accelerate Watershed Protection
Strong execution of core Clean Water Act
programs is essential to restoring and
protecting the Nation's water quality. These
core programs alone, however, are not
sufficient to maintain and accelerate progress
toward cleaner water and accomplish the water
quality improvements called for in the
Agency's Strategic Plan.
Today's water quality problems are often
caused by many different and diffuse sources
and individual practices. Addressing these
complex pollution problems demands an
approach grounded in sound science,
innovative solutions, broad public
involvement, and adaptive management.
About a decade ago, EPA embraced the
watershed approach as a better way to address
water quality problems. This approach focuses
multi-stakeholder and multi-program efforts
within hydrologically defined boundaries to
protect and restore our aquatic resources and
ecosystems. In addition to implementing core
programs on a watershed basis, as described
above, acceleration of watershed protection
can be accomplished by working in two key
areas:
• support local watershed protection efforts;
and
• initiate or strengthen watershed protection
for critical watersheds/waterbodies.
Over the past decade, EPA has witnessed a
groundswell of locally driven watershed
protection and restoration efforts, including
stronger local partnerships and increased local
capacity. In many communities, watershed
stakeholders such as citizen groups,
government agencies, nonprofit organizations,
and businesses, have come together and
created long-term goals and innovative
solutions to clean up their watersheds and
promote more sustainable uses of their water
resources. EPA estimates that there are
approximately 6,000 local watershed groups
active nationwide, and many of these local
groups are responsible for dramatic water
quality improvements in their communities
through collaborative efforts.
EPA is developing national tools, training, and
technical assistance that will help community
partnerships be more effective at improving
watershed health. Many local watershed
partnerships need help to develop the skills
necessary to set challenging but realistic goals,
build local capacity, and develop financial
resources. EPA also helps local groups design
watershed monitoring, assessments, plans, and
implementation measures to achieve clean
water. EPA recognizes that land use decisions
affecting water quality generally occur at the
local government level and that inter-
jurisdictional coordination and local
partnerships provide a strong foundation for
watershed protection. EPA provides tools and
guidance to foster these efforts.
The National Water Program has sustained a
positive experience with using a watershed
protection approach to supplement core
programs in key watersheds. At the largest
scale, EPA operates successful programs
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
addressing the Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes,
and Gulf of Mexico. Other individual
watershed initiatives have helped prove the
value of watershed protection processes (e.g.,
Lake Champlain, Long Island Sound, National
Estuary Program watersheds). Each of these
projects provides strong evidence of the value
of a comprehensive approach to assessing water
quality, defining problems, integrating
management of diverse pollution control, and
defining financing of needed projects.
For FY 2005, EPA will expand support for
protection of key watersheds by building on
the success of the Watershed Initiative (now
called the Targeted Watershed Grants Program).
In 2003, the Agency awarded $15 million in
grants to 20 local watershed-based
organizations and expects to fund an
additional 20 organizations in FY 2004. In
the FY 2005 budget request, the
Administration is requesting that funding for
this Program be expanded to $25 million,
$10 million of which will be directed to help
address nutrient pollution in the Chesapeake
Bay watershed. EPA has a goal of supporting
100 watershed projects under this effort by
2008 with a target of an additional 20 watershed
grants in FY 2005 (see Program Activity
Measure #50).
In addition, in FY 2005, new grant guidelines
for the Section 319 program (discussed above)
reserve $100 million for developing and
implementing comprehensive watershed plans
that are to restore impaired waters on a
watershed basis while protecting good quality
waters. EPA has a goal of supporting several
hundred watershed plans over the next five
years and expects that 50 of these watershed
plans will be substantially implemented by
2008 addressing some 5,000 water miles/acres
(see Program Activity Measure #49). EPA will
also monitor the number of plans that have
been developed and the number that are
being implemented (see Program Activity
Measures #48).
EPA will also work to develop partnerships
with other Federal agencies to encourage their
participation in watershed protection and to
promote delivery of their programs on a
watershed basis. For example, the Department
of Agriculture can make important
contributions to watershed protection and
EPA will work with USDA to promote
coordinated use of Federal resources, including
grants under section 319 and Farm Bill funds.
In addition to national level support for
watershed protection, each EPA Region plays
an important role in defining watershed needs
and supporting watershed protection activities
and projects. Some Regions use funds
provided under the Regional Geographic
Initiative to support watershed protection. In
other Regions, special appropriations by the
Congress provide support of specific watershed
protection projects. Regions should also
encourage States to develop watershed-based
proposals for grants from the new State/Tribal
Performance Fund proposed in the Presidents
Budget ($23 million in FY 2005) to support
projects that directly support attaining
environmental outcomes. Water activities
will receive a significant portion of these
funds.
3) Apply an Adaptive Management
Framework-
Protecting water quality at a watershed level is
a new challenge at the Federal, State and local
levels. The best way to achieve progress in
improving and protecting waters and
watersheds is by applying an adaptive
management approach at the outset to better
understand the problems, set challenging but
realistic goals, and address opportunities
associated with developing programs and
building partnerships at the watershed level.
Over the next five years, EPA expects to use
this adaptive management framework to
manage both core programs and watershed
protection activities in order to accomp
25
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
five year goals for watershed and water quality
improvement expressed in the Strategic Plan.
Without this adaptive management process,
progress toward measurable improvements in
the Nation's waters will occur in a haphazard
and unpredictable manner.
EPA recognizes that each EPA Region and each
State needs to identify the mix of watershed
approaches that best suits its needs. Regional
Plans developed in each EPA Region should
describe the watershed approach to be
implemented in that Region. Regardless of the
specific mix of watershed approaches adopted,
however, each Region and State should
commit to accelerating implementation of core
programs on a watershed basis, expanding
support for local watershed protection, and
expanding watershed protection in key
watersheds.
In the same way that each Region should work
with States to define the best mix of watershed
approaches, Regions and States should also
work together to define the extent to which
implementation of watershed approaches
should be accelerated over the next five years.
In defining the rate of acceleration of
watershed approaches, Regions and States
should use the watershed/waterbody
restoration and improvement goals for 2008 in
the EPA Strategic Plan as a point of reference
while taking into account the extent of
pollution problems and the restoration work
already underway.
Table IV provides a summary of national goals
for watershed improvement with preliminary
estimates of Regional contributions to the
goals for FY 2005 and 2008.
FY 2005 is the first year in the adaptive
management process and EPA recognizes that
many Regions and States are in the process of
organizing information on a watershed basis
and will be making estimates of watershed and
waterbody improvement for the first time.
Given these conditions, EPA expects to follow
the process outlined below:
• EPA Regions and States should review
basic water quality information on a
watershed basis and consider the water-
shed/waterbody improvements likely to
result from core programs and existing
watershed protection efforts.
• Regions should work with States to review
the estimates presented in Table IV and
determine the extent to which core
programs/existing watershed work is likely
to accomplish these preliminary estimates
of watershed and water quality improve-
ments in 2005 and 2008.
In cases where these existing efforts are not
expected to meet or exceed the preliminary
estimates of improvement, Regions and
States should identify steps to accelerate
core program implementation, but
especially watershed protection efforts,
that are most likely to accomplish the
projected improvements in 2005 and
2008.
Where Regions and States determine that
their best efforts to implement core
programs and an accelerated effort for
watershed protection will not result in
accomplishment of the projected
improvement, Regions should develop
revised estimates of progress, including a
description of the core program and
accelerated watershed activities to be
implemented to accomplish the revised
estimates. Regions should describe key
factors that influenced their estimates.
Where necessary, Program Activity Measure
targets may be adjusted to reflect
estimates.
• EPA will review estimates from each
Region and evaluate the extent to which
Regional estimates of progress will
26
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
result in accomplishment of the national
goals for watershed and waterbody
improvement in FY 2005 and 2008.
Based on this assessment, EPA will work
with Regions and States to define
strategies to meet or exceed the national
improvement goals.
• Each Region should have an initial
assessment of its contributions to meeting
watershed and waterbody goals prior to
the beginning of FY 2005.
The overall Agency process for Regional
discussions with States leading to finalization
of workplans for FY 2005 in the Fall of 2004
provides a general framework for this process.
Region/States preliminary discussions are to
occur in the Spring and draft commitments
are to be defined by July 1 and entered into an
integrated commitment management system.
After any issues are resolved in July and
August, final commitments are established by
September 1.
Table IV
Water Segment/Watershed Restoration by Region/Nation
Region
Impaired
Goals for
Total
Watersheds
Watersheds
Goals for
Goal for
Water
Impaired
Number of
with >80%
with <80%
Additional
Watersheds
Segments
"Waters to
Watersheds
of Assessed
of Assessed
Watersheds
to Show
Identified
Attain
(8 digit
Segments
Segments
with >80%
Improvement
in 2000
Standards in
HUC)
Meeting
Meeting
Assessed
in 2008
(303(d)
2005/
Standards in
Standards in
Segments
listed
2012
2002
2002
Meeting
waters)
Standards in
2005/
2008
1
1,909
38/477
56
9
47
2/4
5
2
1,866
37/467
58
5
53
4*/6*
5
3
3,321
66/830
108
24
84
3/7
10
4
3,808
76/952
278
89
189
6/15
25
5
2,761
55/690
252
29
223
7/18
22
6
1,241
25/310
366
131
.235
1*15*
32
7
1,555
50*/389
202
18
184
l*/4*
18
8
1,075
22/269
337
113
224
7/18
30
9
673
13/168
263
19
244
2*15*
23
10
3,423
68/856
338
16
322
l*/26
30
Totals
21,632
450/5,408
2,258
453
1,805
34/108
200
National
na
2005-432
na
na
na
2005-47
200
2005/2008
2012-5,408
2008-147
Goals
Numbers with *
represent estimates provided by the Region after preliminary analysis. Other 2005/2008 projections are straight-line increments
1
I
§
water segments/watersheds projections will change as Regions complete negotiations with States.
27
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
In each subsequent year, estimates will be
revised in an adaptive management process.
C) Key Regional Strategies
In addition to the national strategy described
above, several Regions have developed
innovative approaches to improving water
quality and watershed health.
In EPA Region 2, EPA is working with local
governments to support projects that pilot a
Smart Growth Index model and making
Livability Grants that promote smart growth
and protect water quality by reducing runoff
from urban and suburban development.
In EPA Region 3, the water program has
formed a partnership with the Brownflelds
program and the Regions Land Reuse program
to promote more cost-effective and sustainable
approaches to storm water and wastewater
management. Region 3 is also working with
Corps of Engineers and the Superfund
program in an Urban Rivers Initiative to
restore the Elizabeth River in Virginia and the
Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., and the
surrounding watersheds.
EPA Region 5 has established with the States a
goal of establishing comparable bio-assessment
programs and bio-criteria throughout the
Region in order to directly measure the
biological health of aquatic resources.
EPA Region 8 has invested in the development
of watershed organizations that support and
participate in the development of watershed
plans. EPA also provides funds to support
statewide watershed "umbrella" organizations
in Montana and Colorado that provide a
forum for watershed group networking
and support. Utah is beginning such an
organization.
EPA Region 10 has developed regional
guidance for temperature in streams and rivers.
Temperature is a critical environmental
condition in waters of the Northwest and
relates to the listing of salmon under the
Endangered Species Act.
D) Grant Program Resources
Key program grants that support this
subobjective are:
• the section 106 State program support
grants and Tribal program support grants;
• the section 319 State program grant,
including set-aside for Tribal programs;
• Targeted Watershed Assistance grants;
• Water Quality Cooperative Agreement
grants (section 104(b));
• Wastewater Operator Training grants;
• Alaska Native Village Water and
Wastewater Infrastructure grants;
• Clean Water State Revolving Fund
capitalization grants, including set-asides
for planning under section 604(b) of the
Clean Water Act and for grants to Tribes
for wastewater treatment infrastructure.
For additional information concerning these
grants, see the grant program guidance website
at www.epa..gov/water/waterplan.
Finally, EPA works with other Federal agencies
to focus other grants funds to address water
quality needs, including the US Department
of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, and others.
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
5) Protect Coastal
and Ocean Waters
Estuaries and coastal waters
are among the most
productive ecosystems on
Earth, providing numerous ecological,
economic, cultural, and aesthetic benefits and
services. They are also among the most
threatened ecosystems, largely as a result of
rapidly increasing growth and development.
About half of the U.S. population now lives in
coastal areas and coastal counties are growing
three times faster than counties elsewhere in
the Nation. Overuse of resources and poor
land use practices have resulted in a host of
human health and natural resource problems.
A) Environmental/Health Results
Expected
Environmental results identified in the new
EPA Strategic Plan related to protecting coastal
and ocean waters are:
1) Improve national and regional coastal
aquatic ecosystem health on the "good/fair/
poor" scale of the National Coastal
Condition Report. (Rating is a 5-point
system in which 1 is poor and 5 is good.)
2002 Baseline: "fair/poor" or 2.4
2005 Target: 2.5
2008 Target: 2.6
2) Maintain water clarity and dissolved oxygen
in coastal waters at the national levels
reported in the 2002 National Coastal
Condition Report
2002 Baseline: 4.3 for water clarity; 4.5 for
dissolved oxygen
2005: Maintain
2008: Maintain
3) Improve ratings reported on the national
"good/fair/poor" scale of the National
Coastal Condition Report for:
Coastal wetlands loss:
2002 Baseline: 1.4
2005 Target: 1.5
2008 Target: 1.6
Contamination of sediments:
2002 Baseline: 1.3
2005 Target: 1.4
2008 Target: 1.5
Benthic quality:
2002 Baseline: 1.4
2005 Target: 1.5
2008 Target: 1.6
Eutrophic conditions:
2002 Baseline: 1.7
2005 Target 1.8
2008 Target 1.9
4) Working with National Estuary Program
partners, protect or restore additional acres
of habitat within the study areas for the
28 estuaries that are part of the NEP.
2002 Baseline: 0 acres restored
2005 Target: 25,000
2008:250,000 acres
B) Key National Strategies
For Fiscal Year 2005, EPA's national strategy
for improving the condition of coastal and
ocean waters will include key elements
identified below.
• Implement the National Estuary Program;
• Reduce vessel discharges;
• Manage dredged material; and
• Manage non-indigenous invasive species.
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
1) Implement the National Estuary Program
The NEP, which provides inclusive,
community-based planning and action at the
watershed level, plays a critical role in
conserving coastal and ocean resources. A top
priority in FY 2005 is to continue supporting
the efforts of all 28 NEP estuaries to
implement their Comprehensive Conservation
and Management Plans. A critical measure of
success is the number of priority actions in
these plans that have been initiated and the
number that have been completed. EPA will
create a baseline to track priority actions in
2004 and will track implementation of actions
in 2005 and thereafter (see Program Activity
Measure IV-NEP-1). EPA will also track the
ratio of cumulative dollar amount of the
resources leveraged by EPA grant funds (see
Program Activity Measure IV-NEP-3).
The health of the Nation's estuarine ecosystems
also depends on the maintenance of high-
quality habitat. Diminished and degraded
habitats are less able to support healthy
populations of wildlife and marine organisms
and perform the economic, environmental,
and aesthetic functions on which coastal
populations depend for their livelihood.
A key success in past years has been the
restoration of over 500,000 acres of habitat
over the past decade. For 2005, EPA has set a
goal of protecting or restoring an additional
25,000 acres of habitat within the 28 study
areas.
Finally, EPA will work with National Estuary
Programs in FY 2005 to improve information
about conditions in the estuaries. EPA will
develop a baseline report on the condition of
National Estuary Program estuaries modeled
after the National Coastal Condition Report to
be issued in 2006 (see Program Activity
Measure IV-NEP-2) and, by 2005, each
program will have indicators in place to track
environmental trends in the estuary (see
Program Activity Measure IV-NEP-4).
2) Reduce Vessel Discharges
EPA will also focus on enhancing regulation of
discharges of pollution from vessels. Key work
for FY 2005 includes working to develop
standards for cruise ships operating in Alaskan
waters (see Program Activity Measure #80);
cooperating with the Department of Defense
to develop discharge standards for certain
armed forces vessels; and assessing the
effectiveness of current regulations for marine
sanitation devices.
3) Manage Dredged Material
Several hundred million cubic yards of sediment
are dredged from waterways, ports, and
harbors every year to maintain the Nation's
navigation system. All of this sediment must
be disposed of safely. EPA and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (COE) share responsibility
for regulating how and where the disposal of
sediment occurs. EPA and COE will focus
additional resources on improving how disposal
of dredged material is managed, including
evaluating disposal sites, designating and
monitoring the sites, and reviewing and
concurring on the disposal permits issued by
COE (see Program Activity Measures #74 and
#75).
4) Manage Invasive Species
One of the greatest threats to U.S. waters and
ecosystems is the uncontrolled spread of
invasive species. Invasive species commonly
enter U.S. waters through the discharge of
ballast water from ships. In FY 2005, EPA will
assist the U.S. Coast Guard in its efforts to
develop ballast water exchange requirements
and discharge standards and is addressing this
issue at the international level (see Program
Activity Measures #77, #78, and #79). In
addition, EPA is working to develop improved
measures for monitoring the rate of increase of
invasive species.
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
C) Key Regional Strategies
Progress in protecting and restoring coastal
waters is also directly tied to geographically
focused projects, such as the Chesapeake Bay
Program and the Gulf of Mexico Program,
addressed in other parts of this Guidance. In
addition to the national strategy described
above, several Regions have developed
innovative approaches to improving the
condition of coastal and ocean waters; several
examples are provided below.
In EPA New England, EPA is supporting the
Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine
Environment, established by the Governors of
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, New
Hampshire and Massachusetts to foster
cooperative actions to enhance the quality of
the Gulf and its watershed. EPA New England
is also working with States and marine
industries to establish no discharge areas for
marine waters.
In Region 2, the water program and the
Superfund program are working together to
develop sediment decontamination demon-
stration projects at several sites including
NY/NJ Harbor and the Passaic River.
In Region 4, EPA is working with States to
develop numeric nutrient criteria to protect
coastal waters.
Region 9 is working to conserve coral reefs in
the Pacific Ocean. The Region is supporting
the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, giving priority
to protection of coral reefs from land-based
sources. The Region is also working with local
and Federal partners to support local action
strategies in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands to
reduce pollution sources, advance monitoring
programs to assess the health of reefs, and
develop outreach strategies.
D) Grant Program Resources
Grant resources directly supporting this work
include the National Estuary Program grants and
coastal non-point pollution control grants under
the Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program
administered jointly by EPA and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(section 6217 grant program). In addition, clean
water program grants identified under the
watershed subobjective support this work. For
more information, see the grant guidance website
www.epa.gov/water/waterplan.
6) Protect Wetlands
Wetlands are among our
Nation's most critical and
productive natural resources.
They provide a variety of
benefits, such as water quality improvements,
flood protection, shoreline erosion control, and
ground water exchange. Wetlands are the
primary habitat for fish, waterfowl, and
wildlife, and as such, provide numerous
opportunities for education, recreation, and
research. EPA recognizes that the challenges
the Nation faces to conserve our wetland
heritage are daunting and that many partners
must work together for this effort to succeed.
A) Environmental/Health Results
Expected
Environmental and public health results
identified in the new EPA Strategic Plan
related to protection of wetlands are:
1) Working with partners, achieve a net
increase of acres of wetlands with additional
focus on biological and functional measures.
2002 Baseline: annual net loss of an
estimated 58,500 acres.
2005 Target: 100,000
2008 Target: 400,000
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
2) Annually, beginning in FY 2004, work with
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) and
other partners to achieve no net loss of
wetlands under Section 404 of the Clean
Water Act regulatory program.
2005 Target: no net loss
2008 Target: no net loss
B) Key National Strategies
EPA's national strategy for meeting wetland
goals in FY 2005 is described below.
Net Gain Goal
Meeting the "net gain" element of the wetland
goal will be accomplished by other Federal
programs (Farm Bill agriculture incentive
programs and wetlands acquisition and
restoration programs, including those
administered by Fish and Wildlife Service) and
non-federal programs.
EPA contributes to achieving no overall net
loss in EPA's regulatory programs, including
the Clean Water Act Section 404/401 permit
review, compliance and enforcement, and
other programs, such as Section 402 and
Section 311. EPA also supports State, tribal
and other partners to protect and restore
wetlands and builds capacity to use wetland
function to supplement and enrich reliance on
acreage indicators.
In implementing these responsibilities, each
Region will identify watersheds where
wetlands and other aquatic resources are most
at risk, including from cumulative impacts.
EPA will improve levels of protection through
actions that include: working with and
integrating wetlands protection into other EPA
programs such as Clean Water Act Section
319, State Revolving Fund, National Estuary
Program, and Brownfields; working with the
Corps and/or States on permitting and
mitigation compliance: providing grants and
technical assistance to State, tribal or local
organizations: and developing information,
education and outreach tools (see Program
Activity Measures IV-WD-1,-2, and 3).
No Net Loss
Building upon the analysis of existing
mitigation data base systems, the Corps, EPA,
USDA, DOI, and NOAA will establish a
shared mitigation database by FY 2005.
Utilizing the shared database, the Corps, in
conjunction with EPA, USDA, DOI, and
NOAA, will provide an annual public report
card on compensatory mitigation to complement
reporting of other wedands programs by FY
2005. To help ensure no net loss of aquatic
resources the Corps has initiated six new
performance measures designed to improve
permitting and mitigation compliance,
including compliance inspections and audits,
and resolution of enforcement actions.
EPA will work with the COE to ensure
application of the 404(b)(1) guidelines which
require that discharges into waters of the U.S.
be avoided and minimized to the extent
practicable. Each Region will also identify
opportunities to partner with the Corps in
meeting performance measures for
compensatory mitigation for unavoidable
impacts. These may include participation in
joint impact and mitigation site inspections,
participation on Mitigation Bank Review Team
activities, assistance on development of
mitigation site performance standards and
monitoring protocols, and enhanced
coordination on resolution of enforcement
cases (sec Program Activity Measure IV-WD-4).
Wetland Monitoring
By 2008, EPA expects that wetland condition
will have improved in five States as defined
through biological metrics and assessments.
Improvements in monitoring science and
techniques and broader application of these
32
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
wetland monitoring practices by States, Tribes,
and local organizations will improve
assessments of wetlands health and extent, and
provide for more accurate and timely tracking
of wetlands gains and losses (see Program
Activity Measure IV-WD-5).
C) Key Regional Strategies
Progress in protecting and restoring wetlands
is also directly tied to geographically focused
projects, such as South Florida Everglades
Restoration and in Louisiana.
In addition to the national strategy described
above, several Regions have developed
innovative approaches to improving the
condition of wetlands and other aquatic
resources; several examples are provided below.
Region 3 will conduct seminars to
transportation community and other regulated
sectors before construction activities to reduce
impacts on wetlands.
Region 4 and 6 will assist in Louisiana's
Coastal 2050 to restore coastal wetlands to
reduce nitrate load. The strategy is to create
and implement a wetland based, nitrogen
system (EPA Nitrogen Farming study).
Region 5 will work with partners to create a
current baseline of wetland data (GIS,
Assessment, Monitoring).
Region 9 will identify priority waters and
increase collaboration between storm water
and wetlands programs.
D) Grant Program Resources
Examples of grant resources supporting this
work include the Wetland Program
Development Grants, the Clean Water Act
Section 319 Grants, the Brownfields grants,
and the National Estuary Program Grants. For
additional information concerning these grants
see the grant program guidance website at
www.epa.gov.water/waterplan.
7) Protect Mexico
Border Water
Quality
The United States and
Mexico have a long-standing
commitment to protect the environment and
public health in the U.S.-Mexico Border
Region. The U.S.-Mexico Border 2012
Program, a joint effort between the U.S. and
Mexican governments, will work with the 10
border States and with border communities to
improve the region's environmental health.
A) Environmental/Health Results
Expected
Environmental and public health results
identified in the new EPA Strategic Plan
related to water quality along the Mexico
Border are:
1) Achieve water quality standards currently
being exceeded in shared and
transboundary waters where standards
currently being exceeded:
2002 Baseline: na
2005 Target: na
2008 Target: >50%
2) Protect the health of people in the Mexico
border area by providing adequate water
and wastewater sanitation systems funded
through the Border Environmental
Infrastructure Fund:
2002 baseline: 790,000 persons provided
access
2005:1.5 million
H
33
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
B) Key Strategies
The basic approach to improving the
environment and public health in the U.S.
Mexico Border Region is the Border 2012
Plan. Under this Plan, EPA expects to take the
following key Actions to improve water quality
and protect public health.
1) Core Program Implementation
EPA will continue to implement core
programs under the Clean Water Act and
related authorities, ranging from discharge
permit issuance, to watershed restoration, to
nonpoint pollution control.
2) Wastewater Treatment Financing
Federal, State, and local institutions
participate in border area efforts to improve
water quality through the construction of
infrastructure and development of
pretreatment programs. Specifically, Mexico's
National Water Commission (CNA) and EPA
provide funding and technical assistance for
project planning and construction of
infrastructure.
Congress has provided $675 million for
Border infrastructure from 1995 to 2003. The
International Boundary and Water
Commission (IBWC) also provided assistance
and coordination in the development of
infrastructure facilities. For FY 2004 and 2005,
EPA expects to be able to provide Rinding of
$50 million per year for these projects.
This funding level will support significant
project implementation, but will not be
adequate to meet the targets for access to basic
sanitation. EPA will continue working with all
its partners to leverage available resources to
meet priority needs.
3) Build Partnerships
Partnerships are critical to the success of efforts
to improve the environment and public health
in the Border Region.
Since 1995, the NAFTA-created institutions,
the Border Environment Cooperation
Commission (BECC) and the North American
Development Bank (NADB), have had the
primary role in working with communities to
develop and construct infrastructure projects.
BECC supports efforts to evaluate, plan, and
implement financially and operationally
sustainable water and wastewater projects;
NADB helps project sponsors develop the
appropriate financial package. EPA will
continue to support these institutions.
In FY 2005, EPA will establish a workgroup
with Mexico to develop a workplan to define
specific steps needed to accomplish the water
quality improvement goals expressed in the
Border 2012 Plan.
4) Improve Measures of Progress
During FY 2005, EPA will work with Mexico.
States, Tribe and other institutions to improve
measures of progress toward water quality and
public health goals.
C) Grant Program Resources
Although a range of national program grants
are used by States to implement core programs
in the U.S. Mexico Border Region, there is no
program grant dedicated to the Region.
Allocations of the funding available for
infrastructure projects are not provided
through guidance, but through the
cooperative processes of the applicable
financing authorities (e.g., NADB, BECC).
34
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
8) Protect the Great
Lakes
As the largest freshwater
system on the face of the
earth, the Great Lakes
ecosystem holds the key to the quality of life
and economic prosperity for tens of millions of
people. While significant progress has been
made to restore the environmental health of
the Great Lakes, much work remains to be
done.
4) Restore and delist Areas of Concern within
the Great Lakes basin:
2002 Baseline: 0 AOCs restored
2005 Target: 3
2010Target: 10
5) Remediate cubic yards of contaminated
sediment in the Great Lakes:
2002 Baseline: 2.1 million
2005 Target: 2.9
2008 Target: 3.3
A) Environmental/Health Results
Expected
Environmental and public health results
identified in the new EPA Strategic Plan
related to the Great Lakes are:
1) Prevent water pollution and improve the
overall aquatic ecosystem health of the
Great Lakes using the Great Lakes 40-point
scale:
2002 Baseline: 20 points
2005 Target: 21
2008 Target: 22
2) Reduce the average concentrations of PCBs
in whole lake trout and walleye samples will
decline from 2000 levels:
2005 Target: 5% decline
2007 Target: 25%
3) Reduce the average concentrations of toxic
chemicals in the air in the Great Lakes basin
from 2000 levels:
2005 Target: 7% decline
2008 Target: 30%
B) Key Strategies
Efforts to restore and protect the Great Lakes
in the 2004-2008 period will be focused on
implementation of the Great Lakes Strategy
developed in 2002 by the U.S. Policy
Committee - a forum of senior-level
representatives from the Federal, State, and
tribal agencies responsible for environmental
and natural resources management of the
Great Lakes (see http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/
gls/index.html).
The Strategy is designed to help coordinate
and streamline efforts of the many
governmental partners involved with
protecting the Great Lakes. It focuses on
multi-Lake and basin-wide environmental
issues and establishes common goals. It
supports existing efforts underway, including
Lakewide Management Plans and Remedial
Action Plans for Areas of Concern, by
addressing issues that are beyond the scope of
these programs and helping integrate them
into an overall basinwide context. It also
advances the implementation of the United
States' responsibilities under the Great Lakes
Water Quality Agreement of 1987.
In FY 2005, EPA Region 5, and the Great
Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) will
work with States in the Great Lakes area to
implement the Great Lakes Strategy, giving
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special attention to work in the following four
key areas:
• implementing core clean water programs;
• implementing the Great Lakes Legacy Act
with significantly expanded funding;
• implementing expanded beach safety
programs; and
• addressing emerging issues, including a
"dead zone" in Lake Erie and invasive
species.
Each of these four key areas is briefly described
below.
1) Core Clean Water Programs:
The core programs under the Clean Water Act
provide a foundation of water pollution control
that is critical to the success of efforts to restore
and protect the Great Lakes. While the Great
Lakes face a range of unique pollution problems
(extensive sediment contamination) they also face
problem common to most other waterbodies
around the country. Effective implementation
of core programs such as discharge permits,
nonpoint pollution controls, wastewater
treatment and wetlands protection must be
fully and effectively implemented throughout
the Great Lakes Basin.
EPA Region 5 and the six States worked
closely to develop a set of five shared
environmental goals to enhance joint efforts to
protect and restore valuable water resources
and measure accomplishments. These goals
will be used to more comprehensively report
on the progress in, and status of, improving
water quality in the Great Lakes Region. These
goals will assist EPA and Illinois in joint
priority setting and planning to more
effectively target programmatic work. The
shared goals are:
Goal 1: All waters in Region 5 will support
healthy aquatic biological communities;
Goal 2: All waters in Region 5 will support fish
populations with safe levels of contaminants;
Goal 3: Designated swimming waters in
Region 5 will be swimmable;
Goal 4: All people in Region 5 served by
public water systems will have water that is
consistently safe to drink; and
Goal 5: The quantity and quality of critical
aquatic habitat in Region 5, including
wetlands, will be maintained or improved.
In addition, for the Great Lakes Basin, EPA
will focus in FY 2005 on two key measures of
core program implementation—improving the
quality of major discharge permits and
implementing the national Combined Sewer
Overflow (CSO) Policy. In the case of
discharge permits, EPA has a goal of assuring
that 100% of the major, permitted discharges
to the Lakes or major tributaries have permits
that reflect the most current standards by
2008. This is an increase from the 2002
baseline of about 37%. The FY 2005 target
for this measure is 40% [additional Regional
input to come] of permits (see Program
Activity Measure IV-GL-1). In the case of the
CSO Policy, EPA has a goal of 100% of
permits being consistent with the Policy. The
2002 baseline is 83% of permits consistent
with the Policy and the FY 2005 target is 90%
[additional regional input to come] of permits
(see Program Activity Measure IV-GL-3).
2) Great Lakes Legacy Act:
Restoration of contaminated sediments around
the Great Lakes is a critical step toward
meeting water quality goals. In FY 2005, the
Administration has proposed to increase
funding under the Great Lakes Legacy Act
from $10 million to $45 million, in order to
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
expedite work to address contaminated sediment.
EPA has set a goal of completing not less than
three sediment remedial actions each year (see
Program Activity Measure # IV-GL-2). This goal
may be expanded in the event that Congress
provides the additional funding requested.
3) Implementing Expanded Beach Safety
Programs:
Making recreational waters of the Great Lakes
Safe for Swimming is a common theme of the
Great Lakes 2002 Strategy, the EPA Strategic
Plan, and Region 5's Shared Goals.
In FY 2005. EPA will work with States to
both improve the State water quality standards
for bacteria in recreational waters and to
implement the BEACH Act (see section 3 of
this Guidance). EPA has goals of assuring that
all States have adopted criteria for bacteria that
are at least as protective as EPA Ambient Water
Quality Criteria for Bacteria (see Program
Activity Measure IV-GL-4) and that 95% of
high priority beaches around the Great Lakes
are served by water quality monitoring and
public notification programs consistent with
the BEACH Act guidance (see Program
Activity Measure IV-GL-5).
4) Address Emerging Issues:
During FY 2005, EPA will work with Great
Lakes States to gather information and develop
proposed response actions concerning high
levels of phosphorus in Lake Erie and the
spread of invasive species throughout the Great
Lakes Basin.
C) Grant Program Resources:
The Great Lakes National Program Office
issues an annual Funding Guidance, soliciting
projects furthering protection and clean up of
the Great Lakes ecosystem. Priorities are
expected to include Contaminated Sediments,
Pollution Prevention and Toxics Reduction,
Habitat (Ecological) Protection and
Restoration, Invasive Species, Strategic or
Emerging Issues, and specific Lakewide
Management Plan or Remedial Action Plan
(LaMP/RAP) Priorities (see: http://
www.epa.gov/glnpo/fund/). Additional
information concerning these grants is
provided in the grant program guidance
website www.epa.gov/water/waterplan.
9) Protect and Restore
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the
largest estuary in the United
States and a water resource of tremendous
ecological and economic importance. For over
twenty years, efforts to protect and restore the
Bay have been led by the Chesapeake Bay
Executive Council—Bay area governors, the
mayor of the District of Columbia; the EPA
Administrator, and the chair of the Chesapeake
Bay Commission, a tri-state legislative body.
This unique regional partnership has defined
environmental improvements needed in the
Bay and developed a strategy that blends
regulatory and voluntary processes.
A) Environmental and Health Results
Expected
One of the key measure of success in achieving
improved Chesapeake Bay water quality will
be the restoration of submerged aquatic
vegetation. To achieve improved water quality
needed to restore submerged aquatic
vegetation, the Chesapeake Bay Program
partners committed to reducing nutrient and
sediment pollution loads sufficiently to remove
the Bay and the tidal portions of its tributaries
from the list of impaired waters (sec measures
below). Additional information concerning
these goals is available on the Web at
www.chesapeakebay.net/status.cfm?sid=88 and
www.chesapeakebay.net/status .cfm ?s id= 186
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
1) Prevent water pollution and protect aquatic
systems so that overall aquatic system
health of the Chesapeake Bay is improved
and acres of submerged aquatic vegetation
increase.
2002 Baseline: 85,252 acres
By 2005: 91,000
By 2008:120,000
2) Reduction in number of pounds of nitrogen
entering the Bay each year from 1985 levels:
2002 Baseline: 51 million lb.
By 2005:74
By 2008: 94
3) Reduction in number of pounds of
phosphorus entering the Bay each year from
1985 levels:
2002 Baseline: 8 million lb.
By 2005: 8.7
By 2008:9.7
4) Reduction in number of tons of sediment
entering the Bay each year from 1985 levels:
2002 Baseline: 0.8 million tons
By 2005:1.06
By 2008:1.37
B) Key Strategies
EPA arid Bay area States have agreed to an
approach to meeting restoration goals for
Chesapeake Bay including the following key
actions for FY 2005:
• develop and implement pollution
reduction strategies on a watershed basis;
• fully implement base clean water programs
in the Bay watershed; and
• implement recommendations of expert
panel on funding options.
1) Pollution Reduction Strategies
In 2004, States will develop pollution
reduction strategies for each of the watersheds
within the larger Bay watershed. These
strategies are to define specific, localized
approaches to meeting new State water quality
standards and to restoring impaired waters by
the year 2010. Although each strategy will
describe a series of steps specifically designed
for that watershed, most strategies will include
the following measures:
• Implement advanced treatment at sewage
treatment plants (see Program Activity
Measure IV-CB-1 providing for an increase
in the percentage of wastewater flow to the
Bay treated by Biological Nitrogen
Removal increase from a 2002 baseline of
48% to 60% in FY 05 and 69% by
2008);
• Reduce nutrients and sediments from
farms through effective implementation of
voluntary programs for the reduction of
nonpoint sources of pollution and issuance
of permits for confined animal feeding
operations;
• Expand the number of streamside forest
buffers (see Program Activity Measure IV-
CB-2 providing for an increase in the
miles of forest buffers from a 2002
baseline of 1,298 to 4,000 in FY 05, to
7,000 in 2008);
• Develop innovative approaches for
watershed scale management of water
quality such as watershed permits that
support pollution trading and promote
state-of-the-art technologies.
For FY 2005, EPA has requested new funding
of $10 million to be used for targeted grants
to support watershed protection in the
Chesapeake Bay area.
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
2) Core Programs in the Bay Area
In addition to new watershed-specific
strategies, EPA and State partners will
continue to implement core clean water
programs that are essential to maintaining past
progress in improving the health of the Bay.
For example, Bay area States will continue to
provide low interest loans for the financing of
sewage treatment systems, will continue to
implement comprehensive, statewide programs
for reducing nonpoint sources of pollution,
and implement the discharge permit program
with respect to discharges from storm water
facilities, confined animal feeding operations,
sewage treatment plans and combined sewer
overflows.
3) Implement Financing Recommendations
of Expert Panel
In January 2003, the Chesapeake Bay
Commission published the results of a study
estimating the costs of achieving the
commitments contained in the Chesapeake
2000 agreement. The cost of achieving the
water quality improvement commitments
alone is estimated to be $11.5 billion over ten
years. Level funding via existing revenues
sources adds up to only $2.1 billion, leaving a
$9.4 billion funding gap. A Blue Ribbon
Panel was established in early 2004 to consider
funding sources and make recommendations
for financing of watershed strategies. The
report of the Panel is expected in October of
2004 and in FY 2005, EPA will work with the
Commission and other partners to implement
the report recommendations.
C) Grant Program Resources
Grant resources supporting this goal include
the range of grant program identified under
the watershed subobjective as well as new
funding of $10 within the Targeted Watershed
Assistance Grant Program reserved for
Chesapeake Bay. For additional information
concerning these grants, see the grant program
guidance website at www.epa.gov/water/
waterplan.
10) Protect the Gulf
of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico basin
has been called "Americas
Watershed." Its U.S.
coastline is 1,630 miles, it is fed by thirty-
three major rivers, and it receives drainage
from 31 States in addition to a similar
drainage area from Mexico. One sixth of the
U.S. population now lives in Gulf Coast
States, and the Region is experiencing
remarkably rapid population growth. In
addition, the Gulf yields approximately forty
percent of the Nation's commercial fishery
landings. Gulf Coast wetlands comprise about
half the national total and provide critical
habitat for seventy-five percent of the
migratory waterfowl traversing the United
States.
A) Environmental/Health Results
Expected
Environmental and public health results
identified in the new EPA Strategic Plan
related to the Gulf of Mexico are:
1) Prevent water pollution and improve the
overall aquatic ecosystem health of coastal
waters of the Gulf of Mexico by 0.2 on the
"good/fair/poor'" scale of the National
Coastal Condition Report, a 5-point system
in which 1 is poor and 5 is good:
2002 Baseline: fair/poor or 1.9
2005 Target 2.0
2008 Target: 2.1
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
2) Reduce releases of nutrients throughout the
Mississippi River Basin to reduce the size of
the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico:
Baseline: 1996-2000 running average size is
14,128 km2
2015 Target: less than 5,000 km2
B) Key Strategies
For FY 2005, EPA has worked with States and
other partners to define key activities to
support attainment of environmental and
health goals. These activities fall into three
categories:
• implementation of core clean water
programs, in support of both the
environmental goal for the Gulf of Mexico
and in support of actions in the Missis-
sippi Basin that help reduce Gulf hypoxia;
• activities that support meeting water
quality and habitat restoration goals for
the Gulf; and
• activities specifically focused on the
Mississippi Basin that are designed to
reduce the size of the Hypoxic Zone in the
Gulf.
1) Core Clean Water Programs:
The Clean Water Act provides authority and
resources that are essential to protecting water
quality in the Gulf of Mexico and in the larger
Mississippi River Basin that contributes
pollution, especially oxygen demanding
nutrients, to the Gulf. EPA Regions and the
Gulf of Mexico Program Office will work with
States to assure the continued effective
implementation of core clean water programs,
ranging from discharge permits, to nonpoint
pollution controls, to wastewater treatment, to
protection of wetlands.
In addition, the Gulf of Mexico Program
Office has a long-standing commitment to
development of effective partnerships with
other programs within EPA, in other Federal
agencies, and with other organizations. For
example, the Program Office is working with
the EPA Office of Research and Development
and other Federal agencies to develop and
implement a coastal monitoring program to
better assess the condition of Gulf waters. The
Program Office is working closely with the US
Department of Agriculture to coordinate
allocation of technical assistance and funding
to priority geographic areas around the Gulf.
EPA is also working with the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration,
environmental organizations, the Gulf of
Mexico foundation, and area universities to
identify and restore critical habitat.
2) Protecting and Restoring the Gulf of
Mexico:
A central pillar of the strategy to restore the
health of the Gulf is restoration of water
quality and habitat in 12 priority coastal
watersheds. These 12 watersheds include 354
of the impaired segments identified by States
around the Gulf and will receive targeted
technical and financial assistance to restore
impaired waters. The 2008 goal is to fully
attain water quality standards in at least 20%
of these segments (see Program Activity
Measure IV-GM-1) with a 2005 restoration
goal of 28 segments.
Another key element of the strategy for
improving the water quality in the Gulf is to
restore, enhance or protect a significant
number of acres of coastal and marine habitat.
The overall wetland loss in the Gulf area is on
the order of 50 percent and protection of the
critical habitat that remains is essential to the
health of the Gulf aquatic system. EPA has a
goal of restoring 20,000 acres of habitat by
2008, with a FY 2005 interim goal of 11,000
acres (see Program Activity Measure IV-GM-2).
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
Another priority for the Gulf of Mexico
Program Office is to work with States and
other Federal agencies to reduce the rate of
shellfish-borne Vibrio vulnificus illnesses
caused by consumption of commercially
harvested oysters (see Program Activity
Measures 1V-GM-4). Over a recent ten year
period, the Centers for Disease Control
identified over 200 serious illnesses from
Vibrio resulting in 105 deaths. EPA will
support efforts to improve education about
proper cooking of oysters and the dangers of
eating raw oysters. EPA will also support work
to identify economically viable post-harvest
treatment technologies. EPA has a goal of
reducing the rate of illness from 0.303 per
million consumers to 0.121 per million by
2008.
3) Reducing the Size of the Hypoxic Zone:
Any strategy to improve the overall health of
the entire Gulf of Mexico must include a
focused effort to reduce the size of the zone of
hypoxic conditions (i.e., low oxygen in the
water) in the northern Gulf. Actions to address
this problem will need to focus on both
localized addition of pollution to the Gulf and
on the loadings of nutrients from the
Mississippi River.
EPA, in cooperation with States and other
Federal Agencies; developed an Hypoxia Action
Plan for the Gulf. This Plan includes the long
term target of reducing the size of the hypoxic
zone from about 14,000 Km2 to less than
5,000 Km2 measured as a five year rolling
average and calls for a 30% reduction in
nitrogen loadings to the Gulf. In working to
accomplish this goal, EPA and other Federal
agencies will continue implementation of core
clean water programs and partnerships among
agencies; specific efforts in FY 2005 will include:
• EPA will work with States to select a
project watershed in each of the States in
the Lower Mississippi River Basin to
reduce nitrogen loadings to the lower
Mississippi River. Reducing these loadings
from the lower portions of the River is
especially important for improving oxygen
levels.
• EPA will work with States and other
partners to identify " 100 Highest
Opportunity Watersheds" where nitrogen
reduction strategies will be implemented
on a cooperative basis.
• EPA will use 25% of funds available for
the Targeted Watershed Initiative to
support nitrogen reduction in the
Mississippi River Basin, with a special
emphasis on support for innovative
programs allowing trading of nutrient
reductions among various sources in order
to get the greatest reductions at the lowest
cost.
• EPA will implement the "Friends of the
Gulf" award program to recognize
corporations, organizations, or individuals
that have taken effective, voluntary
measures to reduce nutrient inputs to the
Mississippi River and the Gulf.
• EPA will work with the private sector to
support Industry Led Solutions for reducing
both point and nonpoint sources.
• EPA will support Gulf States in their
efforts to develop nutrient standards for
estuaries and near coastal waters.
C) Grant Program Resources
The Gulf of Mexico Program issues an annual
Funding Guidance soliciting projects that:
• support the restoration of impaired water
bodies including coastal and marine
habitat protection, restoration, and
enhancement in priority coastal areas;
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal year 2005
• Gulf-wide projects protecting public
health or initiatives for monitoring and
assessment, education, public outreach;
and
• projects in the Lower Mississippi River or
its tributaries to reduce nutrient loading.
Additional information concerning these
grants is provided in the grant program
guidance website www.epa.gov/water/
waterplan.
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
Water Program Management System
This National Program Guidance document
describes the general approaches that EPA, in
consultation with States and Tribes, expects to
be most effective in attaining the
environmental and public health
improvements identified in the new EPA
Strategic Plan.
This Guidance, however, is part of a larger,
three-step management process:
Step 1: Complete National Water Program
Guidance (April 2004);
Step 2: EPA Region/State/Tribe Consultation/
Planning
EPA Regions work with States and Tribes to
develop FY 2005 Performance Partnership
Agreements or other workplans, including
commitments to reporting key activities and,
in some cases, commitments to specific
FY 2005 program output accomplishments
(April-October); and
Step 3: Program Evaluation and Adaptive
Management
Evaluate program progress in 2005 and adapt
water program management and priorities
based on this assessment information (FY 2005).
Steps 2 and 3 of this program management
system are discussed below.
1) EPA Regiom/State/Tribe
Consultation/Planning (Step 2)
EPA Regions will work with States and Tribes
beginning in April of 2004 to develop
agreements concerning program priorities and
commitments for FY 2005. Although this
process is like the annual planning processes
that Regions, States and Tribes have been
following in past years, there are several key
differences:
A) Strategic Plan/Regional Plan
Foundation
Work planning processes for FY 2005 are to be
organized using the goal structure of the new
EPA Strategic Plan and are to be informed by
the newly developed Regional Plans. Both the
Strategic Plan and the Regional Plans address
the same environmental and public health
outcome measures and therefore provide a
common "results" framework across EPA
programs and within each EPA Region.
Regional Plans further articulate strategies for
accomplishing objectives and subobjectives that
best fit that Region and also address Regional
priorities not covered in the Strategic Plan.
B) Program Integration
More than in the past, EPA will be encouraging
States and Tribes to use an integrated, cross-
program approach to achieve environmental
and public health results. Three key ways EPA
is encouraging program integration are:
Performance Partnership Agreements/Grants
EPA is encouraging States and Tribes to
develop workplans on an integrated, cross-
program basis, including development of
integrated agreements and grants.
"Bottom-up" Program Activity Commitment
Process
This water program management process
supports program integration because it frees
Regions and States to make annual resource
allocations among program areas based on the
priorities understood by the Regions and
States, rather than as a simple extrapolation of
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
a national priority and allocation. These
national priorities still need to be considered
over the long run (i.e., 2008 targets), but the
foundation of results-based strategies creates
the opportunity to free Regional, State, and
tribal planners to adapt program allocations to
fit the most pressing needs in the short-term.
Integrated Measures Management
EPA is developing a new, internet-based,
online system to manage all EPA program
measures developed to monitor program
activities and commitments in FY 2005. This
integrated system will give all parties the
chance to look at program measures and
commitments across EPA programs, across
Regions, as well as nationally.
C) Translating Strategies into Annual
Program Commitments
Over the past year, EPA has worked with
States and Tribes to define a minimum
number of measures that address the critical
program activities that are expected to
contribute to attainment of long-term goals.
Some of these measures track activities carried
out by EPA HQ or Regions while others
address activities carried out by States and
Tribes (see Appendix 1).
During the Spring/Summer of 2004, EPA
Regions will work with States and Tribes to:
• reach agreement concerning periodic
reporting (i.e., not less than mid-year/end-
of-year) of key program activities includ-
ing, at a minimum, the Program Activity
Measures identified in Appendix 1; and
• for the subset of Program Activity
Measures where an annual "target" is
needed, develop FY 2005 commitments in
light of these targets and reflect the
commitments in annual workplans
(Appendix 2 includes straw "targets" for
each EPA Region along with a preliminary
national target).
Regions are to use these straw targets as
guidelines in discussions with States and
Tribes and should convert these targets into
State, tribal, and Regional "commitments" in
draft form by July 1 and final form by
September 1. The goal of this joint effort is to
allocate available resources to those program
activities that are likely to result in the best
progress toward accomplishing water quality
and public health goals for that State/Tribe
(e.g., improved compliance with drinking
water standards, improved water quality on a
watershed basis). Regional straw targets in this
Guidance are the starting point for discussions,
but the more formal, State-specific commit-
ments that result from workplan discussions
are intended to reflect environmental and
financial circumstances in each State and to
supplant these straw targets. The tailored
State/Tribal program commitments that result
firom this process will define, in an operational
sense, the "strategy" for the National Water
Program for FY 2005.
D) Linking Program Grants to Strategic
Plan/Re gional Plans
EPA is in the process of developing new
requirements for clear definition of the link
between a program grant and the Agency
Strategic Plan. As part of this process, this
National Program Guidance includes specific
references to program grants that support each
of the objectives and subobjectives in the EPA
Strategic Plan.
The schedule for key steps in Step 2 of the
program management process is:
Early April
Final National Program Guidance! ¥Y 2005
Targets
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
April - June
Regions/States/Tribes Begin FY 05 Work
Planning
July1
Regions/States/Tribes Complete DRAFT
Commitments
September 1
Final FY 2005 Commitments
Implement New EPA On-line Commitment
Management System
2) Program Evaluation and Adaptive
Management (Step 3)
As the strategies and programs described in
this Guidance are implemented during FY 2005,
EPA, States and Tribes will evaluate progress
toward water goals and work to improve
program performance by refining strategic
approaches or adjusting program emphases.
The National Water Program will evaluate
progress using three key tools:
A) HQ/Regional Dialogues:
Each year, the Office of Water will visit 3-4
EPA Regional Offices and Great Waterbody
Offices to conduct dialogues on program
management and performance. These visits
will include assessment of performance in the
Region against the:
• objectives and subobjectives in the
Strategic Plan;
• regional water issues identified in the
Regional Plan; and
• annual State/tribal Program Activity
Measure targets.
In addition, a key topic for the HQ/Regional
dialogues will be identification of program
innovations or "best practices" developed by
the Region, States, Tribes, watershed
organizations, and others. By highlighting best
practices identified in HQ/Region dialogues,
these practices can be described in water
program performance reports and more widely
adopted throughout the country.
B) Program-Specific Evaluations:
In addition to looking at the performance of
the National Water Program at the national
level and performance in each EPA Region,
individual water programs will be evaluated
periodically by EPA and by external parties.
EPA program evaluations include projects
undertaken by the evaluation staff in the
Office of Water and the continuing oversight
and evaluation of State/tribal program
implementation in key program areas
(e.g. NPDES program). Evaluations of water
programs by external parties include projects
conducted by the EPA Inspector General, the
Congressional General Accounting Office, the
Office of Management and Budget, and the
National Academy of Sciences.
EPA will develop an annual plan that identifies all
the water program-specific evaluations that are
expected to be underway in that year. The plan
will be developed during the Spring/Summer for
the fiscal year starting in October and will be
provided to EPA Regions/States/Tribes and the
public for comment. The plan will be a tool
for avoiding duplication of evaluation projects,
for prudent scheduling of evaluation projects,
and for setting evaluation priorities based on
input from other sources (e.g., Strategic Plan,
HQ/Region dialogues).
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
C) National Water Program Performance
Reports:
The Office of Water will prepare a
performance report for the National Water
Program at the mid-point in each fiscal year
and the end of each fiscal year based on data
provided by EPA HQ program offices, EPA
Regions, States, and Tribes. These reports will
give program managers an integrated analysis of:
• progress at the national level with respect to
program activities and expected environmen-
tal and public health goals identified in the
Strategic Plan and Regional plans;
• progress in each EPA Region with respect to
the Strategic Plan, program activity
measures, and the Regional Plan
(including State/Region specific data);
• insights from recent HQ/Regional
dialogues-, including "best practices"
identified from the work of the Region,
States, or Tribes; and
• insights from recent program-specific
evaluations, including internal and external
evaluations.
The reports will include conclusions and
recommended actions to improve program
performance. In addition, the Office of Water
will maintain program performance records over
time and, to the extent possible, will use this
information to identify long-term trends in
program performance.
Improved program performance requires both
a commitment to sustained program
evaluation and a commitment to using
program performance information to revise
program management approaches. Some of the
steps the Office of Water will take to improve
the link between program assessment and
program management include:
1) Communicate Performance Information to
Program Managers. The Office of Water will
use performance information to provide mid-
year and annual program briefings to the
Deputy Administrator and senior HQ water
program managers. In addition, program
performance reports will be provided at
meetings of Water Division Directors twice a
year. Mid-year and annual performance reports
will also be provide to State organizations and
Tribes.
2) Communicate Performance Information to
Congress and the Public. The Office of Water
will use performance assessment reports and
findings to communicate program progress to
other Federal agencies, the Office of
Management and Budget, the Congress, and
the public.
3) Link to Budget and Workforce Plans. The
Office of Water will use performance
assessment information in formulation of the
annual budget and in development of
workforce plans.
4) Promote Wide Dissemination of Best
Practices. The Office of Water will actively
promote the wide application of best practices
and related program management innovations
identified as part of program assessments. This
may include expanded support of "peer to
peer" networks among program managers and
staff in EPA HQ, EPA Regions, States, and
Tribes.
5) Expand Regional Office Participation in
Program Assessment. The Office of Water will
promote expanded involvement of Regional
offices in program assessments and
implementation of the assessment process. This
effort will include expanded participation of the
Lead Region in program assessment processes
and inclusion of another Region in the HQ/
Region dialogue meetings.
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
6) Strengthen Program Performance.
Assessment in Personnel Evaluations
The Office of Water will include in EPA staff
performance standards specific references that
link the evaluation of staff, especially the
Senior Executive Service corps, to success in
improving program performance.
7) Recognize Successes. In cases where program
performance assessments have contributed to
improved performance in environmental or
program activity terms, the Office of Water will
recognize these successes. By explaining and
promoting cases of improved program
performance, the organization builds
confidence in the assessment process and
reinforces the concept that performance
improvements are attainable.
8) Strengthen Development of Future
Strategic Plans. The Office of Water will use
program assessments to improve future
strategic plans and future program activity
measures.
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
Appendices
1) Table of ALL Measures
2) Slides of Program Activity Measures with Regional/National
3) Water Program Grants
iliiiiiiii
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
Appendix I
ALL Measure Table
Includes:
Outcome Measures from Strategic Plan
Program Activity Measures with Targets
Program Activity Measures: Indicators
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Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix (AH Measures)
Code
Ovtcoaies / Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05
Draft Target
National 0
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
Goal 2: Safe and Clean Water - Ensure drinking water is safe. Restore and maintain oceans, watersheds, and their aquatic ecosystems to protect
human health, support economic and recreational activities, and provide healthy habitat for fish, plants, and wildlife.
Objective 1: Protect human health by reducing exposure to contaminants in drinking water (including protecting source waters), in fish and shellfish, and in
recreational waters.
2.1.1
Subobiective
Water Safe to Drink: Percentage of the population served by
community water systems that receive drinking water that meets all
applicable health-based drinking water standards through effective
treatment and source water protection.
SDWIS
Region, State & Tribe
93.6%
Strategic Targets
Percentage of the population served by community water systems ^
T that receive drinking water that meets health-based standards with
which systems need to comply as of December 2001.
SDWIS
Percentage of the population served by community water systems
that receive drinking water that meets health-based standards with a
compliance date of January 2002 or later. (Covered standards
include: Stage 1 disinfection by-products/interim enhanced surface
water treatment rule/long-term enhanced surface water treatment
rule/arsenic).
SDWIS
Percentage of community water systems that provide drinking water
that meets health-based standards with which systems need to
'comply as of December 2001.
SDWIS
Percentage of community water systems that provide drinking water
that meet health-based standards with a compliance date of January
2002 or later. (Covered standards include: Stage 1 disinfection by-
products/interim enhanced surface water treatment rule/long-term
enhanced surface water treatment rule/aisenic)
SDWIS
Percentage of the population served by community water systems in
Indian country that receive drinking water that meets all applicable
health-based drinking water standards.
SDWIS
Percentage of source water areas for community water systems that
achieve minimized risk to public health. ("Minimized risk" achieved
by substantial implementation, as determined by the State, of source
water protection actions in a source water protection strategy.)
SDWIS
Region, State & Tribe 93.6%
Region, State & Tribe Jan-04
Region, State & Tribe 91.6%
Region, State & Tribe Jan-04
Region & Tribe
91.1%
Region, State & Tribe
5%
93%
95%
94%
75%
94%
95° o
80%
95%
75%
90%
20%
80%
95%
50%
Population
OGWDW
Population OGWDW
Population OGWDW
Community Water
Systems
OGWDW
Community Water
Svstems
OGWDW
Population OGWDW
Source Water Areas OGWDW
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Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix iaii Measures)
Code
Type
Outcomes / Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05
Draft Target
National 08
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
G
T
Number of households on Tribal lands lacking access to safe
drinking water.
Indian Health
Service
HQ
31,000
n a
15.500 by
vear 2015
Households
OGWDW
AIEO
Program Activities
Drinking Water Standards Development
1
I
Promulgate final Total Coliform/Distribution System Rule.
n / a
HQ
n a
n a
Final
Rule
OGWDW
2
I
Conduct analysis to support determinations whether to regulate
contaminants from Contaminated Consolidated List 2.
n; a
HQ
n a
n a
By 2006
Analysis
OGWDW
Each year, conduct analysis of currently regulated contaminants to
3
I
support decisions to revise or not revise existing regulations within
and outside the 6-year review cycle.
n, a
HQ
n / a
n a
n a
Analysis
OGWDW
Implementation of Drinking Water Standards
Federal return on investment [cumulative dollar amount of assistance
4
I
disbursements to systems divided by cumulative Federal outlays for
projects] provided by the Drinking Water Safe Revolving Fund
(DWSRF).
DWNIMS
Region & State
$1.60
n a
n a
Ratio
OGWDW
5
T
Fund utilization rate [cumulative dollar amount of loan agreements
divided by cumulative funds available for projects] forthe DWSRF.
DWNIMS
Region & State
75%
80.4%
86%
Rate
OGWDW
6
I
Number of DWSRF projects that have initiated operations,
(cumulative)
DWNIMS
Region & State
1,235
n ' a
n a
Projects
OGWDW
7
I
The percentage of DWSRF loan agreements made annually that will
return Community Water Systems to compliance.
DWNIMS
Region & State
30%
n a
n a
Agreements
OGWDW
Each year, all States will be in compliance with requirement to
Requirement
takes effect in ;
December 2004
S
T
conduct sanitary surveys at community water systems once every
three years, as documented by file audits of a random selection of
water systems.
SDWIS
Region & State
96%
100%
States
OGWDW
9
T
Each year, all Tribal water community systems will have undergone
a sanitary survey within the past 3 years.
SDWIS
Region & Tribe
Requirement
takes effect in
December 2004
80%
100%
Tribal CWSs
OGWDW
Source Water Protection Programs
Internal
Tracking
System
Estimate of 5%
10
I
Percentage of source water areas for community water systems that
have source water protection strategies in place (cumulative).
Region & State
of source water
areas
(cumulative)
n a
n' a
SWAs
OGWDW
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Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix iaii Measures)
Cede
f
Outcomes I Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05
Draft Target
National 08
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
11
I
Percentage of source water areas for community water systems that
have implemented some aspects of source water protection strategies
(cumulative).
Internal
Tracking
System
RegionState
TBD in 2004
n a
n a
SWAs CWS
OGWDW
12
1
Number of Tribal water systems that have completed a source water
assessment consistent with national guidelines.
WATERS
Region & Tribe
Requirement
takes effect in
December 2003
n a
n a
Tribal Water Systems
OGWDW
13
1
Percentage of community water systems with source waters
classified as high, moderate, or low for risk susceptibility.
(Classifications to be made starting in 2004)
Internal
Tracking
System
Region & State
XX
XX
XX
n i a
n t a
CWSs
•o High Risk
0 o Moderate Risk
°o Low Risk
OGWDW
14
1
Percentage of community water systems for which delineated source
water areas will be available in a GIS digitized format using agreed
upon data management protocols.
WATERS
Region & State
i
TBD in 2004 I n/a
n! a
Delineated SWAs
OGWDW
15
I
Each year, identify at the State level the most prevalent and
threatening categories of existing/potential sources of contamination
for surface and ground water for Community Water Systems.
Internal
Tracking
System
Region & State
n/a
n! a
n / a
Categories
OGWDW
16
T
^Percentage of the 31 pesticides identified in 2002 as having a high
leaching/persistence potential will be reassessed by the Office of
Pesticide Programs and appropriate additional management controls
(e.g. revised label restrictions, limited use in sensitive areas,
| additional monitoring) will be implemented. (NOTE: measure to
be revised to reflect 2003 identification of additional pesticides.)
Base of 31 pesticides.
n/a
HQ
77%
90%
100%
Pesticides Reassessed
OPPTS
17
T
Separately for each class of well, the percentage of Classes I, II, III,
and V wells identified in violation that are addressed by the UIC
program.
n /a
Region & State
Baseline in
2004
I- 95%
II - 96%
III- 96° b
V - 93%
I- 100%
II- 100%
III - 100%
V- 100%
Wells in violation
OGWDW
18
T
Percentage of identified Class V Motor Vehicle Waste Disposal
wells that are closed or permitted.
n/a
Region & State
Baseline in
2004
85%
100%
Class V Wells
OGWDW
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Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix >
H
Outcome* / Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05
Draft Target
National 08 ;
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
19
I
Percentage of ground water-based source water areas for Community
Water Systems that have a Class V survey completed.
n / a
Region & State
Baseline in
2004
n a
n ! a
Survey
OGWDW
20
T
Percentage increase in the number of inspections conducted for
Class II and Class V wells above a 2004 baseline.
n / a
Region & State
Baseline in
2004
II-8° o
V=1.3°o
11=10%
v=10°o
Inspections
OGWDW
Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act Integration Measures
Identify waters used by community water systems as a source of
drinking water for which States / Tribes, have wherever attainable.
adopted water quality standards with public water supply as a
21
I
designated use, or for which States / Tribes have adopted water
quality standards that provide an equivalent level of human health
protection. (Note: "An equivalent level of human health protection"
refers to the MCL, or to the section 304(a) human health criterion
water plus organism value.)
WATERS
HQ
n ' a
Completion
2005
Completion
Standards
OGWDW
OST
22
T
EPA will complete phase 1 of the partial recalculation of human
health criteria using the new human health methodology.
n / a
HQ
n a
Completion
2005
Completion
Criteria
OST
Each year, EPA will identify critical drinking water contaminants of
Internal
Contaminants
Criteria
OGWDW <
OST
23
T
concern in surface waters and issue three new or revised human
Tracking
HQ
n / a
3
12
health criteria under section 304(a) of the CWA.
System
Percentage of surface waters that are used as a drinking water source
by community water systems that have, wherever attainable, water
24
T
quality standards with public water supply as a designated use or wil
have water quality standards that provide an equivalent level of
WATERS
Region & State
TBD in 2005
n a
TBD in
2005
Surface Waters
Standards
OGWDW
OST
human health protection. [Baseline TBD in 2005 based on analysis
conducted under measure #21; target to be determined based on
baseline.]
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Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix
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Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix (All Measures!
Code
2.
£
Outcomes / Activity Measures
Data Source
W ho Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05
Draft larget
National 08
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
Subobjective
Fish and Shellfish Safe to Eat The quality of water and sediments
(See Strategic
Targets Below)
OST
OWOW
2.1.2
T
will be improved to allow increased consumption of safe fish and
shellfish as measured by the strategic targets described below.
Region & State
n'a
n a
n a
ii a
Strategic Targets
Percentage of the water miles/acres identified by States or T ribes as
National
H
T
having a fish consumption advisories in 2002 where increased
consumption of safe fish is allowed. (485,205 river miles,
11,277,276 lake acres)
Listing of Fish
and Wildlife
Advisories
Region & State
0°o
1%
3%
Miles / Acres
OST
OWOW
Shellfish
I
T
Percentage of the shellfish growing acres monitored by states that arf
approved or conditionally approved for use.
Information
Management
System (SIMS)
Region & State
1995 Baseline
= 77%
80%
85%
Shellfish Growing
Acres
OST '
OWOW
Program Activities
Percentage of lake acres & rivers miles where fish tissue will be
National
28
T
assessed to support waterbody-specific or regional consumption
Listing of Fish
HQ
34.5%
TBD
40%
% Lake Acres
OST
advisories, or a determination that no consumption advice is
necessary. (Great Lakes measured separately; AK not included).
and Wildlife
Advisories
16%
TBD
20%
% River Miles
29
I
Percentage of States that monitor and assess fish tissue
contamination based on national guidance.
Internal
program
tracking system
HQ
82%
n a
n a
States
OST
Number of tribal fish advisory programs that have adopted and
Internal
program
tracking system
30
T
applied the national fish advisory guidance to making fish advisory
determinations for local waters. [565 Federally recognized Tribes
and Alaskan Native Villages]
Region & Tribe
3
4
10
Tribes
OST
31
1
Number of States and authorized Tribes that have adopted the new
fish tissue criterion for mercury.
Internal
program
tracking system
Region, State & Tribe
0
0
n a
n a
States
Tribes
OST
Number of States that are part of the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation
32
I
Commission and participate in the national Shellfish Information
Management System (SIMS).
SIMS
Region & State
0
n a
n a
States
OST
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Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix iaii Measures!
Code
8.
£
Outcomes / Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05
Draft Target
National OS
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
Subobiective
2.1.3
T
Water Safe for Swimming. Percentage of the stream miles and
lake acres identified by States in 2000 as having water quality unsafe
for swimming where water quality that is restored to allow
swimming. (90,000 stream miles, 2.6 million lake acres)
State Section
305 (b) Reports
Region & State
n a
2%
5%
Miles Acres
OST
OWOW
Strategic Targets
J
T
Number of waterborne disease outbreaks attributable to swimming
in, or other recreational contact with, the ocean, rivers, lakes, or
streams measured as a five year average.
EPA /ORD
internal
Wateiborne
Disease
Outbreak
database
Region & State
9
n a
8
Outbreaks
OST
K
T
Percentage of days of the beach season that coastal and Great Lakes
beaches monitored by State beach safety programs are open and safe
for swimming.
National Health
Protection
Survey of
Beaches
Region & State
94° o
94%
96%
Days Beach Season
OST
Program Activities
33
T
Number of coastal and Great Lakes States and Territories that have
adopted, for coastal recreational waters, water quality criteria for
E.Coli and enterococci (cumulative).
Internal
program
tracking system
Region & State
11
25
35 (Statutory
req: April
'04)
States / Territories
OST
34
T
EPA will publish criteria for pathogens of concern for recreational
waters.
n / a
HQ
n /a
n /a
Publish
Criteria
Criteria
OST
35
T
Percentage of significant public beaches monitored and managed
under die BEACH Act Program. [No BEACH Act implementation
in 2002.]
PRAWN or
National Health
Protection
Survey of
Beaches
Region & State
0%
91%
100%
Significant Public
Beaches
OST
36
T
Percentage of CSO communities with schedules in place to
implement approved Long Term Control Plans (LCTPs). (Baseline
of 772 Communities w/ CSOs)
PCS - CSO
Report
database
Region & State
2003 = 22%
41%
75%
CSOs communities w
schedules in place
OWM
37
I
Number of States that have adopted the Voluntary Management
Guidelines for On-site/Decentralized Wastewater Treatment
Systems, (cumulative)
Internal
Tracking
System
Region & State
2
n a
n ' a
States
OWM
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Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix iaii Measures i
Code
b
H
Outcomes / Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National OS
Draft Target
National 08
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
Objective 2: PROTECT WATER QUALITY - Protect the quality of rivers, lakes and streams on a
watershed basis and protect coastal and ocean waters.
Subobjective
Protect and Improve Water Quality on a Watershed Basis -
Number of the Nation's watersheds where: water quality standards
Watersheds:
- Attaining Stds
- Improved
2.2.1
are met in at least 80% of the assessed water segments; and all
State Section
Region & State
-453
- 0
-500
- TBD
- 600
-200
owow
assessed water segments maintain their quality and at least 20
percent of assessed water segments show improvement above
conditions as of 2002. (2,262 watersheds nationwide)
305 (b) Reports
Strategic Targets
L
T
Percentage of waterbodies identified in 2000 as not attaining
standards where water quality standards are fully attained. (21,632
WATERS
Region & State
0%
2°o (Note:
interim goal ol
25° o by year
2012
Waterbodies
owow
waterbodies; 255,408 miles and 6.8 million acres)
5% by 2006)
M
T
Percentage of test sites where phosphorus levels are below levels of
concern established by USGS or levels adopted by a state or
authorized tribe in a water quality standard for major rivers; for
urban streams; & for farmland streams.
USGS
HQ/USGS
50%
38%
25%
n a
55%
38%
30%
Rivers
Urban Streams
Farmland Streams
owow
Number of monitoring stations in Tribal waters for which baseline
data are available where water quality is improved (i.e., shows at
N
T
least a 10% improvement for each of four key parameters: total
nitrogen, total phosphorus, dissolved oxygen, and fecal coliforms.)
(900 stations nationwide)
NWIS
Region & Tribe
0
35
90
Stations
AIEO
O
T
Number of households on tribal lands lacking access to basic
sanitation.
Indian Health
Service
Region & Tribe
71,000
62,750
35,000 by
vear 2015
Households
OWM
AIEO
Program Activities
Water Quality Standards
Number of States & authorized Tribes that have completed a review
Internal
program
tracking system
38
1
of water quality standards within three years of the previous triennial
review under Section 303(c) of the CWA. (56 State/Territories, &
22 authorized Tribes)
Region & State
55
n ' a
n a
States Territories &
Authorized Tribes
OST
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Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix iaii Measures)
Code
&
Outcomes / Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05
Draft Target
National 08
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
Number of new or revised criteria documents for water pollutants
published providing the scientific information necessary for State
39 T adoption or revision of a water quality standard protocols and n/a
methods for the pollutant, including needed implementation
protocols and methods.
Number of States that have adopted into their water quality Internal
40 T standards, and EPA has approved, nutrient criteria for fresh water program
(rivers/streams, lakes, and reservoirs) (Cumulative). tracking system
41
42
43
44
Number of States that have adopted into their water quality programs
for streams and small rivers, biological criteria designed to support
determination of attainment of water quality standard use
designations standards (Cumulative). [Note: biological criteria may
include quantitative endpoints or narrative criteria with quantitative
implementation procedures or translators]
Internal
program
tracking system!
Number of Tribes that have water quality standards approved by
EPA (Cumulative).
Internal
program
tracking system
Internal
; submissions that are approved/disapproved by EPA within 90 days. program
; tracking system
Each year, percentage of State/Tribal water quality standards
Monitoring
Each year, the number of States & Territories that have adopted and
begun implementing a monitoring strategy [including a State
approach to putting data into STORET] consistent with national
guidance, (i.e, March 2003 guidance describing 10 key monitoring
elements) (cumulative).
Internal
Tracking
System
HQ
Region & State
Region & State
Region & Tribe
15
C riteria
OST
HQ & Regions
Region & State
25 States Territories
OST
15
17
45 1 States/Territories OST
23
33
33
Tribes
OST
73% 75°o : Standard Submissions i OST
56
56
States/Territories OWOW
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Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix (All Measures)
Code
K
£'
Outcomes / Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05
Draft Target
National 08
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
45
T
Number of States, Interstate Agencies, and Territories that provide
integrated assessments of the condition of their waters consistent
with sections 305(b) and 303(d) of the Clean Water Act and EPA's
integrated assessment guidance (cumulative) (56 State/Territories).
Internal
Tracking
System
Region & State
21
41
56
States & Territories
OWOW7
46
T
Number of Tribes that currently receive EPA funding that have
developed comprehensive monitoring strategies that serve all water
quality management needs, and address all tribal waters, including
all water body types and that provide their water quality data in a
system accessible for storage in EPA's STORET.
Internal
Tracking
System
Region & Tribe
0
0
under
development
90
45
Tribes with:
- Comp Mont. Strats
- STORET
OWOW
47
T
EPA reports results of a statistical survey of the condition of the
Nation's water, conducted in cooperation with the States.
n a
HQ
12
n a
56
States Territories
contribute data
OWOW
ORD
Watershed Planning, TMDLs, and Nonpoint Source
48
I
The number of watershed based plans (and water miles/acres
covered), supported under State Nonpoint Source Management
Programs since the beginning of FY 2002 have been developed and
the number of watershed based plans, (and water miles/acres
covered), where watershed based plans are being implemented.
GRTS& NPS
Annual Reports
Region & State
0
0
n / a
n a
Watershed plans
(miles acres):
- have been dvlped
- being implmntd
OWOW
49
T
Number of watershed based plans (and water miles/acres covered),
supported under State Nonpoint Source Management Programs since
the beginning of FY 2002 that have been substantially implemented
(cumulative).
GRTS
Region & State
n a
0
44
TBD
50
5.000
- Plans implmntd
- water miles acres
OWOW
50
T
Number of national significant watersheds where a watershed
approach to protecting and restoring water quality is being fostered
using Targeted Watershed Grants (cumulative).
Internal
Tracking
System
HQ
2003 Program
Start
60
100
Watersheds
OWOW
51
I
Percentage of TMDLs approved since the beginning of2004 that
were developed as part of a larger, watershed planning process that
addressed restoration and protection of all waters within a watershed
Internal
Tracking
System
Region & State
n a
n ' a
n a
TMDLs
OWOW
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Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix iaii Measuresi
Cade
8.
£
Outcomes / Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05
Draft Target
National 0$
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
owow
owow
52
T
Percentage of the TMDLs required for waters currently on the
303(d) list that are established or approved by EPA within 13 years
of listing consistent with national policy. Annual targets will be
based on state schedules or straight-line rates that ensure that the
national policy is met.
WATERS
Region & State
na
-J
ON
O
«-
100%
TMDLs on FY 05
pace
T ribes
53
T
Number of Tribes that currently receive EPA funding in 2004 that
have participated with States &/or EPA in development of measures
(e.g., TMDLs or watershed-based plans) to restore and protect
watersheds with impaired waters.
Internal
Tracking
System
Region & Tribe
TBD in 2004
24
20
54
I
Percentage of TMDL approvals occurring since the beginning of FY
04 for which EPA took approval action within 30 days of
submission.
Internal
Tracking
System
Region & HQ
TBD in 2004
n / a
n / a
TMDLs
owow
owow
owow
owow
55
T
Number of TMDLs approved by EPA or watershed plans to restore
nutrient-impaired waters on a state impaired-waters list that contain
provisions to enable trading. Provisions could include a range of
practicable WLA/LA adjustments that would achieve the TMDL or
incorporation of a state-approved trading framework that may be
used to implement the TMDL.
WATERS
Region & State
7
25
200
TMDLs/Watershed
Plans
56
I
Number of waterbodies identified by States in 2000 as being
impaired by nonpoint sources or by both point & nonpoint sources
that are fully restored (cumulative). [Estimated 5,967 waterbodies
impaired significantly by nonpoint source]
Internal
Tracking
System
Region & State
5,967
n / a
n / a
Waterbodies
57
I
Annual reduction in lbs/tons of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment
from nonpoint sources to waterbodies
GRTS
Region & State
0
0
0
n 7 a
n ' a
Nitrogen (lbs / K)
Phosphorus (lbs / K.)
Sediment (tons / K)
Projects
Value / SB
58
I
Number and dollar value of projects financed with Clean Water SRF
loans to prevent polluted runoff (cumulative).
NIMS
Region & State
668
$1.6
n / a
n/'a
OWM
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Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix iaii Measuresi
Code
I
h
Outcomes / Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05
Draft Target
National 08
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
Permitting and National Regulations
59
T
Percentage of all NPDES permits that are considered current and.
beginning in 2005, the percentage of high priority permits thatare
also current; permits for facilities in Indian Country are to meet the
same standard/schedule, [targets to be reevaluated once universe of
priority permits is defined in cooperation with States/Tribes]
PCS
Region, State & Tribes
82.4%
n a
n a
n a
87%
95%
88%
95%
90° o
95%
90%
95%
All permits State
Priority permits State
All permits Ind C'ntrv
Priority permits Ind
Cntry
OWM
60
T
Number of States that have updated regulations and/or statutes
where necessary to reflect new CAFO requirements; number of
States that have issued Statewide general permits, or otherwise
substantially implemented the permit program, consistent with these
new requirements (cumulative).
State
compendium /
PCS
Region & State
2003 =6
4
35
37
44
49
Authorized States
States
OW'M
61
T
Percentage of States/Regions that have issued NPDES general
peimits requiring storm water management programs for Phase 11
municipalities (MS4S) (estimated annual load reduction of 4.1
billion pounds of pollutants). (Note: assumes continued availability
of general permits)
PCS
Region or State
0
93%
100%
Permitting Authority
OWM
62
T
Percentage of States/Regions that have issued NPDES general
permits requiring storm water pollution prevention plans for Phase II
construction (estimated annual load reduction of 17 billion pounds o
pollutants). (Note: assumes continued availability of general
permits)
PCS
Region & State
0
98%
100%
Permitting Authority
OWM
63
I
Percentage of Significant Industrial Users (SlUs) in POTWs with
Pretreatment Programs and percentage of known Categorical
Industrial Users (CIUs) in non-pretreatment POTWs that have
control mechanisms in place that implement applicable pretreatment
requirements.
SIUs = PCS
CIUs = Internal
Tracking
System
Region & State
95° o
XX® 0
n a
n a
SIUs
CIUs
OWM
64
T
Number of pounds of pollution loadings to wateibodies from
industrial dischargers reduced (2004-200$) as a result of national
industrial water pollution control regulations.
Rulemaking
record for
effluent
guidelines.
HQ
0.6
1.0
2.4
Lbs Billion
OST
65
I
Estimated annual reduction in pounds of pollutants discharged to
waters as a result of NPDES permits for storm water, POTWs,
CAFOs, CSOs, and industrial discharges, (annual reduction in
2003)
Internal
Tracking
System
HQ
109
n a
n / a
Lbs • Billion
OWM
-------
Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix
-------
Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix iaii Measures)
Code
s. i
j Outcomes / Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National OS
Draft Target
National 08
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
Subobjective
owow
ORD
2.2.2
T
Improve Coastal and Ocean Waters. Score for overall aquatic
system health of coastal waters nationally, and in each coastal
region, on the "good/fair/poor" scale of the National Coastal
Condition Report (a 5 point scale.)
NCCR
HQ (ORD)
2.4 2.5
2.6
Scale
Strategic Targets
P
T
Score for water clarity and dissolved oxygen in coastal waters at the
national levels reported in the 2002 National Coastal Condition
Report, (a 5 point scale)
NCCR
HQ(ORD)
4.3
4.5
1.4
1.3
1.4
1.7
4.3
4.5
4.3
4.5
1.6
1.5
1.6
1.9
Reduce rate
of increase
bv vear 2013
Improve
compared to
2006
Water Clarity
Dissolved Oxygen
Wetland Loss
Contamin Sed
Benthic Quality
Eutrophic Condition
Invasions
OWOW
ORD
OWOW
ORD
OWOW
OWOW
Q
T
Score for coastal wetlands loss; contamination of sediments in
coastal waters; benthic quality; & eutrophic condition reported in the
National Coastal Condition Report. (5 point scale)
NCCR
N/A
HQ(ORD)
HQ
1.5
1.4
1.5
1.8
n a
R
T
Rate of increase in the number of invasions by non-native
invertebrate and algae species of marine and estuarine waters.
1%
rv-c
T
Score for overall aquatic system health of the 28 estuaries that are
part of the National Estuary Program (NEP), as measured using the
National Coastal Condition Report and NEP specific indicators
starting in 2006.
NCCR/NEP
Reports
HQ (ORD)
TBD 05
n ' a
Scale
rv-D
T
Number of additional acres of habitat within the 28 estuaries that are
part of the National Estuary Program (NEP) that are protected or
restored, (cumulative)
NEP Reports
Regions and NEPs
0
25,000
250.000
Acres OVVOW
-------
Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix iaii Measures*
Cede
£
Outcomes I Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05
Draft Target
National 08
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
Program Activities
73
T
Publish a revised national Coastal Condition Report describing the
quality of the Nation's ocean and coastal waters.
n •' a
HQ
n a
1 (in 2004)
1 (in 2006)
Report
ORD
OVVOW
Number of dredged material management plans that are in place for
Internal
Tracking
System
74
I
major ports and harbors developed by COE-Led stakeholder process
and the percentage of dredged material from coastal waters that is
Corps of Engineers
15
n a
n ' a
- Mgmnt Plans
- Managed Material
OWOW
managed in a beneficial manner. (250 major ports & harbors)
Number of ocean disposal sites with approved site management and
Internal
81
42
- Sites w Mgmnt
75
I
monitoring plans that are monitored in the reporting year, including
Tracking
HQ/Regions
n ' a
n a
Plans
OWOW
those monitored by EPA's Ocean Survey Vessel, Peter W. Anderson
System
- Sites Monitored
76
T
Each year, the National Marine Debris Monitoring Network will be
100% operational.
Ocean
Conservancy
HQ (Ocean
Conservancy
Database)
70%
100%
100%
Network Operational
OWOW
77
T
Mandatory requirements to exchange ballast water will be developec
to reduce the discharges of invasive species in U.S. coastal waters.
n / a
HQ
n / a
Completed
2004
n a
Requirement
OWOW
Coast Guard
78
T
Develop standards for the discharge of ballast water, including
control of organisms.
n / a
HQ
n. a
n / a
Completed
2008
Standards
OWOW
Work with other Nations to secure an international agreement on a
79
T
global treaty that establishes rigorous performance standards
designed to prevent future introductions of non-native aquatic
species to U.S. waters from the discharge of ships' ballast water.
n /a
HQ
n / a
n / a
Completed
2006
Agreement
OIA
80
T
Propose standards for black water and gray water for cruise ships
operating in Alaskan waters.
n /a
HQ
n a
n / a
Completed
2006
Proposed Strds
OWOW
-------
Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix iaii Measures)
Code
Type 1
Outcomes / Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05
Draft Target
National 08
Target
llnit
Managing
Office
Number of coastal States in which State air and water officials have
Internal
81
i
received training in assessment and management of air/water
interface issues (cumulative). (There are 31 Coastal States)
Tracking
System
HQ
17
n a
n a
States
owow
Number of coastal States in which there is at least one mercury
Internal
82
i
deposition monitoring station (cumulative). (There are 31 Coastal
States)
Tracking
System
HQ
23
n / a
n a
States
ovvow
IV-NEP-
1
i
Number of NEP priority actions in CCMPs that have been initiated
and the number that have been completed.
NEP Reports
Region & NEPs
Baseline
determined by
Dec 2003
n a
n a
# Action initiated
# Completed
owow
Publish an NEP Coastal Condition Report describing the quality of
IV-NEP-
2
T
the coastal waters in the 28 estuaries in the NEP using the National
Coastal Conditions report indicators as well as NEP specific
indicators that can be aggregated to a regional and national level.
NCCR/Other
Assessments
HQ
n ''a
HQ Target
TBD
By 2006
Report
ovvow
IV-NEP-
I
Return on Federal investment [cumulative dollar amount of resource
(cash or in-kind) leveraged by Section 320 funds for all NEPs (for
Internal
Tracking
Region & NEPs
200,000.000
n / a
n; a
Dollars
owow
LIS, Sections 119 & 320)].
System
NEPs have indicators in place to track key environmental and other
IV-NEP-
4
trends in their estuary based on CC'MP priorities and emerging
Internal
I
issues, including invasive species where appropriate, and to enable
Tracking
Regions and NEPs
17
n a
n a
Indicators in place
owow
each NEP to periodically report on status and trends. {Base: 28
NEPs)
System
-------
Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix
-------
Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix (All Measures)
Code
&
>»
H
Outcomes / Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05
Draft Target
National 08
Target
Unit Managing
Office
Goal 4: Healthy Communities, and Ecosystems - Protect, sustain or restore the health of people, communities, and ecosystems using integrated
and comprehensive approaches and partnerships.
Objective 2 -
Community Health. Sustain, clean up, and restore communities and the ecological systems that support them.
Subobiective
4.2.4
I
US-Mexico Border Region; sustain and restore community health,
and preserve the ecological systems that support them.
(See Strategic
Targets Below)
Region & State
n a
n a
n a
n a OVVM
Strategic Targets
IV-A
T
Of the water quality standards being exceeded in significant shared
and transboundary surface waters in the year 2002, the percentage ol
that are achieved.
segments ui
both Mexico
and US with
significant
trans- boundary
and shared
Region & State
TBD 05
n a
By 2012,
>50° o
WQ Standards OWM
IV-B
T
Number of people in the Mexico border area provided with adequate
water and wastewater sanitation systems through the Border
Environmental Infrastructure Fund (cumulative).
Quarterly
reports by the
Border
Environment
Cooperation
Commission
(BECC) and
the North
American
Development
Bank
(NADBank.)
HQ
790
1,500
n a
People (K) OW M
-------
Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix (All Measures)
Code
Type 1
Outcomes / Activity Measures
Data Source
W ho Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05 i National 08 * ...
^ ^ L'nit
Draft Target ; Target
Managing
Office
Objective 3 - Ecosystems. Protect, sustain, and restore the health of natural habitats and ecosystems
Subobjective
OWOW
4.3.1
I
Ecosystem Scale Protection and Restoration. Facilitate the
ecosystem scale protection and restoration of natural areas.
C?Sw,
na
n a
n a n a
Strategic Targets
NEP
Strategic Targets incorporated under Coastal Subobjective
Implemetnation Plans (2.2.2)
Program Activities
NEP
Program Activity Measures incorporated under Coastal Subobjective
Implemetnation Plans (2.2.2)
100,000 , 400,000 : Acres OWOW
Subobiective
4.3.2 | T i Wetlands. Net gain/loss in number of acres of wetlands |
Region & State
(58,000)
Strategic Targets
Net gain/loss of wetlands in the Clean Water Act Section 404 , ,
IV-E T 7 COE database
regulatory program annually beginning in 04.
HQ & COE/Regions
na
No net loss No net loss
OWOW
Acres _ ; coe
OWOW <
Function
Net gain/loss in wetland function based on quantifying functions
IV - F T gained and lost through mitigation for authorized wetlands impacts COE database
! annually beginning in 2006.
HQ & COE/Regions
na
n / a
Starting in
2006
Program Activities
Number of States that have achieved overall net gains of wetlands bv „
, ... . . . State reporting
, . building capacities in wetland monitoring, regulation, restoration,
IV-WD-1 I ~ .. . . . via grant
water quality standards, mitigation compliance, and partnership .
building.
Region & State 0
n / a
n ' a
States OWOW
Number of watershed-based wetlands and stream corridor projects internal
r. r «< rrx t (combined 5-Star and non-5-Star projects) for which EPA has ,.
IV-WD-2 I ¦. . , ., . ¦ -r- r- ¦ i j l ¦ . Tracking
provided / contributed significant financial and technical assistance.
. . . System
[cumulative projects]
Region & State 419
n / a
n / a Projects
OWOW
-------
Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix iaii Measures*
Code
1
Outcomes / Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National OS
Draft Target
National 08 i
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
Number of Tribes that have participated in watershed-based
wetlands and stream corridor projects for which EPA has provided
Internal
IV-WD-3
T
significant financial assistance (including 104(b)(3) Wetland
Program and Five Star restoration program &/or technical assistance
(cumulative) (565 Federally recognized Tribes).
Tracking
System
Region & Tribe
53
58
170
Tribes
owow
Number of major projects that have been completed in States and
Internal
IV-WD-4
I
Tribes that significantly improve the effectiveness of compensatory
mitigation, [cumulative]
Tracking
System
Region, State, & Tribe
XX
n 1 a
n a
Projects
owow
IV-WD-5
T
Number of States where wetland condition has improved as defined
through biological metrics and assessments.
Internal
Tracking
System
Region & State
0
5
5
States
owow
-------
Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix (All Measures)
Code
Type 1
Outcomes / Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05
Draft Target
National 08
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
Subobiective
4.3.3
T
Great Lakes Score for overall ecosystem health of the Great
Lakes. (40 point scale)
Internal
Tracking
System
GLNPO
20
21
22
Scale
GLNPO
Strategic Targets
rv-G
T
Average percentage concentrations of PCBs in whole lake trout and
walleye samples. Average concentrations from 2002 were:
Lake Superior - .9 ug/g
Lake Michigan - 1.6 ug/g
Lake Huron - .8 ug/g
Lake Erie - 1.8 ug/g
Lake Ontario - 1.2 ug/g
GLNPO Fish
Monitoring
Program
GLNPO
see avg cone in
Strategic Target
5% annual
decline
25° o decline
by 2007
Concentrations
GLNPO
rv-H
T
Average percentage concentrations of toxic chemicals in the air in
the Great Lakes basin. Average concentrations from 2002 were:
Lake Superior - 60 pg/m2
Lake Michigan - 87 pg/m2
Lake Huron- 19pg/m2
Lake Erie- 183pg/m2
Lake Ontario- 36pg/m2
IADN
GLNPO
see avg cone in
Strategic Target
7 % annual
decline
30° o decline
Concentrations
GLNPO
rv-i
T
Number of areas of Concern within the Great Lakes basin restored oi
delisted.
GLNPO
GLNPO
0
3
By 2010; 10
AOCs
GLNPO
rv-j
T
Number of cubic yards of contaminated sediment in the Great Lakes
remediated. (2.1 as of2001; cumulative from 1997)
GLNPO
Sediment
Remediation
Report
GLNPO
2.1
2.9
3.3
Cubic Yards M
GLNPO
Program Activities
IV-GL-l
T
Percentage of all NPDES permitted discharges to the Lakes or major
tributaries that have permit limits that reflect the Guidance's water
quality standards, where applicable.
Great Lakes
Strategy
Tracking
System
EPA Region 5, 3, and
2 Water Divisions
TBD
60%
100%
Permits
GLNPO
IV-GL-2
T
Each year, complete three sediment remedial actions. [US partners
have completed about 3 per year since tracking since 1997]
GLNPO
Sediment
Remediation
Report
GLNPO
3
3
3
Remedial Actions
GLNPO
IV-GL-3
T
Percentage of all CSO permits in the Great Lakes basin that are
consistent with the national CSO Policy.
Internal
Tracking
System
EPA Region 5, 3, and
2 Water Divisions
83%
88%
100%
CSO Permits
GLNPO
-------
Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix (All Measures)
Code
£
Outcomes / Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05
Draft Target
National 08
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
IV-GL-4
T
All Great Lakes States adopt bacteria criteria at least as protective as
USEPA's Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Bacteria. (8 States)
Internal
Tracking
System
EPA Region 5, 3, and
2 Water Divisions
3
5
8
States
GLNPO
IV-GL-5
T
Percentage of high priority Great Lakes beaches where States and
local agencies have put into place water quality monitoring and
public notification programs that comply with the USEPA National
Beaches Guidance.
Internal
Tracking
System
EPA Region 5, 3, and
2 Water Divisions
TBD
95°o
95°o
Programs
GLNPO
-------
Final National Water Program FY 05 - 08 Management System Matrix
-------
Final National Water Program FY 05 -
08 Management System Matrix iaii Measures)
Code
£.
£'
Outcomes / Activity Measures
Data Source
Who Reports
2002 Baseline
National 05
Draft Target
National 08
Target
Unit
Managing
Office
Subobjective
4.3.5
T
Gulf of Mexico.Prevent water pollution and protect aquatic species
in order to improve the health of the Gulf of Mexico
GMPO
HQ(ORD)
n a
n / a
n a
n a
, GMPO
ORD
Strategic Targets
IV-N
T
Score for overall aquatic system health of coastal waters of the Gulf
of Mexico on the "good/fair/poor" scale of the National Coastal
Condition Report. (5 point scale)
National
Coastal
Conditions
Report
ORD GMPO
OWOW
1.9
2.0
2.1
Scale
GMPO
IV-O
T
Size of the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico, as measured by the
five year running average of the size of the zone.
HQ
HQ
14,128
< 14,128
By 2015,
5.000
Size km2
: GMPO
: OWOW
Program Activities
Percentage of the impaired segments in the 12 priority coastal areas
IV-GM-1
T
where water and habitat quality is restored to levels that meet state
water quality standards. (Base: 354 segments impaired)
GMPO
GMPO
354
28
20%
Segments
1 GMPO
Number of additional acres important coastal and marine habitats
IV-GM-2
T
that are restored, enhanced, or protected, above improvements
accomplished through 2003. (USGS 2000 baseline for all Gulf of
Mexico coastal wetland habitats - 3,769,370 acres)
GMPO
GMPO
0
11,000
20,000
Habitat acres
: GMPO
Implement integrated bi-national (U.S. and Mexican Border States)
IV-GM-3
T
early-warning system to support State and coastal community efforts
to manage harmful algal blooms (HABs).
GMPO
GMPO
n / a
n a
Begin 2006
Systems
; GMPO
IV-GM-4
T
Reduce the rate of shellfish-borne Vibrio vulnificus illnesses caused
by consumption of commercially-harvested raw or undercooked
oysters from the average illness rate for the years 1995-1999.
FDA
GMPO
1995-1999
average rate
equals
.303'million
n/'a
By 2007,
.121 million
Rate
i GMPO
Establish a Lower Mississippi River Sub Basin Committee (as callec
Select Project
for in the Hypoxia Action Plan), select a project watershed in each
By 2006,
6
Watersheds
IV-GM-5
T
of the states in the Lower MS River Basin, and implement actions in
selected watersheds within the Lower Mississippi River Basin to
reduce nitrogen loadings to the Mississippi River.
GMPO
GMPO
n/ a
establish
Committee
XX
Implement Key
Actions
; GMPO
-------
National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
Appendix II
Slides of Those Program Activity Measures
with Regional/National Targets
-------
National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw
Annual Targets
State-Related PAMs
Note: OST=EPA Office of Science & Technology; OWM=EPA Office of Wastewater Management; OWOW=EPA
Office of Wetlands, Oceans, & Watersheds; OGWDW=EPA Office of Ground Water & Drinking Water
">
-------
National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 5 (OGWDW)
Measure Description:
Fund utilization rate [cumulative dollar amount of loan agreements divided by cumulative
funds available for projects] for the DWSRF.
2002 Baseline: 75% 2005 National Straw Target: 80.4% 2008 Target: 86%
Reg1
Reg 2
Reg 3
Reg 4
Reg 5
Reg 6
Reg 7
Reg 8
Reg 9
Reg 10
Total
2002 Baseline 72%
90%
91%
78%
72%
61%
76%
80%
53%
79%
75%
2005 Straw 78%
88%
79%
80%
78%
76%
86%
83%
70%
86%
1.4%
Universe n/a
¦ n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
National Program Manager Comments:
The 2005 Straw Total is a simple average of the regional percentages due to the lack of universe information
3
-------
National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 8 (OGWDW)
Measure Description:
Each year, all States will be in compliance with requirement to conduct sanitary surveys at
community water systems once every three years, as documented by file audits of a random
selection of water systems.
2002 Baseline: n/a 2005 National Straw Target: 96% 2008 Target: 100%
Reg 1 Reg 2 Reg 3 Reg 4 Reg 5 Reg 6 Reg 7 Reg 8 Reg 9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
*2005 Straw (83%)5 (100%)3 (80%)4 (100%)8 (100%)6 (100%)5 (1001)4 (100%)6 (100%)4 (100%)4 (96°b:49
Universe 6 3 5 8 6 5 4 6 4 4 51
National Program Manager Comments:
By Dec 2004, states must complete the first round of sanitary surveys for all community water systems that use surface water or
GWUDI. Ground water systems will not be included under the requirement to conduct sanitary surveys until the Ground Water
Rule is promulgated. FY 2005 national target fixed at 100%. * unit of measurement = (percentage)states
4
-------
National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 17,1 of 4 (OGWDW)
Measure Description:
Separately for each class of well, the percentage of Classes I, II, III, and V wells identified
in violation that are addressed by the UIC program.
2002 Baseline: TBD2004 2005 National Straw Target: 95% 2008 Target: 100%
Reg1 Reg2 Reg3 Reg4 Reg5 Reg6 Reg7 Reg8 Reg9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
*2005 Straw
n/a
n/a
100%
80%
100%
98%
90%
100%
100%
100%
95*
Universe of wells
0
0
10
164
54
182
50
58
16
1
541
National Program Manager Comments:
Baseline - Under the FY03 pilot for this measure, too few states provided information to draw a baseline
Universe - is FY03 UIC Inventory Data from Grants Database. R1 and R2 do not have class I wells
~National Straw Total is a simple average of Regional Straw Targets.
V )
5
-------
National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 17,2 of 4 (OGWDW)
Measure Description:
Separately for each class of well, the percentage of Classes I, II, III, and V wells identified
in violation that are addressed by the UIC program.
2002 Baseline: TBD2004 2005 National Straw Target: 96% 2008 Target: 100%
Regl
Reg 2
Reg 3
Reg 4
Reg 5
Reg 6
Reg 7
Reg 8
Reg 9
Reg 10
Total
2002 Baseline n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
*2005 Straw n/a
100%
95%
80%
100%
98%
90%
100%
90%
100%
96%
Universe of wells 0
543
2588
4421
13964
70733
17001
7527
23264
1088
141129
National Program Manager Comments:
Baseline - Under the FY03 pilot for this measure, too few states provided information to draw a baseline
Universe - is FY03 UIC Inventory Data from Grants Database. Region 1 does not have Class II wells.
""National Straw Total is a simple average of Regional Straw Targets.
V )
6
-------
National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 17,3 of 4 (OGWDW)
Measure Description:
Separately for each class of well, the percentage of Classes I, II, III, and V wells identified
in violation that are addressed by the UIC program.
2002 Baseline: TBD2004
2005 National Straw Target: 96%
2008 Target: 100%
Reg 1 Reg 2 Reg 3
2002 Baseline n/a n/a n/a
*2005 Straw n/a 100% 100°,
Universe of wells 0 125 45
Reg 4
n/a
4
Reg 5 Reg 6
n/a n/a
100% 98%
106 4629
Reg 7
n/a
Reg 8
n/a
2851 10332
Reg 9 Reg 10 Total
n/a n/a n/a
100% n/a 96%
227 0 18319
National Program Manager Comments:
Baseline - Under the FY03 pilot for this measure, too few states provided information to draw a baseline
Universe — is FY03 UIC Inventory Data from Grants Database. Region 1 & Region 10 do not have Class III wells
~National Straw Total is a simple average of Regional Straw Targets.
7
-------
National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 17,4 of 4 (OGWDW)
Measure Description:
Separately for each class of well, the percentage of Classes I, II, III, and V wells identified
in violation that are addressed by the UIC program.
2002 Baseline: TBD2004 2005 National Straw Target: 93% 2008 Target: 100%
Reg1
Reg 2 Reg 3 Reg 4
Reg 5 Reg 6
Reg 7
Reg 8
Reg 9
Reg 10
Total
2002 Baseline n/a
; n/a n/a n/a
n/a n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
'2005 Straw 1001
100% 95% 80%
96% 98%
90%
100%
75%
100%
93%
"Universe of wells 10281
34192 42469 89435
42755 23190
14328
23101
23128
83037
38591
National Program Manager Comments:
Baseline - Under the FY03 pilot for this measure, too few states provided information to draw a baseline
•National Straw Total is a simple average of Regional Straw Targets.
"""Universe is FY 2003 UIC Inventory data from UIC Grants Program Database. Complete universe of Class V Wells is
unknown. 1999 National Estimate is 500,000 - 650.000.
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 18 (OGWDW)
Measure Description:
Percentage of identified Class V Motor Vehicle Waste Disposal wells that are closed or
permitted.
2002 Baseline: TBD2004 2005 National Straw Target: 85% 2008 Target: 100%
Reg 1 Reg2 Reg3 Reg4 Reg5 Reg6 Reg7 Reg8 Reg9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
*2005 Straw 100% : 100% 100% 100% 9% 99% 90% 75% 75% 100% 85%
Uimse n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
National Program Manager Comments:
Baseline - Under the FY03 pilot for this measure, too few states provided information to draw a baseline/universe
*The 2005 Straw Total is a simple average of the regional percentages due to the lack of universe information
Complete universe of Class V Wells is unknown. 1999 National Estimate is 500,000 - 650,000. MVWD Wells are a subset
^of Class V Wells. J
9
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 20,1 of 2 (OGWDW)
Measure Description:
Percentage increase in the number of inspections conducted for Class II and Class V wells
above a 2004 baseline.
2002 Baseline: TBD 2004 2005 National Straw Target: 0.8% 2008 Target: 10%
Regl
Reg 2
Reg 3
Reg 4
Reg 5
Reg 6
Reg 7
Reg 8
Reg 9
Reg 10
Total
2002 Baseline n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
'2005 Straw n/a
0%
1%
1%
1%
¦5%
2%
5%
2.50%
0%
0.80%
Universe of wells 0
543
2588
4421
13964
70733
17001
7527
23264
1088
141129
National Program Manager Comments:
Baseline - Under the FY03 pilot for this measure, too few states provided information to draw a baseline
Universe - is FY03 UIC Inventory Data from Grants Database. Region 1 does not have Class II wells.
~National Straw Total is a simple average of Regional Straw Targets.
V_
10
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 20,2 of 2 (OGWDW)
Measure Description:
Percentage increase in the number of inspections conducted for Class II and Class V wells
above a 2004 baseline.
2002 Baseline: TBD2004 2005 National Straw Target: 1.3% 2008 Target: 10%
Regl Reg2 Reg3 Reg4 Reg5 Reg6 Reg 7 Reg8 Reg9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
*2005 Straw 0% 0% 2% 1% 0.5% : 0% 2% 5% 2.5% 0% 1.3%
^Diverse of wells i 10281 34192 42469 89435 42755 23190 14328 23101 23128 83037 385916
National Program Manager Comments:
Baseline - Under the FY03 pilot for this measure, too few states provided information to draw a baseline
""National Straw Total is a simple average of Regional Straw Targets.
~~Universe is FY 2003 UIC Inventory data from UIC Grants Program Database. Complete universe of Class V Wells is
unknown. 1999 National Estimate is 500,000 - 650,000.
11
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 33 (OST)
Measure Description:
Number of coastal and Great Lakes States and Territories that have adopted, for coastal
recreational waters, water quality criteria for E.Coli and enterococci (cumulative).
2002 Baseline: 11
2005 National Straw Target: 25 2008 Target: 35
Reg 1
2002 Baseline 3
2005 Straw 5
Universe 5
Reg2 Reg3 Reg4 Reg5 Reg6
0
3
4
2
3
3
0
4
6
3
5
7
1
2
2
Reg 7
n/a
n/a
n/a
Reg 8
n/a
n/a
n/a
Reg 9
2
3
5
Reg 10
0
0
3
National Program Manager Comments:
Note: This target does not account for national proposal and promulgation of replacement standards for states as required by the Beach Act.
See also PAM IV-GL-4.
12
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 35 (OST)
Measure Description:
Percentage of significant public beaches* monitored and managed under the BEACH Act
Program. [No BEACH Act implementation in 2002.]
2002 Baseline: 0% 2005 National Straw Target: 91% 2008 Target: 100%
Reg 1 Reg 2 Reg 3 Reg 4 Reg 5 Reg 6 Reg 7 Reg 8 Reg 9 Reg 10 Total
SBaseline 0% : 0% 0% ¦ 0% 0% : 0% 0% 0%
p Straw ' 100% 100% ; 100% 50% 95% 100% n/a n/a 1
Universe OST is currently in the process of dewloping universe data and will provide it when it becomes available.
National Program Manager Comments:
Note: The 2005 Straw Total is a simple average of the regional percentages due to the lack of universe information.
*Only applies to beaches as defined by the BEACH Act of 2000 (i.e. marine coastal waters, including coastal estuaries, that are designated
under section 303(c) by a State for use for swimming, bathing, surfing, or similar water contact activities and waters of the Great Lakes).
See section 3.2.3 of EPA's National Beach Guidance and Required Performance Criteria (June 2000) for more information.
13
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 36 (OWM)
Measure Description:
Percentage of CSO communities with schedules in place to implement approved Long Term
Control Plans (LCTPs).
Oct. 2003 Baseline: 22% of LTCPs approved** 2005 National Straw Target: 41% 2008 Target: 75%
Reg 1 Reg 2'
Reg3'
Reg 4
Reg 5* Reg 6
Reg 7
Reg 8
Reg 9
Reg 10
Total
"2003 Baseline n/a n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
22%
2005 Straw 40% (30); 48% (37)
40% (80
) 100%
35% (117) n/a
32% (6)
100%
100%
93% (13)
41%
Universe 76 77
199
23
334 0
19
1
2
14
745
National Program Manager Comments:
/
*R5 straw based on permits. R2 and R3 universes being reexamined
~~Baseline is of communities with approved LTCPs; some of these communities may not yet have schedules in place to implement.
14
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 40 (OST)
Measure Description:
Number of States and Territories that have adopted into their water quality standards, and
EPA has approved, nutrient criteria for fresh water (rivers/streams, lakes, and reservoirs)
(cumulative).
2002 Baseline: 0 2005 National Straw Target: 5 2008 Target: 25
Reg 1 Reg2 Reg3 Reg4 Reg5 Reg6 Reg 7 Reg8 Reg9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2005 Straw 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 5
[diverse 6 4 6 8 6 5 4 6 7 4 56
National Program Manager Comments:
15
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 41 (OST)
Measure Description:
Number of States and Territories that have adopted into their water quality programs for
streams and small rivers, biological criteria designed to support determination of attainment
of water quality standard use designations standards [Note: biological criteria may include
quantitative endpoints or narrative criteria with quantitative implementation procedures or
translators] (cumulative).
2002 Baseline: 15 2005 National Straw Target: 17 2008 Target: 45
Reg1
2002 Baseline 3
2005 Straw 4
Universe 6
Reg2 Reg3 Reg4 Reg5 Reg6 Reg7 Reg8 Reg9
0
0
4
1
6
6
6
8
1
6
3
3
5
0 0
0
4
1
6
0
0
1
Reg 10
1
1
4
Total
15
17
56
National Program Manager Comments:
16
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 44
(OWOW)
Measure Description:
Each year, the number of States & Territories that have adopted and begun implementing a
monitoring strategy [including a State approach to putting data into STORET] consistent
with national guidance, (i.e, March 2003 guidance describing 10 key monitoring elements)
(cumulative).
2002 Baseline: 0 2005 National Straw Target: 56
2008 Target: 56
Regl
2002 Baseline 0
2005 Straw 6
Universe 6
Reg 2
0
4
4
Reg3 Reg4 Reg5 Reg6 Reg7 Reg8 Reg9
0
6
6
0
8
0
6
0 0
8 6
5
5
4
4
0
6
6
0
7
7
Reg 10
0
4
4
Total
0
56
56
National Program Manager Comments:
17
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I
National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 45 (OWOW)
Measure Description:
Number of States, Interstate Agencies, and Territories that provide integrated assessments of
the condition of their waters consistent with sections 305(b) and 303(d) of the Clean Water
Act and EPA's integrated assessment guidance (cumulative).
2002 Baseline: 21
2005 National Straw Target: 41
2008 Target: 56
Reg 1
Reg 2
Reg 3
Reg 4
Reg 5
Reg 6
Reg 7
Reg 8
Reg 9
Reg 10
2002 Baseline 3
1
4
2
1
4
0
1
1
4
2005 Straw 6
3
6
: 4
4
5
2
6
1
4
Universe 6
: 4
6
8
6
5
4
6
7
4
National Program Manager Comments:
\
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Total
21
41
56
18
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 49 (OWOW)
Measure Description:
Number of watershed based plans (and water miles covered), supported under State
Nonpoint Source Management Programs since the beginning of FY 2002 that have been
substantially implemented (cumulative).
2002 Baseline: N/A 2005 National Straw Target: 44 2008 Target: 50
Reg 1 Reg2 Reg3 Reg4 Reg5 Reg6 Reg7 Reg8 Reg9 Reg 10 Total
2002Baseline n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a nIs n/a n/a
2005 Straw 2 ! 8 3 7 10 2 2 4 2 4 44
Universe n/a 1 n/a n/a j n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
National Program Manager Comments:
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure#: 52 (OWOW)
Measure Description:
Percentage of the TMDLs required for waters currently on the 303(d) list that are established
or approved by EPA within 13 years of listing consistent with national policy. Annual
targets will be based on state schedules or straight-line rates that ensure that the national
policy is met.
2002 Baseline: N/A 2005 National Straw Target: 76% 2008 Target: 100%
Reg 1 Reg 2 Reg 3 Reg 4 Reg 5 Reg 6 Reg 7 Reg 8 Reg 9 Reg 1C Total
*FY 05 pace 335 65 1615 300 325 164 205 427 298 425 4159
2005 Straw 31%(104) 100% 61%(985) 81%(243) 100% 91%(149) 100% 100% 85%(253) 100% 76%(3181)
All TMDLs 3354 2288 12428 6528 9913 3015 1704 2733 2391 1700 46054
National Program Manager Comments:
. .
*Number of TMDLs needed to be completed in FY05 in order to maintain rate of TMDL completion
that complies with national policy (i.e. "on pace").
20
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 55 (OWOW)
Measure Description:
Number of TMDLs approved by EPA or watershed plans to restore nutrient-impaired waters
on a state impaired-waters list that contain provisions to enable trading (cumulative).
Provisions could include a range of practicable WLA/LA adjustments that would achieve
the TMDL or incorporation of a state-approved trading framework that may be used to
implement the TMDL.
2002 Baseline: 7 2005 National Straw Target: 25 2008 Target: 200
Reg 1 Reg 2 Reg 3 Reg 4 Reg 5 Reg 6 Reg 7 Reg 8 Reg 9 Reg 10 Total
'2002 Baseline
1
0
0
2
1 0
0
2
0
1
1
2005 Straw
"l
2
5
6
1 2
2
2
1
3
25
('[tee
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
National Program Manager Comments:
r
\
v
)
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 59,1 of 4 (OWM)
Measure Description:
Percentage of all NPDES permits that are considered current and, beginning in
2005, the percentage of high priority permits that are also current; permits for facilities in
Indian Country are to meet the same standard/schedule, [targets to be reevaluated once
universe of priority permits is defined in cooperation with States/Tribes]
2002 Baseline: 82.4% 2005 National Straw Target: 87% 2008 Target: 90%
Reg 1 Reg 2 Reg 3 Reg 4 Reg 5 Reg 6 Reg 7 Reg 8 Reg 9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline 55.6% 62.6% 85.4% 73.5% 85.1% 93.5% 73.1% 78.2% 86.7% 43.4% 82.4%
2005 Straw 90% 85% 90% 85% 90% 90% 85% 90% 80% 74% 87.0%
Universe 2,040 6,016 14,482 19,018 13,930 33,647 9,335 4,024 2,952 4,859 110,303
National Program Manager Comments:
(
\
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 59,2 of 4 (see Tribal measures for 3 of 4 & 4 of 4) (OWM)
Measure Description:
Percentage of all NPDES permits that are considered current and, beginning in 2005, the
percentage of high priority permits that are also current; permits for facilities in
Indian Country are to meet the same standard/schedule, [targets to be reevaluated once
universe of priority permits is defined in cooperation with States/Tribes]
2002 Baseline: N/A 2005 National Straw Target: 95% 2008 Target: 95%
Reg 1 Reg 2 Reg 3 Reg 4 Reg 5 Reg 6 Reg 7 Reg 8 Reg 9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
2005 Straw 95% 95% 95% 95% 95% 95% 95% 95% 95% 95% 95%
Universe •r-t~r"r-T- r * . * : .
National Program Manager Comments:
~There is no single definition of "priority permit," rather, EPA has identified a set of factors to be considered; see
3/5/2004 memo from Jim Hanlon.
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 60,1 of 2 (OWM)
Measure Description:
Number of States that have updated regulations and/or statutes where
necessary to reflect new CAFO requirements; number of States that have issued
Statewide general permits, or otherwise substantially implemented the permit program,
consistent with these new requirements (cumulative).
2003 Baseline: 6
2005 National Straw Target: 35
2008 Target: 44 States
Reg 1
2003 Baseline 0
2005 Straw 1
'Universe 3
Reg 2 Reg 3
0 0
1
5
3 5
Reg 4 Reg 5
3 0
1 5
8 6
Reg 6 Reg 7 Reg 8 Reg 9 Reg 10 Total
0 1 1 0 1 6
3 4 6 1 2 35
3 4 6 4 2 44
National Program Manager Comments:
Revised rule published February 12, 2003;
*Universe = 44: Rhode Island has no CAFOs so is not counted. R2: Puerto Rico is Counted. RIO: Alaska has no CAFOs so is
not counted. Six states are not authorized: MA, NH, NM, OK, AK, ID and therefore not counted.
24
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 60, 2 of 2
(OWM)
Measure Description:
Number of States that have updated regulations and/or statutes where necessary to reflect
new CAFO requirements; number of States that have issued Statewide general
permits, or otherwise substantially implemented the permit program, consistent with these
new requirements (cumulative).
2002 Baseline: 4
2005 National Straw Target: 37 2008 Target: 49 States
Regl Reg 2 Reg 3 Reg 4 Reg 5 Reg 6 Reg 7 Reg 8 Reg 9
2002 Baseline 0
2005 Straw
lijniverse
2
5
2 0
3 5
3 5
0
7
8
0
5
6
0
2
5
0
3
4
1
6
6
0
2
4
Reg 10
1
2
3
Total
4
37
49
National Program Manager Comments:
Revised rule published February 12,2003
*Region 1: Rhode Island has no CAFOs so is not counted. R2: Puerto Rico is counted.
Region 10: Alaska has no CAFOs so is not counted; EPA to issue permits in MA, NH, NM, OK, & ID.
25
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 61 (OWM)
Measure Description:
Percentage of permitting authorities (i.e. States/Regions) that have issued NPDES general
permits requiring storm water management programs for Phase II municipalities (MS4S)
(estimated annual load reduction of 4.1 billion pounds of pollutants). (Note: assumes
continued availability of general permits)
2002 Baseline: 0 2005 National Straw Target: 93% 2008 Target: 100%
Reg 1 Reg 2 Reg 3 Reg 4 Reg 5 Reg 6 Reg 7 Reg 8 Reg 9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2005 Straw 100% 100% 100% 100% 83% 100% 100% 100% 100% 50% 93%
Universe 6 2 5 8 6 5 4 6 4 4 50
National Program Manager Comments:
r
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 62 (OWM)
Measure Description:
Percentage of permitting authorities (i.e. States/Regions) that have issued NPDES general
permits requiring storm water pollution prevention plans for Phase II construction (estimated
annual load reduction of 17 billion pounds of pollutants). (Note: assumes continued
availability of general permits)
2002 Baseline: 0 2005 National Straw Target: 98% 2008 Target: 100%
Reg 1 Reg 2 Reg 3 Reg 4 Reg 5 Reg 6 Reg 7 Reg 8 Reg 9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2005 Straw I 100% : 100% 100% 100% 83% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 98%
Universe 6 2 5 8 6 5 4 6 4 4 50
National Program Manager Comments:
r
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 70 (OWM)
Measure Description:
Fund utilization rate [cumulative loan agreement dollars to the cumulative funds available
for projects] for the CWSRF.
2002 Baseline: 91% 2005 National Straw Target: 90% 2008 Target: 94%
Reg 1 Reg2 Reg3 Reg4 Reg5 Reg6 Reg7 Reg8 Reg9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline 95% > 92% 81% 90% 92% 88% 84% 83% 99% 90% 91%
2005 Straw 95% 90% 89% 90% 94% 88% 85% 86% 92% 92% 90%
Universe n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
National Program Manager Comments:
/
\
V
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 72 (OWM)
Measure Description:
Number of States using integrated planning and priority systems to make CWSRF funding
decisions (cumulative).
2002 Baseline: 19 States 2005 National Straw Target: 29 2008 Target: 28 States
Regl Reg2 Reg3 Reg4 Reg5 Reg6 Reg7 Reg8 Reg9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 3 3 2 19
2005 Straw 1 2 4 3 3 2 2 5 3 4 29
Universe 6 3 5 8 6 5 4 6 4 4 51
National Program Manager Comments:
f
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: IV-WD-5 (OWO W)
Measure Description:
Number of States where wetland condition has improved as defined through biological
metrics and assessments.
2002 Baseline: 0 States 2005 National Straw Target: 5 2008 Target: 5 States
Reg 1 Reg2 Reg3 Reg4 Reg5 Reg6 Reg7 Reg8 Reg9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2005 Straw 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 5
Universe 6 3 5 8 6 5 4 6 4 4 51
National Program Manager Comments:
30
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with
Straw Annual Targets
Tribal Related PAMs
-------
National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 9 (OGWDW)
Measure Description:
Each year, all Tribal water community systems will have undergone a sanitary survey within
the past 3 years.
2002 Baseline: n/a 2005 National Straw Target: 80% 2008 Target: 100%
Reg 1 Reg 2 Reg 3 Reg 4 Reg 5 Reg 6 Reg 7 Reg 8 Reg 9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline n/a n/a n/a : n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
2005 Straw 100% 100% n/a 100% 100% 100% 100% 60% 100% 100% 80%
Universe 0 1 n/a 1 2 3 1 17 18 7 50
National Program Manager Comments:
/ \
By Dec 2004, states must complete the first round of sanitary surveys for all community water systems that use surface water or
GWUDI. Ground water systems will not be included under the requirement to conduct sanitary surveys until the Ground Water
Rule is promulgated.
V )
32
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure#: 42 (OST)
Measure Description:
Number of Tribes that have water quality standards approved by EPA (cumulative).
2002 Baseline: 23 2005 National Straw Target: 33 2008 Target: 33
Reg1 Reg 2 Reg 3 Reg 4 Reg 5 Reg 6 Reg 7 Reg 8 Reg 9 Reg 10
2002 Baseline 0 0 n/a 2 2 9 0 2 2 6
2005 Straw 0 1 n/a 2 3 11 0 2 5 9
SfsTMO ; 7 n/a ; 6 35 66 9 27 140 265
National Program Manager Comments:
^— — ¦ ¦ ^
*The universe is overstated because it should only include those Tribes eligible for treatment as a state (TAS)
and have reservation lands since they are the only ones eligible to administer a WQS program. OST will
determine what the correct universe should be. 33
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 46,1 of 2 (OWOW)
Measure Description:
Number of Tribes that currently receive EPA funding that have developed comprehensive
monitoring strategies that serve all water quality management needs, and address all
tribal waters, including all water body types and that provide their water quality data in a
system accessible for storage in EPA's STORET.
2002 Baseline: 0 2005 National Straw Target: under development* 2008 Target: 90
Reg 1 Reg2 Reg3 Reg4 Reg5 Reg6 Reg7 Reg8 Reg9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline 0 0 n/a 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
*2005 Straw; n/a
Universe 6 1 n/a 5 29 35 4 23 90 36 229
National Program Manager Comments:
r
\
*2005 Straw: Under Development
V
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34
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 46,2 of 2 (OWOW)
Measure Description:
Number of Tribes that currently receive EPA funding that have developed comprehensive
monitoring strategies that serve all water quality management needs, and address all tribal
waters, including all water body types and that provide their water quality data in a
system accessible for storage in EPA's STORET.
2002 Baseline: 0 2005 National Straw Target: underdevelopment* 2008 Target: 45
Reg 1 Reg2 Reg3 Reg4 Reg5 Reg6 Reg 7 Reg8 Reg9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline 0 0 n/a 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20C6Straw* n/a
UnET | 6 1 n/a 5 29 35 4 23 90 36 229
National Program Manager Comments:
r
\
*2005 Straw: Under Development
V
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35
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure#: 53 (OWOW)
Measure Description:
Number of Tribes that currently receive EPA funding that have participated with States &/or
EPA in development of measures (e.g., TMDLs or watershed-based plans) to restore and
protect watersheds with impaired waters.
2002 Baseline: TBD 2004 2005 National Straw Target: 24 2008 Target: 20
Reg 1 Reg 2 Reg 3 Reg 4 Reg 5 Reg 6 Reg 7 Reg 8 Reg 9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
2005 Straw
3
0
n/a
0
3
0
1 8
0
9
24
Universe
6
1
n/a
5
29
35
4 23
90
36
229
National Program Manager Comments:
r
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 59,3 of 4 (OWM)
Measure Description:
Percentage of all NPDES permits that are considered current and, beginning in 2005, the
percentage of high priority permits that are also current; permits for facilities in Indian
Country are to meet the same standard/schedule, [targets to be reevaluated once universe
of priority permits is defined in cooperation with States/Tribes]
2002 Baseline: 65% 2005 National Straw Target: 88% 2008 Target: 90%
Regl Reg2 Reg 3 Reg4 Reg5 Reg6 Reg7 Reg8 Reg9 Reg 10 Total
20Q2 Baseline j n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
2005 Straw ; n/a n/a , n/a : 100% 80% (57) 90% (12) 85% (9) 90% (140) 90% (24) 90% (53) 88% (307)
Universe 0 0 la f 14 71 13 10 155 27 59 349
National Program Manager Comments:
f
A
Note: 90% target is annual target starting in 2005
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 59,4 of 4 (OWM)
Measure Description:
Percentage of all NPDES permits that are considered current and, beginning in 2005, the
percentage of high priority permits that are also current; permits for facilities in
Indian Country are to meet the same standard/schedule, [targets to be reevaluated once
universe of priority permits is defined in cooperation with States/Tribes]
2002 Baseline: 2005 National Straw Target: 95% 2008 Target: 95%
Reg 1 Reg 2 Reg 3 Reg 4 Reg 5 Reg 6 Reg 7 Reg 8 Reg 9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline
2005 Straw : n/a ; n/a n/a 100% 95% 95% 95% 95% 95% 95% '95%
"Universe :
National Program Manager Comments:
/
Note: 95% target is annual starting in 2005,
*The total 2005 Straw is over 95%, but without a universe the calculation cannot be made.
** The Regions will need to define the universe of priority permits in Indian Country in early 05
38
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
(OWOW)
Measure #: IV-WD-3
Measure Description:
Number of Tribes that have participated in watershed-based wetlands and stream corridor
projects for which EPA has provided significant financial assistance (including 104(b)(3)
Wetland Program and Five Star restoration program &/or technical assistance (cumulative).
(565 Federally recognized Tribes)
2002 Baseline: 53 2005 National Straw Target: 58 2008 Target: 170
Regl
2002 Baseline 2
2005 Straw 2
Universe
Reg 2
7
Reg 3
n/a
n/a
n/a
Reg 4
6
Reg 5
2
4
35
Reg 6
9
2
66
Reg 7
7
8
9
Reg 8
8
12
27
Reg 9
24
26
140
Reg 10 Total
0 53
2 58
National Program Manager Comments:
39
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with
Straw Annual Targets
Region-Only Measure
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National Water Program
FY 05 Program Activity Measures (PAMs) with Straw Annual Targets
Measure #: 43 (OST)
Measure Description:
Each year, percentage of State,Tribal, and Territory water quality standards submissions that
are approved/disapproved by EPA within 90 days. (Note: Regional target only; state targets
not needed)
2002 Baseline: n/a 2005 National Straw Target: 73% 2008 Target: 75%
Reg 1 Reg2 Reg3 Reg4 Reg5 Reg6 Reg7 Reg8 Reg9 Reg 10 Total
2002 Baseline n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Sstraw 75% i 75% 75% ! 75% 50% 75% : 75% 75% 75% 75% 73%
Universe
National Program Manager Comments:
/
A
Fixed FY 2005 national target of 75%.
v
J
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
Appendix III
National Water Program Grants
Management Guidelines for FY 2005
The Office of Water places a high priority on
effective grants management. The key areas to
be emphasized as grant programs are
implemented are:
(1) standardizing the timing of issuance of
grants guidance for categorical grants (i.e.,
by April of the fiscal year prior to the year
in which the guidance applies);
(2) ensuring that a high priority is placed on
the effective management of grants; and
(3) linking grants performance to the
achievement of environmental results as
laid out in the Agency's Strategic Plan and
the National Water Program Guidance.
The Office of Grants and Debarment (OGD)
issued a Grants Management Plan for
2003-2008 which is designed to help ensure
that grant programs meet the highest
management and fiduciary standards and
further the Agency's mission of protecting
human health and the environment. The Plan
highlights five grants management goals:
• enhance the skills of EPA personnel
involved in grants management;
• promote competition in the award of
grants;
• leverage technology to improve program
performance;
• strengthen EPA oversight of grants; and
• support identifying and realizing
environmental outcomes.
The Office of Water is committed to
accomplishing these goals and working to
manage grants efficiently and effectively.
Timing of Guidance Issued for
Categorical Grants
One of the Office of Water's objectives is to
organize and coordinate the issuance of draft
and final guidance documents, including
grants guidance, to coincide as much as
possible with State, tribal, and regional
planning processes. As a result, all guidance
packages for categorical grant programs are to
be issued by April of the year in advance of the
fiscal year of availability of funds (i.e.,
guidance for fiscal year 2005 appropriated
funds needs to be issued by April 2004) if at
all possible. Not all categorical grant programs
need to issue annual guidance and these
programs may simply identify the document
that provides guidance for FY 2005.
A table of all grants guidance issued for
categorical grants and other key water program
grants is available on the internet and provides
links to grant specific guidance documents
that are applicable to FY 2005; see
www.epa.gov/water/waterplan.
Effective Grants Management
The Agency has issued directives, policies, and
guidance to help improve grants management.
It is the policy of the Office of Water that all
grants are to comply with applicable grants
policy described below, regardless of whether
the program specific guidance document
addresses the policy topic.
Promoting Competition
Office of Water project officers are to comply
with Agency policy concerning competition in
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
the award of grants and cooperative
agreements and to ensure that the competitive
process is fair and open, with no applicant
receiving an unfair advantage. EPA Order
5700.5, effective September 30, 2002,
includes the requirements for implementing
this policy. The Order identifies grant
programs that are appropriate for competition,
requires detailed justification for
noncompetitive awards, and establishes
standard procedures for the solicitation, review
and evaluation of applications.
Ensuring Effective Oversight of Assistance
Agreements
The Office of Water is required to develop and
carry out a post-award monitoring plan and
conduct basic monitoring for every award. EPA
Order 5700.6, revised on January 8, 2004,
streamlines post-award management of
assistance agreements and helps ensure
effective oversight of recipient performance and
management. The Order encompasses both
the administrative and programmatic aspects
of the Agency's financial assistance programs.
From the programmatic standpoint, this
monitoring should ensure satisfaction of five
core areas:
(1) compliance with all programmatic terms
and conditions;
(2) correlation of the recipients work plan/
application and actual progress under the
award;
(3) availability of funds to complete the
project,
(4) proper management of and accounting for
equipment purchased under the award,
and
(5) compliance with all statutory and
regulatory requirements of the program.
If during monitoring it is determined that
there is reason to believe that the grantee has
committed or commits fraud, waste and/or
abuse, then the project officer must contact
the Office of the Inspector General. Advanced
monitoring activities must be documented in
the official grant file and the Grantee
Compliance Database.
Project Ofificer Performance Standards
Project Offices participate in a wide range of
pre-and post-award activities. On November
14, 2004, EPA disseminated a memorandum
entitled "Performance Standards for Grants
Management." The Office of Water supports
the requirement that performance standards
for project officers and their supervisors
adequately address grants management
responsibilities. Headquarters and Regional
offices are required to periodically reevaluate
the new standards as they conduct their grants
management self-assessments.
Environmental Results of Grants and Link
to Strategic Plan
The Office of Water's Strategic Plan includes
key "outcome" measures of environmental and
public health progress we hope to accomplish
by 2008. Both Goal 2 and Goal 4 of the
Strategic Plan present specific objectives,
subobjectives and strategic targets that define,
in measurable terms, the change in public
health or environmental conditions to be
accomplished by 2008. Grants are one of the
many tools that EPA, States, local
governments, and others will use to
accomplish the environmental and public
health goals in the Strategic Plan.
The OGD Grants Management Plan for
2003—2008 includes the goal of linking grants
performance to the achievement of the
Agency's Strategic Plan and managing for
results. Based on a policy issued in January
2004 entitled "Interim Policy on
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
Environmental Results under EPA Assistance
Agreements" (GPI 04-02), all funding
packages submitted on or after February 9,
2004 must include a discussion of how a
proposed project/program supports the goals
of EPA's Strategic Plan. Each project officer
must include language in the Decision
Memorandum stating how the project
supports EPA's Strategic Plan at the goal level
and a statement that the Program Results
Code assigned to funding is consistent with
that goal. Project officers are encouraged, but
not required, to provide further information
on how the project fits within the Strategic
Plan at the objective, subobjective, and annual
performance goal levels.
An EPA Order is under development that will
apply to all noncompetitive assistance
agreements awarded after January 1, 2005,
and all solicitations (for competitive assistance
agreements) published after January 1, 2005.
The Order will generally require that, to the
maximum extent practicable, project officers:
(1) link proposed assistance agreements to the
achievement of environmental results as
laid out in the Agency's Strategic Plan;
(2) ensure that outputs and outcomes are
appropriately addressed in assistance
agreement workplans, solicitations and
performance reports; and
(3) consider how the results from completed
assistance agreement projects contribute to
the Agency's programmatic goals and
objectives.
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National Water Program Guidance: Fiscal Year 2005
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