2016 Highlights of Progress:

Responses to Climate Change

by the

National Water Program

January 2017
Prepared by:

Office of Water

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

January 2017

Cover photo taken by Iqra Nasir, EPA

Manistee River, Michigan
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 1

Part I: National Program Highlights 5

Water Infrastructure

Watersheds and Wetlands

Coastal and Ocean Waters

Water Quality

Working with Tribes 

Cross-cutting Program Support

Part II: Highlights from EPA Regional Programs 12

Region 1

Region 2

Region 3

Region 4

Region 5

Region 6

Region 7

Region 8

Region 9

Region 10

Part III: 2016 Assessment of Progress 16

APPENDICES 27

Appendix A: National Water Program 2016 Climate Change 28

Adaptation Accomplishments

Appendix B: Office of Research and Development 2016 33

Climate Change and Water Accomplishments

Appendix C: 2016 Climate Change Accomplishments of 36

EPA Regional Water Programs
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Introduction

The National Water Program at the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) released the National Water Program 2012 Strategy: 

Response to Climate Change (2012 Strategy) in December 2012 as an 

update to an initial climate change and water strategy released in 

2008. 

The 2012 Strategy describes long-term goals for the management of 

sustainable water resources for future generations in light of climate 

change and is intended to be a roadmap to guide future programmatic 

planning and inform decision makers during the Agency’s annual 

planning process. The Strategy is available here. 

This 2016 Highlights of Progress report provides a summary of the major accomplishments of 

national water programs and EPA regional water programs in 2016. In addition, major research 

projects addressing climate change and water that were completed in 2016 by the EPA Office of 

Research and Development (ORD) are described.

This is the seventh climate change progress report for the National Water Program and is 

modeled after previous highlights of progress reports from 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 (see 

https://www.epa.gov/climate-change-water-sector/planning-and-management-programmaticresponse-climate-change-and-water). Like these previous reports, this report is organized 

around the six long-term programmatic vision areas described in the 2012 Strategy: 

 water infrastructure;

 watersheds and wetlands;

 coastal and ocean waters;

 water quality; 

 working with Tribes; and

 cross-cutting program support. 

Part I of this report presents key “highlight” projects and products implemented by the National 

Water Program and Office of Research and Development in 2016 in each of these six vision 

areas. Part II of this report includes descriptions of key 2016 “highlights” of climate change and 

water work in each of the 10 EPA Regional offices. 

In addition to the major accomplishments highlighted in each of these vision areas and for each 

EPA Region, other important projects and activities were accomplished in 2016. A detailed 

compendium of 2016 activities and accomplishments related to climate change and water 

programs underway in EPA national water program offices, the EPA Office of Research and 

Development, and Regional water programs is provided in the Appendices. 
2

In addition to reporting on highlights of progress for 2016, the National Water Program is 

continuing past work to assess progress in the overall implementation of the 2012 Strategy in 

the context of the stage or phase of development of climate change response programs. Part III 

of this report includes an assessment of the status of progress toward each of the 19 goals 

described in the 2012 Strategy with respect to seven stages of implementation. This 

assessment builds on the first, baseline assessment of implementation of climate change 

adaptation programs and projects across the National Water Program that was provided in the 

2012 Highlight of Progress report. The numerical scores representing the 1-7 phases of 

implementation progress under each of the 19 goals in the 2012 Strategy have a total possible 

score of 133. The total annual scores for overall implementation progress (i.e.; total score for 

the 1-7 assessment for each of 19 goals) are:

• 2012: 42

• 2013: 51;

• 2014: 55; 

• 2015: 67; and 

• 2016: 76

 

0

50

100

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Cumulative Annual Assessment of 

Progress

2012 - 2016

(133 Total Possible Score)
3

OVERVIEW OF 

2016 NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

National Water Programs/Research Products

Vision Area 1: Water Infrastructure

1. Release Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT) 3.0

2. Release “Adaptation Case Study and Information Exchange” and “Workshop Planner for 

Climate Change and Extreme Adaptation”

3. Develop Modeling Framework to Address Drinking Water Impairments Triggered by 

Climate Change (Office of Research and Development product) 

Vision Area 2: Watersheds and Wetlands

4. Beta Test Climate Features of Hydrologic and Water Quality System (HAWQS) Model

5. Improve Critical Streamflow Statistics

Vision Area 3: Coastal and Ocean Waters

6. Climate Ready Estuaries Program Makes Project Grants for Changing Climate 

7. Release Online Climate Planning Tool for Estuaries

Vision Area 4: Water Quality

8. Address Climate Change in the Nonpoint Source Program

9. Add Climate Change to Fifth Annual Campus RainWorks Challenge

Vision Area 5: Working with Tribes

10. Regional Initiatives to Support Tribes in Responding to Climate Change Challenges 

Vision Area 6: Cross-cutting Program Support

11. Identify and Describe State Water Agency Climate Adaptation Practices: Round 2

12. Review Scientific Literature for Assessment of Climate Impacts on Water Programs 

 (with Office of Research and Development)
4

OVERVIEW OF 2016 HIGHLIGHTS

EPA Regional Water Programs

Region 1: Worked with all six New England states to develop and approve updated Nonpoint Source 

Management Plans under section 319 of the Clean Water Act that consider climate change.

Region 2: Worked with Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to finalize a Memorandum of 

Understanding (MOU) to reduce the risks of climate change and to promote climate change 

resilience. 

Region 3: Developed modeling tools and procedures for the Chesapeake Bay watershed to quantify 

the effect of climate change on watershed flows and pollutant loads, storm intensity, increased 

estuarine temperatures, sea level rise, and ecosystem influence. 

Region 4: Updated the Water Efficiency Guidelines, previously used to review proposed water supply 

projects (e.g. reservoirs) in the region under the Section 404 wetlands regulatory program. The 

document provides utilities with a set of guidelines of the best management practices, inclusive of 

WaterSense program standards. 

Region 5: Worked with federal partners to finalize a standardized set of climate resiliency criteria for 

grants to implement the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). The criteria will help GLRI funded 

projects be more resilient to the effects of projected climate change including the likelihood of future 

climate impacts such as the increased frequency of more intense storms and shifts in ranges of 

particular species.

Region 6: Promoted the beneficial use of suitable dredged material to support environmentally sound 

projects to provide protection from sea level rise and storm surge.

Region 7: Region 7 developed a harmful algal bloom action plan, communication plan, and sampling 

protocol using the guidance from the EPA document, Recommendations for Public Water Systems to 

Manage Cyanotoxins in Drinking Water published in June 2015.

Region 8: Co-lead the Montana Drought Demonstration Project (MDDP) in partnership with the 

Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC).

Region 9: Completed a partnership project with the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative (PICCC) 

and NOAA on the Resilient Lands and Waters (RLW) Initiative in Hawai‘i for protecting and restoring 

vital lands and waters in West Maui, West Hawai’i, and He’eia in Oahu.

Region 10: Requested in the 2016 Request for Proposals to support the Puget Sound Partnership (PSP) 

Action Agenda that applicants discuss how they propose to incorporate climate change into their 

programs. 
5

PART I

NATIONAL PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Vision Area 1: 

Water 

Infrastructure

Vision: In the face 

of a changing 

climate, resilient and adaptable drinking water, wastewater and stormwater utilities (water 

sector) ensure clean and safe water to protect the nation’s public health and environment by 

making smart investment decisions to improve the sustainability of their infrastructure and 

operations and the communities they serve, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions through 

greater energy efficiency. 

1. Release Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT) 3.0: EPA developed 

and released a new, improved version 3.0 of the Climate Resilience Evaluation and 

Awareness Tool. CREAT assists drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater utility owners 

and operators in understanding potential climate change threats and in assessing the 

related risks at their individual utilities. CREAT 3.0 is now web-based 

and features a series of intuitive modules designed to help utilities 

complete a climate change risk assessment, redesigned from the 

ground up to provide a more user-friendly experience. The Climate 

Ready Water Utilities initiative has updated its Climate Projection 

Scenario Map using data provided in CREAT. The map gives access to 

projected changes in annual total precipitation, annual average temperature, annual 

number of days over 100°F, 100-year storm intensity, and sea-level rise at their location. 

2. Release “Adaptation Case Study and Information Exchange” and “Workshop Planner for 

Climate Change and Extreme Adaptation”: EPA’s Climate Ready Water Utilities initiative 

launched two tools to promote a clear understanding of climate science and adaptation 

options by translating complex climate projections into understandable, actionable, 

localized information for the water sector:

• the “Adaptation Case Study and Information Exchange” gives water utilities an 

interactive platform to explore real-world climate adaptation case studies and 

encourages utilities to connect with one another and share adaptation strategies; and 

• the “Workshop Planner for Climate Change and Extreme Events Adaptation” is webbased and assists water sector stakeholders with conducting climate change adaptation 

workshops, helping utilities and communities explore and understand how more intense 

and frequent extreme weather events can affect water resources. 
6

3. Develop Modeling Framework to Address Drinking Water Impairments Triggered by 

Climate Change: The Office of Research and Development (ORD) developed a modeling 

framework to illustrate climate adaptation mechanisms that can enable conventional 

drinking water treatment systems to accommodate water quality impairments triggered by 

climate change and related meteorological events. The capacity reserve concept discussed 

in the paper provides an organizing principle that could be useful for prioritizing climate 

adaptation strategies such as major or minor treatment/infrastructure modifications, 

system-wide upgrades such as off-line storage, operational changes in distribution systems, 

or the use of supplemental water sources including reclaimed or recycled water. (ORD 

Product)

Vision Area 2: 

Watersheds 

and 

Wetlands

Vision: Watersheds are protected, maintained and restored to ensure climate resilience and to 

preserve the social and economic benefits they provide; and the nation’s wetlands are 

maintained and improved using integrated approaches that recognize their inherent value as 

well as their role in reducing the impacts of climate change.

4. Beta Test Climate Features of Hydrologic and Water Quality System (HAWQS) Model: In 

2016, the Office of Water (OW) finished development and beta tested the new Hydrologic 

and Water Quality System model. HAWQS is a tool that includes three modules for 

incorporating climate change effects at the 8 and 10-digit watershed scale, a slider bar for 

proportional changes to precipitation and temperature, and a sensitivity test for particular 

parameters affecting the weather inputs. Further improvements in the near future will 

include user guidance on climate scenario selection as well as further exploration of 

methods for more sophisticated water temperature modeling. 

5. Improve Critical Streamflow Statistics: EPA has been collaborating with the U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS) to update and improve methods for calculating streamflow statistics. In 

2016, USGS developed the first version of the Surface Water Toolbox (SWToolbox) and, in 

preparation for its public release, drafted a user manual for the software. Initial studies 

were conducted to examine changes in surface water flows in the Chesapeake Bay 

watershed and to test alternative methods for estimating low flow statistics in ungauged 

locations. A paper has been submitted to Journal of Hydrology and a second journal article 

is being drafted. Future efforts will include development of training materials for the 

SWToolbox and additional flow analyses.
7

Vision Area 3: 

Coastal and 

Ocean 

Waters

Vision: Adverse effects of climate change and unintended adverse consequences of responses 

to climate change have been successfully prevented or reduced in the ocean and coastal 

environment. Federal, tribal, state, and local agencies, organizations, and institutions are 

working cooperatively; and information necessary to integrate climate change considerations 

into ocean and coastal management is produced, readily available, and used.

6. Climate Ready Estuaries Program Makes Project 

Grants for Changing Climate: In addition to base 

grant funding, the National Estuary Program (NEP) 

made grants to NEPs for projects in several key 

areas related to climate change including: 

• financial assistance to three National Estuary Programs for state-of-the-art 

instrumentation to collect high precision acidity and dissolved carbon dioxide data;

and

• financial assistance to five NEPs to undertake risk-based climate change vulnerability 

assessments.

7. Release Online Climate Planning Tool for Estuaries: EPA released 

the first version of the Climate Ready Estuaries workbook online 

tool. This tool helps users of the Being Prepared for Climate Change 

Workbook to manage their information and develop it into a 

vulnerability assessment report (see: 

https://ofmpub.epa.gov/apex/cct/f?p=126%3A11). 

 
8

Vision Area 4: 

Water 

Quality

Vision: The Nation’s surface water, drinking water, and ground water quality are protected, 

and the risks of climate change to human health and the environment are diminished, through a 

variety of adaptation and mitigation strategies. 

8. Address Climate Change in the Nonpoint Source Program: The National Nonpoint Source 

(NPS) Program hosted the 2016 National Nonpoint Source Training Workshop in Boston, 

MA. Approximately 200 representatives from regional, state, and tribal NPS programs were 

in attendance. The workshop featured a Climate Change Planning and Resiliency session, 

which provided an overview of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Climate Hubs 

Program and EPA’s National Water Program efforts on climate change. The session also 

featured a facilitated dialogue to discuss efforts to integrate climate change planning into 

the NPS program. Program managers from Headquarters and Regions agreed to form a 

team to explore steps needed to expand attention to climate change challenges within 

nonpoint source programs. 

 

9. Add Climate Change to Fifth 

Annual Campus RainWorks 

Challenge: In 2016, EPA 

announced the fifth annual Campus 

RainWorks Challenge prize 

competition that asks student 

teams to design green infrastructure for their campus. This year, teams will incorporate 

climate resiliency and consider community engagement in their stormwater management 

designs. Students will form teams with a faculty advisor to submit in either the master plan 

or demonstration project categories. Registration for this year’s competition was open in 

September 2016 and submissions were due in December. Winners will be announced in 

Spring 2017.
9

Vision Area 5: 

Working with 

Tribes

Vision: Tribes are able to preserve, adapt, and maintain the viability of their culture, traditions, 

natural resources, and economies in the face of a changing climate.

10. Regional Initiatives to Support Tribes in Responding to Climate Change Challenges for 

Water Resources: The National Water Program is working with EPA Regional water 

programs to support tribes and to help develop effective responses to the challenges that a 

changing climate poses for tribal water resources. Some highlights from regions are 

summarized below: 

• In Region 1, the five Maine tribes are in the process of establishing a Tribal Cooperative 

Landscape Conservation Program to take steps forward in adapting Maine’s Wabanaki 

culture and economy to the changing climate. Through this program, the 

Passamaquoddy Tribe, which is heading the effort, seeks to create an accessible climate 

science information stream, connect the Wabanaki reservations to each other through 

this information stream, and provide the tools necessary for each Wabanaki reservation 

(tribe) to initiate a climate adaptation planning process. 

• The Region 5 source water protection team updated “Protecting Drinking Water: A 

Workbook for Tribes,” originally published in 2000, to include suggestions for 

incorporating climate change considerations into source water protection planning. 

The workbook now includes examples of climate change effects that have the potential 

to impact drinking water supplies, as well as a worksheet to evaluate potential climate 

change effects on the quality and quantity of a tribe’s drinking water source(s). 

Resources related to climate change and resilience are provided at the end of the 

workbook. 

• Region 6 initiated discussions with tribal water operators and the Indian Health 

Service regarding climate change, including adaptation features at a given utility, 

drought and extreme heat preparedness, and Climate 101 training opportunities. 

• Region 7 participates in federal agency development of workshops for tribal climate 

change adaptation training. The federal partners made presentations to 22 tribal 

environmental staff in Nebraska City, Nebraska about all of our climate change 

programs. 

• Region 8 worked with Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Gros Ventre and 

Assiniboine Tribes at Fort Belknap, and the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes at Fort Peck to 
10

incorporate climate change adaptation planning into their FY17 work plans and as well 

as inthe EPA Tribal Environmental Plans (ETEPs). The Region facilitated strategic 

planning retreats with the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes (Fort Peck) and the Gros Ventre 

and Assiniboine Tribes (Fort Belknap) and conducted one-day meetings with each of the 

Tribes in Montana to assist in the development of these five-year planning documents. 

• In 2016, Region 9 supported several tribes who worked to build resilience to climate 

change impacts, through impact assessment, planning and action. At the 2016 Annual 

Region 9 Tribal-EPA Conference (October 2016, San Francisco) Region 9 helped 

organize and co-hosted several sessions with tribes on water system sustainability 

and climate change resilience. At the annual conference, tribes shared their 

experience with building resilient infrastructure through presentations. For example, 

Big Valley Tribe spoke about reducing water use, and San Pasqual Tribe presented on 

water reuse. EPA supported additional annual conference presentations by tribes on 

their climate change assessment and planning accomplishments and by the Bureau of 

Indian Affairs (BIA) on water resource sustainability tools and services.

• Region 10 sponsored a two-day workshop with The Tulalip Tribes titled “Make Sense of

Sea Level Rise”. The workshop was attended by over 100 people from throughout the 

Puget Sound region. Region 10 also helped sponsor the second Tribal Climate Leaders 

Summit that brought together tribal leaders from throughout the Pacific Northwest to 

discuss how climate is impacting their communities and what can be done to make 

communities more resilient to climate change. 

Vision Area 6: 

Cross-cutting Program Support 

11. Identify and Describe State Water Agency Climate 

Adaptation Practices: EPA worked with state water agency 

organizations to identify and describe climate change 

practices related to the clean water and safe drinking water 

programs they administer. This work builds on efforts in 2015 

when 10 practices were developed and posted on the 

internet (see: http://www.epa.gov/climate-change-watersector/state-water-agency-practices-climate-adaptation). In 

2016, an addition 8 practices were identified and described in 

cooperation with state organizations. These select state practices can serve as useful 

models for other state agencies seeking to make water programs more resilient to climate 

change. In addition, water resource planners and decision-makers from local and tribal 

governments and other entities may find these practices to be helpful. The practices are the 

result of a collaborative effort among EPA and the Association of Clean Water
11

Administrators (ACWA), Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA), and 

Association of State Wetland Managers (ASWM). 

12. Review Scientific Literature for Assessment of Climate Impacts on Water Programs: 

In 2016, the Office of Research and Development (ORD) produced draft technical literature 

reviews in nine topic areas addressing issues of particular relevance to EPA’s programs and 

are intended to help water program managers better understand expected climate impacts 

in key areas. These documents synthesize existing research on seven water quality 

endpoints including streamflow, water temperature, nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), 

sediment, pathogens and harmful algal blooms, salt water intrusion and sea level, and 

aquatic communities. Two additional synthesis documents examine frameworks and 

methods for assessing vulnerability, and sources of scenario information. These documents 

will be posted to an ORD website along with additional information linking changes in 

endpoints to EPA’s National Water Program. (ORD Product)
12

PART II

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 

EPA REGIONAL 

PROGRAMS

A major highlight of work in each 

of the ten EPA Regional offices 

(see map of EPA Regions) to 

implement the 2012 Strategy is 

described below. Additional 

accomplishments by EPA Regions 

are described in the Compendium 

in Appendix C. 

Region 1

Worked with all six New England states to incorporate climate change considerations into 

updated and approved Nonpoint Source Management Program Plans required under section 

319 of the Clean Water Act. Several states plan to update state stormwater and/or erosion 

control and sedimentation best management practice (BMP) design manuals to include 

updated design rainfall amounts, and practice standards and specifications that account for 

extreme wet weather events. In addition, some states plan to incorporate climate change and 

flood resiliency into watershed plans, as well as to begin or continue working with other state 

agencies on statewide and regional climate change initiatives. At least one state committed to 

developing outreach programs to municipal public works departments to strengthen flood 

resiliency and adaptation strategies (e.g., how to design, construct, and maintain roads and 

bridges to create more flood resilient transportation infrastructure).

Region 2

Region 2, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

to reduce the risks of climate change in 2016. The MOU formally established a mutually 

beneficial working relationship with EPA Region 2 with Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to 

promote climate change resilience. The parties are identifying, developing, promoting, and 

carrying out cooperative activities to implement climate change mitigation and adaptation 

strategies to foster resilience and the regional capacity to adapt to climate change in the 

Caribbean. 
13

Region 3 

As part of the Chesapeake 2017 Midpoint Assessment, modeling tools and procedures were 

developed to quantify the effects of climate change on watershed flows and pollutant loads, 

storm intensity, increased estuarine temperatures, and sea level rise in the Chesapeake Bay 

watershed. Modeling efforts are underway to assess potential climate change impacts under a 

range of projected climate change for 2025 and 2050. Informed by the outcomes of this 

climate change assessment, the Chesapeake Bay Program is expected to decide, by May 2017, 

when and how to incorporate these climate change considerations into the jurisdictions’ Phase 

III Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs). Findings to date are that the estimated increase in 

watershed nutrient loads of nitrogen and phosphorus for the years 2025 and 2050 (compared 

to the 1991-2000 average hydrology) are about 2 percent and 5 percent, respectively. For the 

first half of this century the detrimental influence of increased nutrient loads is estimated to be 

somewhat offset by sea level rise which makes the Bay more open to the ocean and saltier and 

provides a greater exchange of ocean and Bay waters.

Region 4 

Region 4 updated the Water Efficiency Guidelines, previously used to review proposed water 

supply projects (e.g. reservoirs) in the region under the Section 404 wetlands regulatory 

program. After being positively received by water program managers across the country, the 

revised document, Best Practices to Consider When Evaluating Water Conservation and 

Efficiency as an Alternative for Water Supply Expansion, was released at the national level. The 

document provides utilities with a set of best practices, inclusive of the WaterSense program, 

that can help utilities avoid the need for costly expansion of supply. 

Region 5 

The Great Lakers Restoration Initiative Action Plan II commits agencies to develop and 

incorporate climate resiliency criteria in project selection, planning, and implementation. 

During FY2016, federal agencies and their partners finalized a standardized set of climate 

resiliency criteria. The criteria will help GLRI funded projects be more resilient to the effects of 

projected climate change including the likelihood of future climate impacts including the 

increased frequency of more intense storms and shifts in ranges of particular species.

Region 6

The Regional ocean dumping program worked with the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to 

maximize the amount of dredged material used to offset coastal land loss and to minimize 

the amount of material unused for restoration purposes by disposing at sea. In 2016, 

approximately 8.5 million cubic yards of dredged material removed during maintenance of the 

Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River were used to construct about 700 acres of wetland 
14

habitat. Overall, 15.5 million cubic yards of Mississippi River sediments were used beneficially 

to construct over 1,200 acres of coastal habitat to offset land loss along Louisiana's coastline. 

Region 7 

Region 7 developed a harmful algal bloom (HAB) action plan, communication plan, and 

sampling protocol using the guidance from the EPA document, Recommendations for Public 

Water Systems to Manage Cyanotoxins in Drinking Water published in June 2015. These plans 

were developed in order to respond to requests for assistance by tribal and state partners. 

Warming waters associated with a changing climate can increase the occurrence and 

distribution of HABs.

Region 8

Region 8 is co-leading the Montana Drought Demonstration Project (MDDP) in partnership 

with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC). The goal of the 

MDDP is to leverage multiple resources to engage communities in drought preparedness 

planning and put forward implementation projects that build resiliency in the Missouri 

Headwaters Basin. In 2016, the partnership accomplished the following:

• offered a course in building drought resilience and a follow-up workshop to guide 

drought planning for local watershed organizations; 

• developed and distributed a newsletter to improve communication among the partners; 

secured funding from Bureau of Reclamation to assist communities with local drought 

planning efforts; and

• supported the establishment of a statewide soil moisture monitoring network; and

• expanded the number of streamflow gaging stations and snow telemetry (SNOTEL) 

sites. 

Region 9 

Region 9 completed a partnership project with the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative 

(PICCC) and NOAA on the Resilient Lands and Waters (RLW) Initiative in Hawai‘i for 

protecting and restoring vital lands and waters in West Maui, West Hawai’i, and He’eia. The 

project: 1) Identified key organizations to track climate resilience actions; 2) reviewed climate 

science for each area; 3) recommended updates to conservation actions that would increase 

climate resilience for the land and ocean; and 4) gathered strategic plans from other regions 

facing similar climate risks, to learn from their examples and highlight the feasibility of actions 

for Hawai’i. 

Region 10

The 2016 Request for Proposals to support the Puget Sound Partnership (PSP) Action Agenda 

requested that applicants discuss how they propose to incorporate climate change into their 

programs. All of the applicants selected provided information of how they would consider 
15

climate resiliency in ecosystem recovery plans and near-term actions. To further assist agencies 

who received Puget Sound funding, EPA co-sponsored a one-day climate change workshop with 

the PSP to develop a better understanding of how to incorporate climate change into their 

projects and sub-awardee projects. In addition, EPA is working with the PSP to develop a Puget 

Sound Wide Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Plan by 2020. Finally, EPA has formed a 

technical working group of climate change experts from the different agencies to assist in the 

integration of climate change into Puget Sound projects. 
16

Part III

2016 Assessment of Progress

The National Water Program is working to implement the 2012 Climate Strategy and is 

assessing progress annually. There are two key methods of assessing progress: 

• Phases of Development by Goal in 2012 Strategy: The 2012 Strategy describes 19 goals 

and 54 supporting actions (see Table II, below). The Strategy also identified stages or 

phases of development of efforts to implement each of the goals (see Table I, below). 

Starting in 2012, the National Water Program made an annual assessment of progress 

through the seven stages under each of the 19 goals. These annual assessments of 

progress, including the for 2016, are provided in Table II.

• National Water Program Guidance Measures: The National Water Program Guidance 

(NWPG) for 2016-2017 provides narrative description of water program goals, including 

goals related to climate change, and measures of progress supporting each program 

area. The 2016-2017 NWPG provided, for the first time, measures related to climate 

change. These four measures, described below, are as a further indication of progress 

in responding to climate change impacts on water programs. 

Phases of Progress by 2012 Strategy Goal

The 2012 Strategy describes seven stages or phases of development of efforts to address the 19 

climate change goals. The seven developmental phases for climate change related work are

listed below and described in greater detail in Table I. 

1. Initiation; conduct a screening assessment of potential implications of climate change to 

mission, programs, and operations;

2. Assessment; conduct a broader review to understand how climate change affects the 

resources in question; 

3. Response Development; identify changes necessary to continue to reach program 

mission and goals and develop initial action plan;

4. Initial Implementation; initiate actions in selected priority programs or projects

5. Robust Implementation; programs are underway and lessons learned are being applied 

to additional programs and projects; 

6. Mainstreaming; climate is an embedded, component of the program; and 

7. Monitor Outcomes and Adaptive Management; continue to monitor and integrate 

performance, new information, and lessons learned into programs and plans. 
17

Recognizing the long-term nature of work to address climate change, the National Water 

Program has identified the status of work on each of the Goals in Table II below as of December 

2016. The 2012 baseline assessment has a total value of 42 out of a total possible score of 133 

(i.e., 19 goals times a score of 7 

for each goal equals a score of 

133). This score improved each 

year since 2012 as program and 

regions made progress in 

implementing the 2012 Strategy. 

The annual scores for overall 

progress, i.e.; the annual sum of 

scores for all 19 goals, are:

• 2012: 42

• 2013: 51;

• 2014: 55; 

• 2015: 67; and 

• 2016: 76

National Water Program 2016-2017 Guidance: Climate Measures

The National Water Program is assessing progress in the 2016-2017 National Water Program 

Guidance using four measures of progress for responding to climate change challenges. These 

measures provide information to form a basis for assessment of progress in key areas of climate 

change adaptation and greenhouse gas mitigation. The four measures, the 2015 baseline, and 

the 2016 report of progress, are provided below.

• Number of WaterSense partners working to improve water use efficiency. 

2015 Baseline: 1,582 2016 Report: 1,833

• Number of water and wastewater facilities that use the Energy Star Portfolio Manager to 

manage energy. 

2015 Baseline: 2177 2016 Report: TBD

• Number of water or wastewater utilities that have registered to use Climate Resilience 

Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT) tool. 

2015 Baseline: N/A 2016 Report: 431 (since September 2016; CREAT 3.0)

• Number of CWSRFs and DWSRFs that used financial incentives to promote climate resilience 

projects in the last year. (OW/IO program offices and Regions)

2015 Baseline: N/A 2016 Report: 17 Clean Water; 15 Drinking Water

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Cumulative Annual Assessment of Progress

2012 - 2016

(133 Total Possible Score)
18

Table I - Description of Implementation Phases

Program 

Implementation 

Phases

Explanation Examples of Evidence of Achievement 

1. Initiation Conduct a screening 

assessment of potential 

implications of climate 

change to mission, 

programs, and operations 

o Preliminary information is developed to 

evaluate relevance of climate change to the 

mission or program; a decision is made as to 

whether to prepare a response to climate 

change; further exploration of climate change 

implications has been authorized

o Responsibilities are assigned at appropriate 

levels within the organization and resources 

are available to develop more in-depth 

assessments

2. Assessment Conduct a broader review 

to understand how climate 

change affects the 

resources in question 

Work with stakeholders to 

develop an understanding 

of the implications of 

climate change to the 

mission, programs, and 

operations

o Review science literature and assessments to 

understand how climate change affects the 

resources being protected (threat to mission);

o Engage internal staff and external stakeholders 

in evaluation

o Identify climate change issues and concerns 

and communicate with internal and external 

stakeholders and partners.

o Identify which specific programs are 

threatened and what specific information or 

tools need to be developed 

o Communicate findings to partners and 

stakeholders and engage them in dialogue on 

building adaptive capacity

3. Response 

development

Identify changes necessary 

to continue to reach 

program mission and goals

Develop initial action plan

Identify and seek the 

research, information and 

tools needed to support 

actions 

Begin to build the body of 

tools, information and 

partnerships needed to 

build capacity internally 

and externally

o Develop initial program vision and goals for 

responding to climate change.

o Identify needed response actions or changes 

that will allow the organization to begin to 

address climate impacts on its mission

o Initiate strategies and actions in a few key 

areas to begin to build organizational ability to 

use climate information in decision processes

o Identify program partners’ needs for building 

adaptive capacity

o Begin working with an external ‘community of 

practice’ to engage in tool and program 

development

o Rudimentary methods are put in place to track 

progress and options for more formal 

measures are identified and evaluated

o Develop a strategy and partnerships to obtain 

additional needed research
19

4. Initial 

Implementation 

Initiate actions in selected 

priority programs or 

projects 

o Make it clear within the organization that 

incorporating climate change into programs is 

critical

o Initiate actions and plans identified in Step 3

o Initiate projects with partners

o Develop needed information and tools 

o Initial implementation of measures capable of 

documenting the extent of implementation of 

needed actions by partners/stakeholders

o Some program partners have begun to 

implement response actions

5. Robust

Implementation

Programs are underway 

and lessons learned are 

being applied to additional 

programs and projects 

o Lessons learned are evaluated and strategies 

are refined

o Efforts are initiated to consider climate change 

in additional program elements

o Continue to institute institutional changes to 

include climate change in core programs, 

including refinement of measures

o External communities of practice are in place 

to support ongoing capacity development

6. 

Mainstreaming

Climate is an embedded, 

component of the program 

o The organization's culture and policies are 

aligned with responding to climate change

o All staff have a basic understanding of climate 

change causes and impacts

o All relevant programs, activities, and decisions 

processes intrinsically incorporate climate 

change 

o Measures for documenting progress among 

partners/stakeholders are well established and 

support program evaluation

7. Monitor 

Outcomes and 

Adaptive 

Management 

Continue to monitor and 

integrate performance, 

new information, and 

lessons learned into 

programs and plans

o Progress is evaluated and needed changes are 

implemented

o As impacts of climate change unfold, climate 

change impacts and organizational responses 

are reassessed
20

TABLE II - Climate Goals with 2012 Baseline

and 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 Assessment Scores 

Visions and 

Goals Strategic Actions (SA) Assessment

Infrastructure: In the face of a changing climate, resilient and adaptable drinking water, 

wastewater and stormwater utilities (water sector) ensure clean and safe water to protect 

the nation’s public health and environment by making smart investment decisions to 

improve the sustainability of their infrastructure and operations and the communities they 

serve, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions through greater energy efficiency. 

Goal 1: 

Build the body of 

information and 

tools needed to 

incorporate climate 

change into 

planning and 

decision making.

SA1: Improve access to vetted climate and 

hydrological science, modeling, and assessment 

tools through the Climate Ready Water Utilities 

program.

2012 Baseline: 3

2013 Assessment: 3

2014 Assessment: 4

2015 Assessment: 5

2016 Assessment: 5

SA2: Assist wastewater and water utilities to 

reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase 

long-term sustainability with a combination of 

energy efficiency, co-generation, and increased 

use of renewable energy resources.

SA3: Work with the States and public water 

systems, particularly small water systems, to 

identify and plan for climate change challenges 

to drinking water safety and to assist in 

meeting health based drinking water standards.

SA4: Promote sustainable design approaches 

to provide for the long-term sustainability of 

infrastructure and operations.

Goal 2: 

Support Integrated 

Water Resources 

Management 

(IWRM) to 

sustainably manage 

water resources.

SA5: Understand and promote through 

technical assistance the use of water supply 

management strategies. 2012 Baseline: 2

2013 Assessment: 2

2014 Assessment: 3

2015 Assessment: 4

2016 Assessment: 5

SA6: Evaluate and provide technical assistance 

on the use of water demand management 

strategies.

SA7: Increase cross-sector knowledge of water 

supply climate challenges and develop 

watershed specific information to inform 

decision making.
21

Visions and Goals Strategic Actions Assessment

Watersheds & Wetlands: Watersheds are protected, maintained and restored to ensure 

climate resilience and to preserve the social and economic benefits they provide; and the 

nation’s wetlands are maintained and improved using integrated approaches that 

recognize their inherent value as well as their role in reducing the impacts of climate 

change.

Goal 3: 

Identify, protect, 

and maintain a 

network of healthy 

watersheds and 

supportive habitat 

corridor networks. 

SA8: Develop a national framework and 

support efforts to protect remaining healthy 

watersheds and aquatic ecosystems. 2012 Baseline: 3

2013 Assessment: 3

2014 Assessment: 4

2015 Assessment: 5

2016 Assessment: 5

SA9: Collaborate with partners on terrestrial 

ecosystems and hydrology so that effects on 

water quality and aquatic ecosystems are 

considered.

SA10: Integrate protection of healthy 

watersheds throughout the National Water 

Program (NWP) core programs. 

SA11: Increase public awareness of the role 

and importance of healthy watersheds in 

reducing the impacts of climate change. 

Goal 4: 

Incorporate climate 

resilience into 

watershed 

restoration and 

floodplain 

management.

SA12: Consider a means of accounting for 

climate change in EPA funded and other 

watershed restoration projects. 2012 Baseline: 3

2013 Assessment: 3

2014 Assessment: 3

2015 Assessment: 4

2016 Assessment: 4

SA13: Work with federal, state, interstate, 

tribal, and local partners to protect and 

restore the natural resources and functions of 

riverine and coastal floodplains as a means of 

building resiliency and protecting water 

quality.

Goal 5: 

Watershed 

protection practices 

incorporate Source 

Water Protection to 

protect drinking 

water supplies.

SA14: Encourage States to update their source 

water delineations, assessments or protection 

plans to address anticipated climate change 

impacts. 2012 Baseline: 2

2013 Assessment: 2

2014 Assessment: 2

2015 Assessment: 3

2016 Assessment: 3

SA15: Continue to support collaborative 

efforts to increase state and local awareness 

of source water protection needs and 

opportunities, and encourage inclusion of 

source water protection areas in local climate 

change adaptation initiatives.
22

Goal 6: 

Incorporate climate 

change

considerations into 

the Clean Water Act 

(CWA) 404 

regulatory program 

as they relate to 

permit reviews and 

compensatory 

mitigation.

SA16: Consider the effects of climate change, 

as appropriate, when making significant 

degradation determinations in the CWA

Section 404 wetlands permitting and 

enforcement program.

2012 Baseline: 1

2013 Assessment: 1

2014 Assessment: 1

2015 Assessment: 1

2016 Assessment: 2

SA17: Evaluate, in conjunction with the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, how wetland and 

stream compensation projects could be 

selected, designed, and sited to aid in reducing 

the effects of climate change.

Goal 7: 

Improve baseline 

information on 

wetland extent, 

condition and 

performance to 

inform effective 

adaptation to 

climate change.

SA18: Expand wetland mapping by supporting 

wetland mapping coalitions and training on 

use of the new federal Wetland Mapping 

Standard. 2012 Baseline: 1

2013 Assessment: 2

2014 Assessment: 2

2015 Assessment: 3

2016 Assessment: 4

SA19: Produce a statistically valid, ecological 

condition assessment of the nation’s wetlands.

SA20: Work with partners and stakeholders to 

develop information and tools to support long 

term planning and priority setting for wetland 

restoration projects.

Visions and Goals Strategic Actions Assessment

Coastal and Ocean Waters: Adverse effects of climate change and unintended adverse 

consequences of responses to climate change have been successfully prevented or reduced 

in the ocean and coastal environment. Federal, tribal, state, and local agencies, 

organizations, and institutions are working cooperatively; and information necessary to 

integrate climate change considerations into ocean and coastal management is produced, 

readily available, and used.

Goal 8: 

Collaborate to 

ensure information 

and methodologies 

for ocean and 

coastal areas are 

collected, 

produced, 

analyzed, and easily 

available. 

SA21: Collaborate to ensure that synergy 

occurs, lessons learned are transferred, 

federal efforts effectively help local 

communities, and efforts are not duplicative 

or at cross-purposes.

2012 Baseline: 3

2013 Assessment: 3

2014 Assessment: 3

2015 Assessment: 4

2016 Assessment: 4

SA22: Work within EPA and with the U.S. 

Global Change Research Program and other 

federal, tribal, and state agencies to collect, 

produce, analyze, and format knowledge and 

information needed to protect ocean and 

coastal areas and make it easily available.
23

Goal 9: 

EPA geographically 

targeted programs 

support and build 

networks of local, 

tribal, state, 

regional and federal

collaborators to 

take effective 

adaptation 

measures for 

coastal and ocean 

environments.

SA23: Work with the NWP’s larger geographic 

programs to incorporate climate change 

considerations, focusing on both the natural 

and built environments.

2012 Baseline: 2

2013 Assessment: 2

2014 Assessment: 3

2015 Assessment: 4

2016 Assessment: 5

SA24: Address climate change adaptation and 

build stakeholder capacity when implementing 

NEP Comprehensive Conservation and 

Management Plans and through the Climate 

Ready Estuaries Program.

SA25: Conduct outreach and education, and 

provide technical assistance to state and local 

watershed organizations and communities to 

build adaptive capacity in coastal areas 

outside the NEP and Large Aquatic Ecosystem 

programs.

Goal 10: 

Address climate 

driven 

environmental 

changes in coastal 

areas and ensure 

that mitigation and 

adaptation are 

conducted in an 

environmentally 

responsible 

manner.

SA26: Support coastal wastewater, 

stormwater, and drinking water infrastructure 

owners and operators in reducing climate risks 

and encourage adaptation in coastal areas. 2012 Baseline: 2

2013 Assessment: 3

2014 Assessment: 3

2015 Assessment: 3

2016 Assessment: 3

SA27: Support climate readiness of coastal 

communities, including hazard mitigation, predisaster planning, preparedness, and recovery 

efforts.

SA28: Support preparation and response 

planning for diverse impacts to coastal aquatic 

environments.

Goal 11: 

Ocean 

environments are 

protected by EPA 

programs that 

incorporate shifting 

environmental 

conditions, and 

other emerging 

threats.

SA29: Consider climate change impacts on 

marine water quality in NWP ocean 

management authorities, policies, and 

programs. 2012 Baseline: 2

2013 Assessment: 3

2014 Assessment: 3

2015 Assessment: 3

2016 Assessment: 4

SA30: Use available authorities and work with 

the regional Ocean Organizations and other 

federal and state agencies through regional 

ocean groups and other networks so that 

offshore renewable energy production does 

not adversely affect the marine environment.

SA31: Support the evaluation of sub-seabed 

sequestration of CO2 and any proposals for 

ocean fertilization.
24

SA32: Participate in interagency development 

and implementation of federal strategies 

through the National Ocean Council (NOC) and 

the NOC Strategic Action Plans.

Visions and Goals Strategic Actions Assessment

Water Quality: Our Nation’s surface water, drinking water, and ground water quality are 

protected, and the risks of climate change to human health and the environment are 

diminished, through a variety of adaptation and mitigation strategies. 

Goal 12: 

Protect waters of 

the United States

and promote 

management of 

sustainable surface 

water resources.

SA33: Encourage States and communities to 

incorporate climate change considerations 

into their water quality planning.

2012 Baseline: 2

2013 Assessment: 3

2014 Assessment: 3

2015 Assessment: 3

2016 Assessment: 4

SA34: Encourage green infrastructure and 

low-impact development to protect water 

quality and make watersheds more resilient.

SA35: Promote consideration of climate 

change impacts by National Pollutant 

Discharge Elimination System permitting 

authorities.

SA36: Encourage water quality authorities to 

consider climate change impacts when 

developing wasteload and load allocations in 

TMDLs where appropriate.

SA37: Identify and protect designated uses 

that are at risk from climate change impacts. 

Goal 13: 

As the nation 

makes decisions to 

reduce its 

greenhouse gas 

emissions and 

develop alternative 

sources of energy 

and fuel, the NWP 

will work to protect 

water resources 

from unintended 

adverse 

consequences.

SA38: Clarify how to re-evaluate aquatic life 

water quality criteria on more regular 

intervals; and develop information to assist 

States and Tribes who are developing criteria 

that incorporate climate change 

considerations for hydrologic condition.

2012 Baseline: 1

2013 Assessment: 2

2014 Assessment: 3

2015 Assessment: 4

2016 Assessment: 4

SA39: Continue to provide perspective on the 

water resource implications of new energy 

technologies.

SA40: Provide assistance to States and 

permittees to assure that geologic 

sequestration of CO2 is responsibly managed.

SA41: Continue to work with States to help 

them identify polluted waters, including those 

affected by biofuels production, and help 

develop & implement TMDLs for those waters
25

SA42: Provide informational materials for 

stakeholders to encourage the consideration 

of alternative sources of energy and fuels that 

are water efficient and maintain water quality.

SA43: As climate change affects the operation 

or placement of reservoirs, EPA will work with 

other federal agencies and EPA programs to 

understand the combined effects of climate 

change and hydropower on flows, water 

temperature, and water quality.

Goal 14: 

Collaborate to 

make hydrological 

and climate data 

and projections 

available.

SA44: Monitor climate change impacts to 

surface waters and ground water.

2012 Baseline: 3

2013 Assessment: 3

2014 Assessment: 3

2015 Assessment: 4

2016 Assessment: 5

SA45: Collaborate with other federal agencies 

to develop new methods for use of updated 

precipitation, storm frequency, and 

observational streamflow data, as well as 

methods for evaluating projected changes in 

low flow conditions.

SA46: Enhance the flow estimation using 

National Hydrography Dataset Plus (NHDPlus).

Visions and Goals Strategic Actions Assessment

Working With Tribes: Tribes are able to preserve, adapt, and maintain the viability of their 

culture, traditions, natural resources, and economies in the face of a changing climate. 

Goal 15: 

Incorporate climate 

change 

considerations in 

the implementation 

of core programs, 

and collaborate 

with other EPA 

Offices and federal

agencies to work 

with Tribes on 

climate change 

issues on a multimedia basis. 

SA47: Through formal consultation and other 

mechanisms, incorporate climate change as a 

key consideration in the revised NWP Tribal 

Strategy and subsequent implementation of 

CWA, Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), and 

other core programs. 2012 Baseline: 3

2013 Assessment: 3

2014 Assessment: 3

2015 Assessment: 3

2016 Assessment: 3

SA48: Incorporate adaptation into tribal 

funding mechanisms, and collaborate with 

other EPA and federal funding programs to 

support sustainability and adaptation in tribal 

communities.
26

Goal 16: 

Tribes have access 

to information on 

climate change for 

decision making.

SA49: Collaborate to explore and develop 

climate change science, information, and tools 

for Tribes, and incorporate local knowledge.

2012 Baseline: 2

2013 Assessment: 3

2014 Assessment: 3

2015 Assessment: 3

2016 Assessment: 3

SA50: Collaborate to develop communication 

materials relevant for tribal uses and tribal 

audiences. 

Visions and Goals Strategic Actions Assessment

Cross-Cutting Program Support

Goal 17: 

Communication, 

Collaboration, and 

Training

SA51: Continue building the communication, 

collaboration, and training mechanisms 

needed to effectively increase adaptive 

capacity at the federal, tribal, state, and local 

levels.

2012 Baseline: 3

2013 Assessment: 4

2014 Assessment: 4

2015 Assessment: 5

2016 Assessment: 5

Goal 18: 

Tracking Progress 

and Measuring 

Outcomes

SA52: Adopt a phased approach to track 

programmatic progress towards Strategic 

Actions; achieve commitments reflected in the 

Agency Strategic Plan; work with the EPA 

Work Group to develop outcome measures.

2012 Baseline: 3

2013 Assessment: 4

2014 Assessment: 4

2015 Assessment: 4

2016 Assessment: 5

Goal 19: 

Climate Change and 

Water Research 

Needs

SA53: Work with ORD, other water science 

agencies, and the water research community 

to further define needs and develop research 

opportunities to deliver the information 

needed to support implementation of this 

2012 Strategy, including to provide the 

decision support tools needed by water 

resource managers. 

2012 Baseline: 2

2013 Assessment: 3

2014 Assessment: 3

2015 Assessment: 4

2016 Assessment: 5

TOTAL Implementation Phase Assessment Score: 2012 = 42

TOTAL Implementation Phase Assessment Score: 2013 = 51

TOTAL Implementation Phase Assessment Score: 2014 = 55

TOTAL Implementation Phase Assessment Score: 2015 = 67 

TOTAL Implementation Phase Assessment Score: 2016 = 76

TOTAL Possible Annually = 133 
27

Appendices

In addition to the accomplishments highlighted for each of the vision areas and EPA regions,

other important projects are in development and a number of supporting activities are being 

implemented. A complete summary of activities related to climate change and water 

programs is provided below for: 

• National Water Program Offices; 

• EPA Office of Research and Development; and 

• EPA Regional Water Programs. 

NOTE that accomplishments described in the highlights portion of this report are not repeated 

in this Appendix. 
28

Appendix A

National Water Program 2016 Climate Change Accomplishments

Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds

• EPA launched the Healthy Watersheds Consortium Grant Program in FY2016 to accelerate 

and expand the strategic protection of healthy freshwater ecosystems and their 

watersheds across the country and improve resilience to climate change. In addition, an 

updated Healthy Watersheds website includes a discussion of healthy watershed 

vulnerability to climate change on the “Vulnerability Index” area of the website. The 

Program leverages a moderate federal investment with other partners and resources to 

grow state healthy watersheds programs and to sponsor local projects to protect and 

maintain intact watersheds. Nine projects were funded in partnership with the Endowment 

for Forestry and Communities, Inc. A total of $1.4 million was committed. These awards are 

expected to leverage tens of millions in projected additional funding, to ultimately result in 

more than 200,000 acres of watersheds permanently protected. 

• Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds (OWOW) and ORD provided co-sponsorship, 

along with other federal agencies, for a 2017 National Academy of Sciences workshop 

examining blue carbon within a suite of carbon dioxide removal and sequestration 

approaches. The panel will produce a report that will identify the most urgent unanswered 

scientific and technical questions needed to assess benefits, risks, sustainable scale 

potential, and commercial viability of carbon dioxide removal and sequestration methods, 

and scope out a research and development program.

• The Climate Ready Estuaries (CRE) program works with the National Estuary Programs and 

the coastal management community to assess climate change vulnerabilities, develop and 

implement adaptation strategies, and engage and educate stakeholders. Recently added 

resources to the CRE website address how much the sea has risen, how much it might 

rise, and what the impacts might be. Resources for overall climate change adaptation 

planning, including resources for adaptation options, planning frameworks and more, can 

be found on the Coastal Adaptation Toolkit page on the website. 

• EPA and NOAA Develop New Tool for Sea Surface Temperatures: EPA initiated a 

collaboration with NASA and NOAA to use archived and future satellite observations to 

produce sea surface temperature climatologies for U.S. estuaries. The tool will provide 

users interested in understanding climate change impacts on coastal waters with easy 

access to NOAA remote sensing satellite data on changes to water temperatures in 

estuarine and coastal areas. 

• EPA continued the Hydrology Futures partnership with USGS to develop estimates of the 

range of plausible future hydrologic conditions for the rivers and streams of the lower 48 

States under climate change influences. 
29

• EPA created a new website focused on ocean acidification topics including basic 

information on ocean acidification, effects on ecosystems and marine life, ideas for “what 

you can do” and a summary of steps EPA is taking in this area. See the website at: 

https://www.epa.gov/ocean-acidification.

• EPA released a Frequently Asked Questions document that provides information on EPA 

programs that apply to the removal of obsolete dams. EPA developed this document to 

assist non-government organizations, state and local officials, and private landowners in 

making decisions regarding the removal of obsolete dams. Removal of dams can help 

restore connectivity among water segments within a watershed and support movement by 

aquatic species in response to climate change. The document describes the impacts of 

obsolete dams on water quality and public safety, the permitting requirements for removal 

of these dams, and potential sources of funding that may be available to support removal of 

obsolete dams.

Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water

• EPA released a Drought Response and Recovery Guide for Water Utilities. The guide is an 

innovative interactive tool designed to assist small- to medium-sized water utilities with 

responding to drought. It features best practices and customizable worksheets and focuses 

on short-term/emergency drought mitigation actions that also build long-term resilience to 

drought. Accompanying the guide is an interactive drought case studies map and a 

multimedia GeoPlatform website documenting, in both video and written form, the stories 

of seven utilities which have responded to extreme drought conditions. 

• EPA released a Hazard Mitigation Guide which helps identify cost-effective projects that 

will increase a utility's resilience to natural disasters. Water and wastewater utilities are 

vulnerable to a variety of hazards including earthquakes, flooding, drought, tornadoes, and 

wildfires. A changing climate is expected to make some of those hazards more challenging. 

• EPA worked with permit applicants and permittees on geologic sequestration of carbon 

dioxide (CO2) permits, evaluating applications and issuing Class VI permits for geologic 

sequestration projects. For example: 

• EPA issued a major permit modification for the Class VI permit issued to the Archer 

Daniels Midland Company, in support of a decision to authorize injection and continued to 

work with an additional Class VI permit applicant (Berexco/KGS; Kansas). EPA also engaged 

other prospective applicants by providing guidance and support to facilitate efficient and 

effective permitting that ensures protection of Underground Sources of Drinking Water.
30

Office of Science and Technology

• EPA and USGS published a final report that provides information on aquatic life use 

protection in flowing waters for interested water quality managers and other 

stakeholders. The report discusses the natural hydrologic flow regime and potential effects 

of flow alteration on aquatic life, Clean Water Act programs that can be used to support the 

natural flow regime and maintain healthy aquatic biota, and the potential effects of climate 

change on hydrologic flow. The report provides a flexible, non-prescriptive framework that 

could be considered by water quality managers and other stakeholders to establish targets 

for flow that are protective of aquatic life. 

• EPA updated its Water Quality Standards (WQS) Academy module that discusses WQS and 

climate impacts for use at the December 2016 WQS Academy. The purpose of the module is 

to help communicate the National Water Programs latest activities to address climate 

change, as well as educate public and private sector participants of the importance of 

considering climate change impacts on water quality management.

• An EPA Headquarters/Regional team conducted a survey to identify Regional priorities and 

key concerns regarding the impacts of climate change on water quality criteria and 

standards. The team also held discussions with HQ and Regional staff and managers on 

considerations for water quality standards tools that may build resilience to climate impacts 

in surface waters.

• EPA co-chairs with NOAA, the Interagency Working Group on HABHRCA (IWG-HABHRCA)

as required in the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act 

of 2014 (HABHRCA 2014, P.L. 113-124). The IWG coordinates and convene federal agencies 

to discuss HAB and hypoxia issues, including climate change, and to develop action plans, 

reports, and assessments of HABs and hypoxia events in the United States. 

• EPA released a fact sheet on the potential impacts of climate change on the occurrence of 

harmful algal blooms (HABs) in freshwater and marine ecosystems. The purpose of the 

fact sheet is to discuss the various environmental conditions that could affect the natural 

properties of fresh and marine waters and could favor the growth of HABs. The fact sheet is 

at: http://water.epa.gov/scitech/climatechange/

Office of Wastewater Management 

• EPA highlighted green streets as a technique for managing stormwater and providing 

other economic and community benefits, including building resilience to climate change,

through a video Green Streets: The Road to Clean Water. The video shows examples of 

green streets in localities that have worked with EPA and other partners to incorporate 

green streets as part of their stormwater management plans. Green features shown include 

porous pavement, rain gardens, vegetative curb areas, and sidewalk trees. 
31

• EPA released Green Infrastructure and Climate Change: Collaborating to Improve 

Community Resilience. In 2015, EPA convened charrettes, or intensive planning sessions, in 

four cities to demonstrate how this type of planning could be applied to communities 

dealing with a range of challenges, including a changing climate. Each city’s charrette 

focused on different issues based on the most pressing climate change impacts they were 

facing and their current level of green infrastructure implementation. This new publication 

summarizes those issues and the recommendations developed by each charrette.

• EPA launched a guide, toolkit, and technical assistance to promote comprehensive, 

community-wide planning approaches to manage stormwater. With long-term stormwater 

plans, communities can make strategic investments in their stormwater systems that yield 

strong environmental results and helps improve resources to more variable storm events 

that result from a changing climate. Along with EPA's continued commitment to support 

communities’ water infrastructure investments, EPA will provide coordinated technical 

assistance to five communities to develop community-based integrated plans that will serve 

as national models. EPA will leverage the lessons learned from these efforts to help lower 

barriers to long-term stormwater planning, improve water quality, improve resilience to 

climate change, and decrease the costs of stormwater management. 

• EPA finalized a paper on Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) eligibilities, which 

includes information on eligible climate and extreme weather resilience projects. 

• EPA announced the CWSRF Performance and Innovation in the SRF Creating 

Environmental Success (PISCES) recognition program which will recognize outstanding 

CWSRF projects, including climate change resiliency projects.

Office of Water Immediate Office

• The Climate Change Team in the immediate office of the Assistant Administrator for Water 

managed the continuing operation of the National Water Program Climate Change 

Workgroup, including monthly meetings of the Workgroup and added monthly Region-led 

subject-oriented conference calls. 

• The Climate Change Team represented the National Water Program within EPA and among 

other federal agencies working to adapt to a changing climate including the:

• EPA Cross-Agency Climate Change Adaptation Workgroup;

• Climate Change Workgroup of the Advisory Committee on Water Information 

(ACWI);

• Water Resources Workgroup of the Interagency Council on Climate Change 

Resilience and Preparedness;

• Interagency Joint Implementation Working Group implementing the final “Fish 

Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy”; and the 
32

• Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resources Science, supporting 

the Department of Interior Climate Science Centers.

• As co-chair of the interagency Climate Change and Water Workgroup, EPA managed the 

development and publication, in December 2016, of Looking Forward: Priorities for 

Managing Freshwater Resources in a Changing Climate. This report, which updates the 

2011 National Action Plan for climate change and freshwater, provides recommendations 

for key next steps for federal agency climate adaptation efforts related to freshwater.

• The Climate Team worked with water program offices to monitor and report on measures 

related to climate change included in the 2016-2017 National Water Program Guidance. 

Annual progress under the four climate change measures is included in Office of Water 

performance reports as well as this climate change report (see Part III). 

• The Climate Team developed annual reports of progress in implementing the 2012 Climate 

Change Strategy for the Office of Water (i.e.; the 2015 Highlights Report) and the annual 

workplan for climate related activities.

• The Climate Team maintained communications on climate change and water topics with 

EPA staff, states, tribes, local governments and others through a bi-monthly newsletter and 

the EPA Office of Water climate website: https://www.epa.gov/climate-change-watersector.

• The Climate Team worked with the Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds to promote 

the Climate Change and Water Training Module for the EPA Watershed Academy. The

training was published in 2015 and is intended to increase water resource professionals’ 

understanding of the causes of climate change and its potential impacts on water resources. 

The module describes how federal, state, tribal, and local governments and communities 

are working to make the United States more resilient to the impacts of climate. The 45-

minute training was posted online in early 2016 as a part of the EPA Watershed Academy 

Web certificate program at: www.epa.gov/watershedacademy. 

• The Office of Water, in cooperation with the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), developed a 

series of upgrades to the wastewater and water elements of the Portfolio Manager

energy management system. These upgrades are designed to make the system more user 

friendly and encourage wider use of the system by water utilities. 
33

Appendix B

Office of Research and Development (ORD) 

2016 Climate Change and Water Accomplishments

Infrastructure and Water Resources Management

• ORD published the National Water Infrastructure Adaptation Assessment Part I: Climate 

Change Adaptation Readiness Analysis. The report “National Water Infrastructure 

Adaptation Assessment” is comprised of four parts (Part I to IV), each in an independent 

volume. The Part I report describes a preliminary regulatory and technical analysis of water 

infrastructure and regulations in the United States under the climate and socioeconomic 

changes. Specifically, a nation-wide assessment was conducted to analyze priority issues 

facing water and wastewater utilities.

• ORD released version 2 of the Watershed Management Optimization Tool (WMOST v2),

which evaluates the relative cost effectiveness of management practices at the local or 

watershed scale. Although the tool does not estimate water quality, it evaluates projects 

related to stormwater (including green infrastructure), water supply, wastewater, and land 

use practices such as low-impact development and land conservation. WMOST v2 was 

developed for use by local water resource managers, including municipal water works 

superintendents and their consultants.

Watersheds and Wetlands

• Based on the final ORD report on regional monitoring networks (RMNs) to detect changing 

baselines in freshwater wadeable streams, RMNs have been established in the Northeast, 

Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast. ORD researchers are working with regional offices, states, 

tribes, and other entities to establish Regional Monitoring Networks (RMNs) at which 

biological, thermal, and hydrologic data are collected to quantify and monitor climate 

change effects. Efforts are underway to expand into other regions.

• ORD and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a final report 

summarizing the findings of a series of stormwater and climate change workshops held in 

the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay. The report focuses on lessons learned about the 

impacts of climate and land-use change on water quality and precipitation-driven flooding, 

and the implications for stormwater management. The report explores stormwater 

adaptations, particularly green infrastructure or other low-impact development strategies; 

and identifies information gaps and other barriers preventing local-level consideration and 

implementation of these strategies along with some example solutions. 

• ORD partnered with the USFS and several university researchers to publish a report on

seasonal movements of juvenile salmon in a major Pacific coastal river. Variation among 

tributaries in the spatial pattern of fall movement of juvenile Coho Salmon shows that the 

functional connectivity of seasonal habitats is complex. Efforts to evaluate the connectivity 
34

of overwinter habitat in life-cycle models or plan habitat restoration or conservation are 

best served by taking into account both the network position and the physical 

characteristics of a stream over a multi-kilometer scale.

• In cooperation with a large number of universities and agencies, ORD published a review on

managing climate change refugia for climate adaptation. Refugia, are areas relatively 

buffered from contemporary climate change over time that enable persistence of valued 

physical, ecological, and socio-cultural resources. The researchers characterize physical and 

ecological processes that create and maintain climate change refugia and delineate how 

refugia can fit into existing decision support frameworks for climate adaptation and 

describe seven steps for managing them. Managing climate change refugia can be an 

important option for conservation in the face of ongoing climate change.

• A team of researchers at ORD and the University of Cincinnati published a report on the 

hydrologic impacts of climate change and urbanization in the Las Vegas Wash Watershed, 

Nevada. A cell-based model for the Las Vegas Wash Watershed in Clark County, Nevada, 

USA, was developed and used to predict the 2030 and 2050 hydrologic conditions under 

future scenarios of climate and land-use changes. Results indicate that the future surface 

runoff in the watershed will significantly decrease in winters but increase in summers. 

Climate change will be the primary controlling factor over runoff. Urban development is 

projected to increase runoff and may contribute 1.1–18.7% of the changes. This finding will 

be useful in devising future urban development plans and water management policies.

• ORD worked with Region 10, the Nooksack Indian Tribe, Lummi Nation, and Washington 

Department of Ecology to complete a project to use a temperature load allocation for the 

South Fork Nooksack River as a pilot for integrating climate change into a watershedspecific plan for improving water quality. Based on this work, ORD published a synthesis 

of information to promote capacity building in EPA Regions to incorporate climate change 

mitigation and adaption into their operating programs. 

Coastal and Ocean Waters

• ORD has developed an Adaptation Planning Framework for ecosystem management. 

Working with stakeholders in Regions 9 and 2, ORD tailored and demonstrated methods at 

coral reef case study locations. A journal article was published describing this application. 

ORD is currently building an Adaptation Design Tool for crafting climate-smart actions and is 

developing an online learning module for The Nature Conservancy’s Reef Resilience Toolkit, 

for use by managers worldwide.

• ORD worked with Regions 1 and 10 to investigate the role of nutrients from fertilizer and 

wastewater sources in accelerating the resultant changes in carbonate chemistry 

parameters in a nearshore environment. Work in Region 1 investigated impacts of coastal 

acidification on the ecological health of shellfish in Southern New England, and work in 

Region 10 examined acidification in Puget Sound. 
35

Water Quality 

• Researchers from ORD, NOAA, and Cedars Sinai Medical Center examined the 

environmental influences on the seasonal distribution of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in the 

Pacific Northwest. They investigated the potential links between seasonal temperatures and 

other environmental factors on the prevalence and virulence of vibrio associated with 

conditions that can trigger harmful algal blooms, including temperature. While vibrio is 

expected to increase in occurrence as climate change increases temperatures, the research 

suggests factors other than temperature increase alone play a role in vibrio occurrence.

• ORD published a report on the development of a hydrologic landscape (HL) 

characterization for the Pacific Northwest as a component of research to assess the 

vulnerability of regional hydrologic landscapes and streamflow to climate change. The 

revised approach developed in the current study has several advantages compared with 

previous versions: it is not limited to areas that have an aquifer permeability map; it uses a 

flexible approach to converting a nationally available geospatial dataset into assessment 

units; and it is more robust. These improvements should allow the revised HL approach to

be applied more often in situations requiring hydrologic classification and allow greater 

confidence in results, which can be used in evaluating regional hydrologic vulnerability due 

to climate change.

• ORD scientists developed a set of data estimating edge-of-field nitrogen and phosphorus 

levels for the US at the 12-digit HUC scale, for historical and possible future climate and 

crop production scenarios. The estimates were produced using a loosely-coupled suite of 

cropping, weather, air quality, and nutrient behavior models to gain an understanding of 

the dynamic interactions between crop production, changes in climate, and nutrient 

emissions, deposition, and transport, now and into the future.
36

Appendix C

2016 Climate Change Accomplishments: EPA Regional 

Water Programs

Climate change accomplishments in 2016 related to water programs by EPA Regional Offices 

are described below. Accomplishments already noted in the Regional Highlights section of this 

report, or described in Vision Area 5: Working with Tribes, are not repeated here. 

Region 1

• Region 1 worked with the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission to 

publish “Preparing for Extreme Weather at Wastewater Utilities: Strategies and Tips” a

climate preparedness guidance for water and wastewater facilities with a focus on 

preparing for extreme weather events. 

• Region 1 completed two Water Resilience Pilots in Hinsdale NH and Lawrence, MA, as part 

of the region’s Making a Visible Difference (MVD) community work. These pilots are based 

on tools developed through the national pilot with the Berwick, Maine water system. This 

work included progress on a Flood Vulnerability and Resilience Plan for Hinsdale, NH water 

system and Flood Risk Management project with Army Corps in Hinsdale, NH. 

• Region 1 supported the use of the CREAT tool to conduct vulnerability assessments for 

wastewater and drinking water utilities in Hingham/Hull, MA and Keene, NH. 

• Region 1 completed a joint emergency response/water sector workshop/tabletop exercise

with focus on flooding and water-emergency sector interconnections in Lincoln, RI. 

• Region 1 completed a Tri-State Community-based Water Resiliency workshop with water 

sector and emergency managers in Hadley, MA (for MA, NH, and VT).

• The Region worked with the Southeast Vermont Watershed Alliance to begin a citizen 

science volunteer monitoring program of stream temperature in Whetstone Brook; 

monitoring began in summer 2016.

• Region 1 continued to facilitate planning meetings with the Passamaquoddy Tribe –

Pleasant Point on climate change mitigation planning. Through these efforts, the tribe 

awarded a contract to evaluate the POTW for vulnerability to flooding and the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers initiated planning and design of the revetment to combat erosion and 

the impacts of climate change. The tribe secured an additional $600,000 in EPA and Indian 

Health Service funding.
37

• The Region continued the cross-office climate mapping workgroup’s efforts to create

intranet resources for Region 1 staff on climate adaptation and resilience mapping. The 

group also kept working on five mapping questions and analysis to focus on possible EPA 

actions and results, including analyzing climate change impacts to regulated facilities to 

support R1’s Climate Adaptation Plan (RCAP) for resilience prioritization. 

• Region 1 and ORD completed and conducted a one-day training on WMOST (Watershed 

Management Optimization Support Tool) version 2 on June 8, 2016, which includes a 

flooding module and allows greater consideration of climate change effects.

• Region 1 continued meetings of EPA and National Marine Fisheries Service interagency

workgroup, with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attending, to explore integration of climate 

preparedness and resiliency into the CWA Section 404 permitting process. EPA made 

comments to the Corps recommending inclusion of climate preparedness and resiliency 

language in the revised Connecticut General Permit.

• Under Wetland Program Development Grants, there are several projects related to climate 

change undertaken in Region 1 in FY16, including:

• The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is creating coastal hazard 

maps and developing policies for coastal wetland resilience;

• The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management is developing a program to 

monitor and assess long-term impacts of climate change on tidal marshes through the 

application of image analysis and remote sensing techniques;

• The University of Massachusetts, Amherst is making CAPS assessments and tools 

available to all the New England states to allow users to create scenarios for restoring 

aquatic connectivity (culvert replacement, dam removal);

• The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services is assisting municipalities in 

identifying and prioritizing areas that are vulnerable to climate change and areas to 

improve river crossings for habitat, public safety, and overall ecosystem function; and

• The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, in collaboration with the 

Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, is carrying out a multi-year 

project to strengthen the wetland monitoring and assessment components of state 

programs to support adaptation of wetland protection and restoration programs to 

changing climate conditions, with an emphasis on coastal wetlands.

• As federal co-chair for the Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC) in 2016, and co-chair 

of NROC’s Ocean and Coastal Ecosystem Health Committee, Region 1 continued to 

participate in a wide range of interagency efforts to collect and disseminate data on ocean 

uses and natural resources that will support climate change vulnerability assessments and 

adaptation planning (see www.northeastoceandata.org). 
38

• Region 1 continued to co-chair a steering committee that led a joint effort by NROC and the 

Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal and Ocean Observing Systems to finalize and 

release the Integrated Sentinel Monitoring Network for Change in Northeastern Marine 

and Estuarine Ecosystems Science and Implementation Plan. The steering committee and 

partners have begun to strategize on funding sources for implementation. 

• Region 1 worked with ORD and the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program to complete

RARE (Regional Applied Research Effort) and RESES (Regional Sustainable Environmental 

Science) climate change projects for the Mattapoisett Water System and other watershed 

communities in Massachusetts. These projects consisted of a vulnerability assessment of 

the drinking water system, as well as development of vulnerability communication tools, 

such as a Story Map depicting historical and projected hurricane impacts. 

• Region 1 continued to provide support to the six New England National Estuary Programs 

(NEPs) to assess the vulnerability of their study areas to the impacts of climate change

and to promote actions that prioritize adaptation and resilience in their Comprehensive 

Conservation Management Plans (CCMPs).

• The Casco Bay Estuary Partnership completed a Climate Change Risk Assessment Report, 

which identifies climate risks of primary concern for the implementation of the Casco Bay 

Plan (CCMP) in the short (10-20 years) and medium (30-40 years) term.

• Region 1 continued to participate on the Northeast Coastal Acidification Network (NECAN) 

Steering Committee to help coordinate research and management of coastal acidification 

issues, including a final stakeholder workshop conducted and held in partnership with Casco 

Bay Estuary Partnership focusing on controlling nutrients. 

• The Casco Bay ocean acidification sensors are in the second year of operation, and a first 

year data report has been completed. Additional ocean acidification sensors are being 

established in Massachusetts Bay and Long Island Sound, with funding provided by the

Office of Water through the National Estuary Program. 

• A draft Practical Monitoring Guidance for measuring changes in seawater pH has been

completed by Region 1, and will be reviewed by EPA technical reviewers as well as NECAN.

• Two Regional Applied Research Efforts (RARE) projects occurred in FY16, one investigating 

impacts of coastal acidification on the ecological health of shellfish in Southern New 

England and the other focused on eelgrass and Blue Carbon to determine if eutrophication 

negatively effects ecosystem function and carbon accretion in eel grass meadows.

• The Region continued to serve on the steering committee of the U.S. Geological Survey 

Northeast Climate Science Center and the Department of Interior’s North Atlantic 

Landscape Conservation Cooperative (NALCC) to identify key research needs for effects of 

climate induced changes on thermal regimes.
39

• As part of the settlement of a lawsuit over EPA’s approval of TMDLs for nitrogen-impaired 

embayment’s on Cape Cod, EPA completed a feasibility study for how to address climate 

change for those and future nitrogen TMDLs on the Cape. EPA has also approved eight 

new sets of Cape Cod embayment TMDLs for nitrogen since the settlement.

• EPA approved a revised TMDL for phosphorous loading to Lake Champlain that takes into 

consideration climate change impacts through the TMDL’s Implementation Plan. The 

TMDL Implementation Plan includes appropriate selection and sizing of infrastructure and 

other practices to account for climate change impacts.

• The Region awarded a Healthy Communities grant for the Merrimack watershed (in Nashua, 

NH) to conduct a regional vulnerability assessment and draft climate change action 

strategy; work should be completed in early FY17. 

• The Region held a state-federal workshop to further the protection of buffers to streams, 

wetlands, lakes and ponds. Climate change considerations was a significant driver in our 

discussions and the format of the agenda.

• Region 1 continued to update and promote the publicly available version of the Region’s 

new Resilience and Adaptation in New England (RAINE) data base, 

(http://www.epa.gov/raine) an on-line tool showcasing communities that have conducted 

vulnerability assessments and climate adaptation planning. 

Region 2

• Region 2 hosted two one-day CREAT Workshops in Belmar, NJ in August, 2016 with over 50 

participants attending. It was the EPA’s first workshop for CREAT 3.0 and served as a 

preliminary run for future trainings nationwide. 

• The Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center (WIRFC) announced in January, 

2016 that South Orange Village, NJ will participate in the Center’s newly created 

Community Assistance for Resiliency and Excellence (WaterCARE) pilot program . 

• The Syracuse University Environmental Finance Center annually receives a grant from EPA 

that helps fund its environmental activities. Recent activities include releasing the 2016 

Field Guide of Financial Support for Capital Projects in New York State, hosting a Risk, 

Resiliency, and Managing Your Assets Workshop in Syracuse, NY, and conducting webinars

for small water systems including “Rural Water Resiliency through Watershed and 

Roadway-Stream Intersection Management” and “Financing Resilient Communities.”

• Region 2 hosted Community Based Water Resiliency Tools workshops and events in 

Trenton, NJ and a Drinking Water Tabletop Exercise in Newburgh, NY to test the 
40

communities’ and government partner’s ability to handle emergencies that impact their 

water systems. 

• The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act (DRAA) provided $570 million for drinking water and 

wastewater resiliency projects in areas in New Jersey and the lower 14 counties of New 

York State that were severely impacted by Superstorm Sandy. Work is ongoing until 2021 

for eligible projects whose purpose is to reduce flood damage risk and vulnerability or to 

enhance resiliency to rapid hydrologic change or a natural disaster. 

• EPA Region 2 has been involved in Superstorm Sandy Recovery efforts through the New 

York-New Jersey Federal Leadership Resilience Collaborative and Technical Coordination 

Teams. Projects and issues these teams focused on include rebuilding/protecting water and 

wastewater treatment plants, coastal stabilization studies and restoration, living 

breakwaters, wetland restoration projects, flood mapping, infrastructure funding programs, 

and Rebuild by Design projects.

• EPA Region 2 has been working with local, state and federal partners on coastal resiliency 

efforts including: 

• the construction of a tall bulkhead along Reynolds Channel in Long Beach, NY;

• the development of the Long Slip and Rail Enhancement Project in Hoboken, NJ;

• the review of the Mid-Island Bluebelt Drainage Plan which proposes to construct a 

buried seawall/armored levee in Staten Island to reduce storm risk; and

• coordination on Rebuild by Design projects in the Meadowlands (NJ), Staten Island 

(NY), and along the Hudson River that include strategies whose purpose is to reduce 

flood hazard risks (see http://www.rebuildbydesign.org/our-work/sandy-projects).

• Region 2 and the Office of Water provided technical assistance to evaluate and improve 

existing city business processes in order to streamline the development and 

implementation of green infrastructure (GI) in Newark, NJ. In April, 2016, the contractor 

presented 10 key components to a successful GI program based upon reviews of the NYC, 

Philadelphia and Seattle GI programs, which include standardized GI project designs and 

dedicated funding sources. 

• EPA Region 2 placed greater focus on enforcement and inspections of facilities in floodprone areas by targeting industries in FEMA 100-year flood zones. A map developed using 

EPA’s GeoPlatform and ECHO (Enforcement and Compliance History Online) and state 

databases was used by inspectors to identify facility locations in relation to flood zones.

• A Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant was awarded to the State University of New York 

College at Brockport to study long term changes in Lake Ontario and Upper St. Lawrence 

River coastal wetlands using historical aerial photos.
41

• The Rockland County Task Force worked with The Rockland Water Coalition and EPA’s 

WaterSense program to identify conservation opportunities and supply alternatives which 

will ensure a safe, cost-effective, long-term water supply for Rockland County in lieu of 

constructing a proposed desalinization plant.

• A dozen organizations and municipalities joined the EPA's WaterSense promotional 

partnership family in 2016.

• EPA staff conducted WaterSense outreach by presenting Climate Resiliency Through 

WaterSense at the New York State American Water Works Association’s Spring Water Event 

on “Climate Resiliency Through WaterSense” and at the Risk, Resiliency, and Managing Your 

Assets Workshop for Small Water Systems held at the Center for Excellence in Syracuse, NY. 

• Regional Wetland Program Development Grants that were awarded in FY15-16 are in 

progress and are projected to be completed in 2017 or 2018. The grants were given to:

• the Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute (of the NJ Sports and Exposition 

Authority) to examine greenhouse gas exchange and carbon sequestration 

potential throughout the Meadowlands to inform wetland preservation and 

mitigation decisions;

• the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to develop core indicators of 

wetland vulnerability to storm water disturbance and prepare preliminary 

guidelines for storm water management to better protect downstream wetlands;

• the Barnegat Bay Program of Ocean County College, partnering with Partnership for 

the Delaware Estuary, to develop methods to evaluate the progress of tidal wetland 

restoration projects, compare restoration to regional tidal wetland conditions and 

use these data to improve restoration practices and success; and

• the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to facilitate web access to 

coastal wetland reference data, determine reference baselines to enable evaluations 

of impacts and change, and expand its network of surface elevation table stations to

monitor coastal marsh trends in elevation. 

• During the Triennial Review of state water quality standards, Region 2 will continue to 

work with our states to identify ways to better integrate climate change considerations into 

water quality standards.

• Region 2 and ORD collaborated to create a Triple Value (3V) systems and sustainability 

model for Suffolk County Nutrient (Nitrogen) issues that incorporates coastal resiliency 

and sustainability in the face of a changing climate. Region 2 and ORD lead this local 

stakeholder driven effort which in 2016 included multiple stakeholder meetings, webinars, 

and teleconferences and resulted in a conceptual model of the environmental, social and 

economic system in Suffolk County, NY. 
42

• The Climate Ready Estuaries program funded a FY2016 EPA-Long Island Sound Study (LISS) 

project which is evaluating remote sensing imagery for various biogeochemical properties 

(e.g., phytoplankton, sediments, and sea surface temperature) in Long Island Sound. The 

data will be used to develop a climatology model and assess the spatial patterns of biomass 

and the relationships between temperature and chlorophyll in this region. 

• In 2016, the Long Island Sound Study's website added new web pages to assist academic 

institutions, non-governmental organizations and others who are interested in 

understanding a computer model's predictions on how salt marshes in Long Island Sound 

may to respond to sea level rise. 

• The Long Island Sound Study’s revised habitat restoration database went online on the 

Long Island Sound Study (LISS) website (www.lisshabitatrestoration.com). LISS also created 

a new website, The Climate Change in Long Island Sound: A Long Island Sound Resource 

Guide, to help Long Island Sound stakeholders learn more about climate change issues that 

can impact Long Island Sound (www.lissclimatechange.net).

• The New York – New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program (HEP) has undertaken a climate 

change vulnerability assessment which will be based on a series of multi-layered 

engagement and listening sessions convened in support to the development of its 2016-

2021 Action Plan. 

• The New York – New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program (HEP) is coordinating USEPA’s 

Climate Change Capacity Building in Three Estuaries of National Significance project with 

the Association of National Estuary Programs (ANEP) and will work with local partners to 

build capacity for climate change adaptation in disadvantaged communities. The project’s 

goals are to engage these communities in understanding and adapting to the risks posed by 

an increased incidence of coastal storms and rising sea levels and build the local capacity 

and means of improving community resiliency while protecting natural resources and 

enhancing ecosystem services. 

• The Barnegat Bay Program and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary is working with 

partners on the Blue Carbon Storage in Natural Estuarine Wetlands and Living Shorelines 

of Delaware and New Jersey project to evaluate the carbon dioxide mitigation benefits 

provided by natural and restores coastal wetlands in Delaware and New Jersey. 

• The Barnegat Bay Program’s (BBP) Coastal Wetlands Assessment project continues to 

assess Barnegat Bay’s coastal wetlands and shorelines and their response to sea level rise 

and accelerated shoreline erosion. BBP is providing technical input to New Jersey 

Department of Environmental Protection in the development of a standardized set of 

coastal restoration monitoring metrics.
43

• The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary received approval for its Quality Assurance 

Program Plan and drafted the experimental design for the Regional Applied Research Effort 

grant to improve tidal marsh shoreline restoration tactics to enhance ribbed mussel 

densities, sizes, and spatial coverage. The project goal is to improve the success of tidal 

marsh restoration efforts and concurrently improve water quality ecosystem services in 

those restorations through establishing ribbed mussel populations.

• The San Juan Bay and Estuary Program (SJBEP) was the first National Estuary Program to 

complete and implement the Climate Ready Estuaries workbook entitled “Prepared for 

Climate Change: A Workbook for Developing Risk-Based Adaptation Plans” in 2015. To 

follow up on this effort, in 2016 SJBEP was able to publish Puerto Rico’s first climate 

change community guide which is being used in schools, communities, and educational 

activities to explain in simple terms the complex issues of climate change.

• EPA Region 2 continues to participate in the Caribbean Regional Ocean Partnership (CROP) 

which focuses on coastal and marine planning issues and the Puerto Rico Climate Change 

Council (PRCCC), which has been very important in ensuring that climate change 

vulnerabilities were included latest Land-Use Plan (LUP) for Puerto Rico. 

Region 3

• A Mid-Atlantic Regional Stream Monitoring Network (RMN) to detect climate change

effects in streams has been established in the Mid-Atlantic in coordination with Region III’s 

aquatic biology team in Wheeling, WV and ORD and includes participation from Region 2 

(New Jersey) and Region states (i.e.; Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and 

Virginia); the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and the Delaware River Basin 

Commission , and Fairfax County, VA. Overall, the goal of the RMNs is to help the Agency 

respond to climate change by monitoring changes in biological indicators, informing climate 

change vulnerability assessments, developing statistical models to project future changes in 

stream condition, and providing insights on how organisms respond to and recover from 

extreme weather events. 

• Region 3 partnered with the West Virginia Region II Planning & Development Council, 

Huntington, WV, and other parties to develop a winning proposal securing $40,000 for 

incorporating green infrastructure into local hazard mitigation planning. The funding will 

be used to develop a guide for the Huntington, WV Region on how to incorporate GI into 

hazard mitigation plans making GI eligible for FEMA mitigation funds. This project will also 

serve as a national pilot for GI in hazard mitigation. The project team was also able to 

develop a successful US Army Corps of Engineers Silver Jackets proposal which will bring 

over $100,000 of additional support to this effort.

• 2016 was another successful year for the Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns effort. 

Seventeen grants were awarded totaling $803,489 in funding provided by EPA ($515,000) 
44

and the Chesapeake Bay Trust ($288,489). These funds have been matched with over $5.80

million in local funding. EPA dollars have been leveraged $11.86 to $1 (nearly 12-1) and the 

combined EPA-CBT dollars have been leveraged $7.25 to $1.00 (more than 7-1). 

• Through Office of Sustainable Communities funding, EPA Region 3 coordinated with the city 

of Norfolk to convene a Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Green and Complete 

Streets workshop for community members and various city departments in Norfolk in 

March 28 and 29, 2016. Norfolk sees green streets as a way to incorporate green 

infrastructure to manage stormwater and reduce pollution, reduce flooding, increase green 

space and reduce demand on the city’s stormwater drainage system which is integral to 

their plans to address resilience and prepare for sea level rise. 

• The Region 3 Office of Infrastructure Assistance: 

• conducted 3 Energy Audit Courses to audiences of Bay Watershed treatment plant 

operators;

• conducted training and onsite visits promoting energy saving solutions and optimization 

opportunities resulting is a potential energy savings of 1,565,580kWh/year or 1,054 

metric tons of CO2; 

• worked with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Assessment Centers to conduct 

4 energy audits in the MD and VA Chesapeake Bay watersheds;

• made 2 presentations on Energy and Optimization; and

• conducted training courses on Do It Yourself (DIY) Energy Audit Course and 3hr Energy –

The Math Behind the Savings.

• The Region 3 State Revolving Fund (SRF) All-States Meeting in April 2016 covers 1.5 days of 

presentations on various topics of interest to the State SRF Program Managers. This year’s 

meeting included the following presentations directly related to climate change concerns: 

• a proposed HQ’s $70 million drinking water/energy project;

• EPA-Region 3’s Optimization Work (technical articles, energy audits, operating training);

• Talbot County, MD wind turbine project; and

• EPA-HQ Repowering Program (EPA maintains a database of sites available for solar panels 

or wind turbines that are within 1 mile of water and wastewater facilities and utilities

interested in renewable energy sources that lack adequate space).

• As part of the annual SRF Program reviews conducted in FFY 2016, the Office of 

Infrastructure and Assistance (OIA) held discussions with each State CWSRF and DWSRF 

State Management that updated the previous year’s discussion of the 14 page “SRF 

Sustainability Conversation Guide” dated August 13, 2014. Topics that were discussed with 

State SRF managers included: asset management, user rate structures, green infrastructure, 

decentralized wastewater systems, energy efficiency, renewable energy, water efficiency, 

water audits, water reuse, climate change, climate-related planning, climate resilience, and 

recovering from extreme weather events. 
45

• Beginning in FY2016, EPA began counting the number of State CWSRF and DWSRF 

Programs that provide incentives to water and wastewater facilities to incorporate 

potential climate change impacts or strategies for building resilience to extreme events in 

new or revised facility plans. For example, Pennsylvania’s SRF program offers the following 

incentives for water and wastewater infrastructure projects: 

• PENNVEST’s outreach and marketing efforts include a discussion on the need to address 

potential climate change impacts;

• all costs associated with addressing potential climate change impacts are eligible as part 

of a CWSRF loan; 

• a borrower may use up to $25,000 of approved budget to develop an asset 

management plan; and

• the CWSRF priority ranking system awards additional points for borrowers that already 

have an asset management plan or are developing one as part of its project. 

• The Office of State and Watershed Partnerships has been working with Newport News to 

bring together the City and the Newport News Public Schools to discuss the City’s 

stormwater requirements (MS4 Phase I Permit) and how NNPSs can support the City in 

complying with their MS4 permit by installing green infrastructure practices on school 

grounds. The green infrastructure practices can then be integrated in the NNPSs 

educational curriculum to support the environmental literacy goals of the Chesapeake Bay 

Agreement. 

• The Regional Office of Drinking Water and Source Water Protection held it semi-annual 

meeting (via conference call) with the states and Basin Commissions to discuss source 

water protection (SWP). Topics included FY15 SWP performance measures and FY16 

commitments, SWP funding opportunities, climate change adaptation, harmful algal 

bloom monitoring and economic impacts, EPA's Drinking Water Mapping Application tool, 

and upcoming SWP workshops.

• A series of seminars on Biochar were presented by external speakers to approximately 50 

Superfund Remedial Project Managers from the Hazardous Site Cleanup Division (HSCD). 

Biochar is essentially a charcoal carbon-rich solid produced by heating biomass in the 

absence of oxygen. ORD research has demonstrated that biochar can help our soils 

mitigate and adapt to climate change by sequestering carbon and improving infiltration 

and water holding capacity, respectively. It can help make contaminants less mobile and 

available and help establish vegetation on degraded sites.

• EPA Region 3 hosted a NOAA-led training on Climate Adaptation for Coastal Communities.

The event was attended by EPA staff from Region2 and 3, FEMA, USACOE, and other local 

officials. 

• Region 3 hosted a water and climate change for internal training of employees. Attendees 

learned about climate change networks and organization in Region 3; programs and 
46

priorities in the Office of Water; and resources and tools available for incorporation of 

climate change into water program work.

• Regions 2 and 3 have continued to support the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE)

including the following climate related activities: 

• PDE has continued to promote living shorelines, enabling installation of 350 feet of living 

shorelines to build climate resilience;

• PDE continued to hold Climate Outreach Roundtable meetings which foster 

collaboration and aid in resource sharing, providing a sounding board for new climate 

change outreach initiatives and efforts in the estuary watershed; and

• PDE capitalized on the initial Weathering Change outreach effort by fostering 

engagement with communities in resilience planning efforts. 

• Region 3 continues to assist the Chesapeake Bay Program Office (CBPO) on implementation 

of the Climate Resiliency workplan that includes integration of climate considerations into 

Chesapeake Bay restoration.

• Region 3 scientists are working with EPA ORD to assess implications of climate change on 

wetland ecosystems. The Wetland and Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Project 

has completed a phase 1 report, detailing hydrologic modeling concepts for detecting water 

budget changes in wetlands and watersheds. A second phase of the project is evaluating

methods in pilot watersheds in Region 3 that would help practitioners and managers take 

into account climate change considerations in state and regional programs.

Region 4 

• Region 4 assisted six school districts, which represented approximately 500 schools in the 

metropolitan Atlanta area, to develop best management practices, internal water usage 

benchmarking and retrofitting plans. Region 4 also provided the Roman Catholic 

Archdiocese of Atlanta with best management practices that can positively impact water 

stewardship in their parishes and facilities in North and Central Georgia.

• Region 4 hosted a meeting with State Ground Water and Source Water Protection 

coordinators in July 2016. At the meeting, Region 4 provided hands on demonstrations and 

discussion of the capabilities of the Drinking Water Mapping Application to Protect Source 

Waters (DWMAPS) mapping tool as well as having expert discussions on harmful algal 

blooms and their control and treatment.

• Region 4 supported the EPA Healthy Watersheds Program in several ways: 

• reviewed, ranked and provided comments to EPA Headquarters on applications from 

throughout Region 4 for the newly implemented Healthy Watersheds Consortium Grant;
47

• led a discussion on opportunities to integrate healthy watersheds into other water 

quality protection and restoration programs, as part of our Ecosystem Protection 

Webinar Series; and

• coordinated with the Southeastern Partnership for Forests and Water to help them 

build support for drinking water and source water protection in the southeast.

• With the help of a Region 4 wetlands grant, the Governors South Atlantic Alliance hosted 

the South Atlantic Living Shorelines Summit. The purpose of the Summit was to share 

information on the management, research, regulation, and implementation of living 

shorelines in the South Atlantic region, building knowledge and relationships that expand 

the use of appropriate stabilization alternatives to traditional shoreline hardening. 

Researchers, regulators and policymakers, property owners and managers, planners, 

contractors, and non-profit organizations were all invited to attend and benefit from the 

expertise and networking opportunities at the Summit.

• A study completed by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program in partnership with EPA and Restore 

Americas Estuaries (RAE) highlighted the role of Tampa Bay coastal habitats (seagrass, 

mangroves and salt marshes) in removing carbon from atmosphere. The data and 

modeling will help Tampa Bay coastal managers adapt to rising seas and identify priority 

restoration sites. The Tampa-specific carbon sequestration data also presents an added 

opportunity to use market incentives to foster support for restoration efforts.

• Region 4 funded a new Urban Waters Small Grant in the Proctor Creek Watershed in 

Atlanta, Georgia with The Conservation Fund - "Addressing Stormwater Runoff through 

Community-Driven Green Infrastructure Projects in the Headwaters of Proctor Creek." The 

Conservation Fund (TCF) plans to expand community engagement for two upcoming green 

infrastructure projects through a series of educational charrettes, community tours of GI 

demonstration sites and flood-prone areas.

Region 5

• Region 5 implemented a regional monitoring network (RMN) for wadeable streams with 

several tribes and states monitoring 16 stream sites for the RMN. Streams are being 

sampled for continuous temperature and water level and annual sampling of 

macroinvertebrates. The goal of this work is to determine how climate and other 

phenomena are affecting stream water quality over the long term. The data will also 

provide tribes and states with a valuable dataset on reference sites which will enhance 

Clean Water Act assessment capabilities in the region.

• Region 5 is currently in discussions with tribes and states to develop and implement a 

regional monitoring network for inland lakes. Indicators are currently undecided but will 

include ice on/ice off dates, vertical temperature profiling, and water level tracking. The 
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goal of this network is similar to those of the streams RMN. The hope is that this new RMN 

will be implemented beginning in 2017.

• Region 5 promoted the Water Utility Response On-the-Go mobile website that provides 

water and wastewater utilities with critical, real-time information on impending severe 

weather events including weather tracking, contact details for local and state response 

partners, rip-and-run action lists specific to several types of extreme weather events, a 

field-based means for documenting damage, and key Incident Command System response 

forms. 

• The Region also promoted new Water Sector Incident Action Checklists providing outline 

critical measures that drinking water and wastewater utility personnel can take immediately 

before, during, and after an emergency to protect their systems. Ten incident types are 

highlighted, including drought, earthquake, extreme cold, extreme heat, flooding, 

hurricane, tornado, tsunami, volcanic activity and wildfire. 

• Region 5 worked with EPA HQ to conduct the Ohio Emergency Response and Recovery 

Exercise for the Water and Wastewater Sector as well as a Community Based Water 

Resiliency Tool workshop for the Wisconsin Rural Water Association.

• Region 5 continued to promote the Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network 

(WARN) in the region and specifically in Illinois during the ILWARN tabletop exercise.

• Region 5 drinking water program initiated a technical assistance contract with a provider 

to offer assistance to tribal water utilities in Wisconsin and Minnesota that includes 

activities related to climate adaptation such as source water protection, water efficiency 

and energy efficiency. 

Region 6

• EPA Region 6 continues to host a Region 6 Water Division intranet site addressing drought 

issues at: http://region6.epa.gov/intranet/6wq/drought/drought_index.html. This site 

provides centralized links to current resources on and contains information on the latest 

drought news, states’ drought plans, water conservation resources, WaterSense, climate 

change issues, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lake and River Conditions, the Electric 

Reliability Council of Texas, and city water programs for the major cities in Region 6.

• Region 6 promoted energy efficiency by conducting two energy management workshops 

for water and wastewater utilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, and conducted an 

energy management webinar. 

• Region 6 and the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) are planning an 

energy management workshop to assist water and wastewater utilities, focusing on the 

U.S.-Mexico Border area, in 2017.
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• In partnership with the Office of Water, Water Security Division, a CREAT 3.0 (Climate 

Resilience Evaluating and Assessment Tool) workshop was held at the City of Houston

Permitting Center on February 1-2, 2016 and engaged water utility operators, planners, 

technical assistance providers, and consultants from across Texas. During the workshop 

Region 6 also provided a presentation on resiliency financing for water utilities.

• Region 6 recruited thirteen WaterSense partners as part of a regional water efficiency and 

conservation campaign. Region 6 has 173 WaterSense Partners. Region 6 also supported 

partnerships with states, tribes, municipalities, non-profit organizations, and businesses to 

promote the WaterSense program throughout 2016 including:

• Fix a Leak Week; 

• Earth Day activities; 

• National Drinking Water Week; 

• Regional Sustainability Day; 

• Smart Irrigation Month; 

• Dallas-Fort Worth Irrigation Professional Workshop; 

• SepticSmart Week; 

• Shower Better Month; and

• recruitment, outreach, media support, and presentations at various Region 6 

meetings and events. 

• In conjunction with The Nature Conservancy, the Coast Bend Bays and Estuaries Program 

completed a regional climate change vulnerability assessment, which will be factored into 

a forthcoming revision of the comprehensive Coastal Bend Bays Plan. 

• The Coast Bays and Estuary Program continued efforts to monitor and evaluate the effects 

of climate change on relative sea level, water quality, seagrass and other coastal resources.

• Region 6 managed the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Action’s 

(CWPPRA) “Bayou Dupont Sediment Delivery - Marsh Creation #3 and Terracing Project,” 

and completed the marsh creation component. This resulted in 137 acres restored in the 

Barataria Basin of Louisiana to help adapt to rising sea levels. Particularly noteworthy are

innovations in construction planning that resulted in time and cost savings through 

coordination with restoration projects in the same area that were managed by other 

agencies. All of these projects were designed to function synergistically around an initial 

EPA-managed Bayou Dupont marsh restoration project. In total, approximately 1,680 acres 

of the Bayou Dupont marsh area have been restored since 2010.

• Region 6 advanced engineering and design work on two barrier headland projects for an 

area of Louisiana’s Barataria Bay coastline where shoreline migration rates have averaged 

41 feet per year over the last century. These two projects are expected to restore 373 

acres of back barrier intertidal marsh and nourish 456 acres of emergent marsh using 

dredged material pumped from the Gulf of Mexico. 
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• The Region provided policy and technical assistance to ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil spill 

coastal ecosystem restoration efforts organized through the NRDA and RESTORE programs. 

Staff were invited by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and the Louisiana Coastal 

Protection and Restoration Authority to work a year in advance on planning for the State of 

the Coast conference, held in June 2016. This is a key coastal conference for Louisiana and 

the Gulf coast and it makes a significant contribution to the field of sea level rise 

adaptation and coastal resiliency.

• Region 6 coastal program staff developed an applied demonstration of conceptual blue 

carbon models by using existing coastal habitat restoration acreage data from 2014 -2015 

Region 6 National Estuary Program and CWPPRA projects. The data was translated into 

estimates of sequestered atmospheric carbon for each project, applying values from the 

“Methodology for Tidal Wetland and Seagrass Restoration,” which was approved in late 

2015 by the Verified Carbon Standard. The project concept was incorporated and expanded 

upon in the 2016 “Tampa Bay Blue Carbon Assessment.” Training is now being developed 

for the National Estuary Programs by Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE) on how to apply 

blue carbon principles to calculate sequestered carbon for coastal restoration projects.

• The Housing and Urban Development Resiliency competition announced in 2015 the award

to the City of New Orleans of $141 million for a variety of activities that include coastal 

restoration and supporting the Gentilly Neighborhood in planning, development and 

implementation of a more resilient community. EPA through the Urban Waters federal

Partnership will support the local co-leads, City of New Orleans and Sewage and Water 

Board staffers, in planning for up-coming community meetings/workshops as needed. EPA 

will support any project work that can incorporate Green Infrastructure into any new 

revitalization or redevelopment scoped in storm water management.

• Region 6’s Tribal Drinking Water Team added a climate-related question to the Sanitary 

Survey. This has served the dual purpose of both initiating a climate change discussion with 

tribal operators and leadership and gauging the baseline of climate comprehension and 

preparedness in tribal drinking water utilities. 

• Region 6 participated in the annual South Central Climate Science Center Stakeholder 

Advisory Committee (SC CSC) meeting on November 7, 2016. Additionally, Region 6 helped 

make climate science and adaptation opportunities and practices accessible to the public as 

a significant contributor of knowledge about climate communication to the SC CSC.

• A Sustainability Workgroup for employees in Region 6 was formed. This workgroup allows 

Region 6 employees to increase collaboration and communication while decreasing 

duplication of climate-related efforts. This monthly workgroup additionally engages 

members and provides a forum for members to brainstorm and discuss current climate 

change work and research. The Sustainability Workgroup was a core component of the 

planning team for Region 6’s Sustainability Day.
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• The Region implemented a survey of Region 6 employees in order to gather information 

about what areas of climate change adaptation education and training need to be 

prioritized and to promote the new Watershed Academy training, “Climate Change and 

Water Resources”. 

• The Region worked with the Good Neighbor Environmental Board (GNEB), to develop and 

transmit to the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) a report on climate 

change and its impacts along the US-Mexico Border. The report identifies the 

environmental and health effects specific to the border region and outlines existing 

programs and resources to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Based on these findings, 

the GNEB made recommendations on steps necessary to continue support for programs 

and initiatives already targeted at alleviating the effects of climate change. 

Region 7

• Region 7 has encouraged all regional states that implement the Clean Water and Drinking 

Water State Revolving Funds to incorporate climate change considerations into their

intended use plans and priority point systems.

• In the Fall of 2016, Region 7 coordinated with EPA Headquarters' Water Security Division, 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the 

Iowa Homeland Security and Iowa Department of Natural Resources to have discussions 

about flood resilience with water and/or wastewater facilities in Hopkinton, Charles City,

and Ogden, Iowa. Each of the communities discussed their utility's vulnerability to flooding 

as well as previous flood damage. In turn, EPA and the state partners provided tools 

available for flood mitigation as well as an onsite inspection of the facility

• Region 7 encouraged green infrastructure through participating in discussions with our 

federal partners such as HUD and the General Services Administration. Over 5 federal 

agencies that are a part of the Federal Executive Board Sustainability Committee attended a 

green infrastructure tour of the regional office and follow up discussions about other 

federal offices in the region that also include these practices.

• The green infrastructure coordinators in Region 7 met with each Water Division program to 

learn about their intersection with and knowledge of GI. They then planned, organized, and 

hosted the Water Division GI training on May 19th, 2016. Presentations were on urban 

waters, climate change, wetlands, stormwater, state revolving funds, and other crossprogram GI applications. 

• In a cross-EPA effort, Region 7 worked with the ORD and Headquarters to pilot an EPA 

Green Infrastructure Technical Assistance Program in the Region. The goal of the project is 

to estimate changes in air quality and/or emissions reductions due to trees, green streets 

and green roofs in the Kansas City Region.
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• A Net Zero project in Region 7 is geared toward helping the bases and communities become 

more sustainable and resilient with an emphasis on taking a systems approach. One of 

these projects is focused on a green infrastructure demonstration project and outreach in 

Fort Riley, KS. 

• Region 7 traveled to Johnston, IA for the Iowa Silver Jackets quarterly meeting and 

discussed the drinking water and wastewater flood resiliency projects with EPA Water 

Security, FEMA, USACE and Iowa state partners (Homeland Security and Department of 

Natural Resources).

• Region 7 is a working group member for the federal Partners in Mitigation and Resilience. 

EPA hosted the over 40 federal partners in January for a discussion on climate change 

programs at each agency. 

• The Region assisted with the development of flood resiliency workshop modules for state 

partners related to economic development, ecosystem services, and water quality. Over 50 

state and federal employees attended the workshop. The region also stayed to participate 

at the Cooperating Technical Partners Rendezvous at FEMA.

• Region 7 continues to participate in federal partnerships such as the Missouri Basin federal

Climate Collaboration and as a member of the Joint Stakeholder Committee for the North 

Central Climate Science Center. 

• The Midwest Drought Early Warning System meeting was hosted in St. Louis, MO in 2016. 

Region 7 was a panel member with other federal agencies. The agencies discussed EPA 

climate change programs and research on drought initiatives.

• Region 7 held a 3rd Enhancing State and Tribal Program’s Workshop for the states and 

tribes. Region 7 had a total of 38 participants from Kickapoo Nation, Santee Sioux Nation, 

Meskwaki Nation, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri (Regions 7, 8, 9, HQ).

There were 14 presentations focused on Climate Change, Wetland Restoration, CWA 

Section 401, Wetland Water Quality Standards, and Wetland Monitoring and Assessment.

• Region 7 participated in a panel during the meeting of the Indigenous Peoples Climate 

Change Working Group at Haskell Indian Nation University in September. Region 7 

continues to work with Haskell as well as new partners (e.g. NASA’s climate change 

programs). 

• The Region developed a harmful algal bloom action plan, communication plan, and 

sampling protocol using the guidance from the EPA document, Recommendations for Public 

Water Systems to Manage Cyanotoxins in Drinking Water. These plans were developed in 

order to respond to requests for assistance by tribal and state partners. 
53

• Region 7 participates in the Clean Water Act Section 303(d) program national workgroup 

who meets regularly, looking at options and considerations for climate change within the 

303(d) program particularly within Total Maximum Daily Loads. 

• Region 7 recruited 2 new WaterSense Partners to further water efficiency and conservation 

efforts; Bridging the Gap and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. 

• On March 2, 2016, Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities hosted a conference on Advanced 

Water Treatment in Ankeny, Iowa. Region 7 presented on sustainability and power 

resiliency for drinking water systems. 

• Region 7 continues to partner with the Central Plains Climate Change Monitoring Network to 

develop a climate change regional monitoring network by deploying remote sensors on 

Central Plains streams. The Region is also beginning an effort to expand the network with 

the participation of EPA Region 5 and 6 offices and their states and tribes.

• On May 18 2016, a Flood Resiliency Training was co-sponsored by EPA and the Iowa Rural 

Water Association in Newton, Iowa. Region 7 participated with about 40 water and/or 

wastewater operators and utility managers. The Water Security Division contractor 

provided detailed information about how to use the EPA’s climate resiliency tools. 

• On May 22, 2016, a Drought Resiliency Training was co-sponsored by the City of Monett, 

EPA, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources in Monett, MO. Region 7 

participated with about 35 water and/or wastewater operators and utility managers. The 

workshop featured information on the American Water Works Association (AWWA) water 

loss guide and EPA’s Drought Response and Recovery: A Basic Guide for Utilities and EPA’s 

Control and Mitigation of Drinking Water Loss in Distribution Systems Guide.

• On September 1st, Region 7 staff participated in the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Tournament in 

Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This tournament was sponsored by the Army Corp of Engineers with 

assistance from various federal and state agencies. The focus was on climate events in the 

Cedar River watershed and what preventative and resiliency measures the communities in 

the watershed could take based on funding levels. There were about 50 participants from 

federal, state, local agencies/governments and other organizations.

• In September 2016, climate issues, drought, temperature increases, and flooding were 

discussed at the State/EPA Region 6-10 Workshop in Denver Colorado. 

• As part of the Middle Blue Urban Waters Federal Partnership, a climate forest matrix with 

US Forest Service was created. Region 7 and our partners are currently drafting a 5-year 

Blue River Action Plan that is informed by the Climate Forest Matrix.

• Region 7 worked with USACE, Section 404 programs to incorporate climate change impacts 

in permits, compensation plans and draft EIS documents.
54

• Region 7 contributed to the development of the joint EPA-USGS document “Final EPA–USGS 

Technical Report: Protecting Aquatic Life from Effects of Hydrologic Alteration.”

• To increase outreach to high school students, Region 7 presented on climate change and 

led a watershed activity with students from a Liberty, MO high school. The students 

developed projects to educate elementary students on climate change and presented their 

results on December 15th to Region 7, federal partners, and other community members. 

• Friends of the Kaw, an Environmental Justice Small Grant recipient in Region 7, has a project 

called KAW Curriculum (Kids About Water: An Issues and Action Approach to Water Quality 

Education). Student interns are selected from local schools such as Wyandotte and Harmon 

High School. They will attend community events where they will teach about climate 

change and water quality to adults.

• In February 2016, Region 7 presented on climate change drinking water tools at the Kansas 

Municipal Utility conference in Newton, KS.

Region 8

• Region 8 and Headquarters worked with two Colorado communities to implement pilot 

projects using EPA’s Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT) in 2016: 1) 

the Evergreen Metropolitan District/Bear Creek Watershed Association (Aurora, CO), and 2) 

the City of Ft. Collins, CO. The communities received training and technical assistance in 

using CREAT to better plan for the effects of climate change and to provide information to 

make their facilities more resilient. 

• Region 8 initiated discussions with State Source Water Protection Programs and State 

Rural Water Association source water specialists on the potential impacts that climate 

change may have on small water utilities and potential tools EPA has available to help with 

climate resiliency planning. There was consensus that the CREAT tool would be beneficial to 

small community water systems, who are among the most vulnerable to changes from 

climate change but lack the technical capacity to implement the tools. The region continues 

to explore options for providing technical assistance to these groups in the future. 

• Region 8 and Headquarters provided assistance and training to water and wastewater 

systems on water security in Wyoming and Utah. In Wyoming, Region 8 provided training 

on CREAT and gave an introduction to other tools on EPA’s Water Security website. Region 

8 attended a functional exercise with the state of Utah where the EPA Water Emergency 

Response Team assisted in a response to a water-based emergency. 

• Region 8 supported states and tribes in developing strategies to deal with Harmful Algae 

Blooms. The Region 8 lab provided analytical support for drinking water utilities to help 

them determine whether cyanotoxins are present during blooms.
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• Region 8 participated in several climate adaptation planning meetings with the Blackfeet 

Tribe and climate workgroup meetings with Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes 

(CSKT) as part of an ongoing effort to develop climate adaptation plans for these Tribes. 

This work is being done in partnership with the Center for Large Landscape Conservation 

(CLLC) under a grant issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

• Region 8 participated in CSKT’s Climate Change Advisory Committee (CCAC), which is 

charged with initiating “collective beneficial climate impact mitigation and adaptation 

solutions.” The Committee revised the 2013 Climate Change Strategic Plan in 2016 to 

include updated information, activities, and additional emphasis on incorporating 

traditional ecological knowledge into the planning and mitigation efforts. In addition, CSKT’s 

climate leadership has encouraged other nearby tribes to participate in the CCAC and take 

action themselves, including representatives from Chippewa Cree (Rocky Boy’s), Blackfeet, 

and Gros Ventre and Assiniboine (Fort Belknap) Tribes. 

• In the Wetland Program Development Grant competition, the Region awarded priority 

points for projects that included adaptation of wetlands management and protection to 

expected ecosystem responses to climate change. As a result, nearly all of the projects 

selected for funding will help plan for the effects of climate change.

• Region 8 continued to explore opportunities to collaborate with the State of Colorado to 

incorporate climate change considerations into TMDLs, Alternative Plans, Nonpoint Source 

Management Planes and Water Quality Standards in response to the State’s release of its 

Climate Adaptation Plan.

• Region 8 continued education and outreach on the use of green infrastructure and 

provided technical assistance on a number of projects, including the South Platte Natural 

Capital Project.

• Region 8 continued to participate in the Geological Sequestration (GS) workgroup to 

develop guidance, share permitting experiences, resources, and technical information, as 

well as to facilitate implementation of CO2 geological sequestration final rules designed to 

protect drinking water resources, while encouraging successful deployment of commercial 

scale sequestration projects. Work continued with States (notably Wyoming and North 

Dakota) to help them obtain primacy for the Class VI UIC program, and issue permits for 

projects where state primacy has yet to be established. 

• The large number of national parks located within EPA Region 8 offers a unique opportunity 

to monitor climate change impacts at minimally impacted wetlands, streams and rivers. In 

2016, building from efforts initiated by USGS, the National Park Service and the Great 

Northern Landscape Conservation Collaborative, Region 8 explored opportunities to 

leverage existing efforts to develop a regional climate change monitoring network. To 
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date, the group has organized a series of webinars designed to provide information on the 

current monitoring efforts underway to evaluate impacts associated with climate change. 

• With ORD contractor support, Region 8 worked with Montana Department of Natural 

Resources and Conservation and NOAA to test Colorado’s semi-quantitative approach to 

conducting vulnerability assessments. The analysis focused on potential impacts to 

agricultural associated with drought and was intended as a pilot to evaluate whether the 

data are readily available and sufficient to complete a vulnerability assessment.

• In 2016, the Office of Water Protection in Region 8 created a strategy for incorporating 

climate change into the regional programs. The strategy identifies the staff involved in 

several regional water programs, various leverage points for partnering with state agencies, 

resources such as grants where the region can include climate change language, guiding 

principles for state agency interactions with the regional climate change programs, 

opportunities for collaboration with other state and federal agencies, communications and 

outreach plans and opportunities to collaborate in research.

• Region 8 incorporated climate change language into comment letters for several NEPA 

documents requesting the project proponent consider how climate change will affect the 

objectives and implementation of the project. The Region included comments to the Corps

of Engineers in the Nationwide Permit Reauthorization requesting that a condition of 

nationwide permit applications be that the applicant explain how a changing climate will 

affect the need and design of the project. 

• The Region provided comments on a Utah TMDL that incorporated climate change 

considerations into the document.

• Region 8 hosted a summer intern to create inventories of groups that are currently active 

in the states preparing for climate change. This inventory will help the Region identify 

collaborative opportunities to showcase the tools EPA has developed to enhance climate 

adaptation and resilience at the state and local levels.

• Region 8’s WaterSense Program launched an outreach effort with Denver’s Registered 

Neighborhood Associations (RNAs) on local climate action. The Region plans to continue 

engagement with interested RNAs in 2017.

• Region 8 completed a Climate Adaptation Outreach Strategy targeting 10 communities. 

The outreach will be focused on the water sector, among others, and implemented in FY17.

• The Region outreach and communication efforts on climate change continued including:

• presented information on climate change and groundwater to the Executive Directors 

of the Region 8 Rural Water Associations;
57

• held a meeting with EPA Region 8, FEMA Region 8, and the USGS South Dakota Water 

Science Center to discuss climate change and future collaboration; and

• started a four-part biochar webinar series for EPA staff in partnership with EPA’s Air, 

Climate and Energy (ACE) Research Program focusing on the potential of biochar to 

sequester carbon and retain nutrients and water in soils, and reduce the mobility of 

pollutants from contaminated lands.

Region 9

• In November 2016, Region 9 hosted five Water Loss Control (WLC) Workshops to provide 

information on reducing leaks in small- and medium-size water supply systems. 

Workshops were attended by approximately 80 participants Arizona (Tucson, Phoenix and 

Prescott Valley) and approximately 50 participants in Nevada (Reno and Las Vegas). 

• Region 9, in partnership with ORD, and University of California at Davis, issued a report 

titled, “Evaluating the Air Quality, Climate & Economic Impacts of Biogas Management 

Technologies”. The report is concerned with biogas generated from sources such as 

anaerobic digesters at wastewater treatment plants, and provides a more complete 

understanding of the environmental and economic performance of biogas-to-energy 

technologies.

• In 2016, Region 9 continued to promote the use of green infrastructure (GI) in the 

implementation of the stormwater permit program to increase the resilience of 

stormwater infrastructure. Region 9 work included reviewing and commenting on state 

draft Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permits to incorporate climate 

change considerations, assisting California with the development of their statewide 

stormwater strategy and funding a San Francisco Bay project to advance green 

infrastructure and working to expand GI funding opportunities. In addition, Region 9 

worked with Guam to build-in GI consideration for their MS4 permits. 

• Region 9 worked with the California Funding Coordinating Committee for water 

infrastructure projects and participated in the 2016 funding events around California to 

inform municipalities and water utilities about EPA programs and tools, including 

WaterSense. Twenty-three new WaterSense partners were signed up in Region 9 in 2016. 

• Region 9 coordinated with the Metropolitan Water District (MWD), Bureau of 

Reclamation, Southern Nevada Water Authority, Southern California Gas Company, and 

the Central Arizona Project to fund $566,000 in grants under the MWD’s Innovative 

Conservation Program. The grant program supports innovative water savings devices, 

technologies and strategies. 

• In 2016, Region 9 served on the Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) Advisory Committee for the 

California State Water Resources Control Board (CA SWRCB). The committee provided 
58

recommendations to CA SWRCB on the feasibility of, and potential requirements for 

Direct Potable Reuse (DPR). Recommendations included level of treatment, monitoring 

and reporting, as well as operator training and certification requirements. The committee 

also recommended that DPR systems provide clear information to the public, specifically 

by reporting their activities and monitoring data in their annual Consumer Confidence 

Reports, and presenting enhanced public outreach.

• Region 9 worked with large water utilities to encourage them to plan now for 30 years of 

system-wide asset replacement, rehabilitation and maintenance; including 

consideration of potential impacts of sea level rise and flooding on water infrastructure.

• At West Maui, Region 9 worked with ORD to test the Corals and Climate Adaptation 

Planning Project’s (CCAP) Draft Adaptation Design Tool used to review watershed plans 

for climate change readiness. The test found that differences in scale, for both space and 

time, present challenges: for example, it is difficult to use spatially-coarse climate change 

predictions to inform site-specific recommendations for action, and to use relatively short 

lifecycle actions (ten years or less) to address long-term impacts. The test also found that 

watersheds need management to build climate resilience and it is important to protect 

off-shore coral reefs – even those many miles away from shore – as they are an important 

source of coral larvae.

• The Santa Monica Bay National Estuary Program (SMB NEP), with funding from EPA, 

completed a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment of their 2013 Comprehensive 

Conservation and Management Plan, known locally as the Bay Restoration Plan 

(BRP). This assessment will help the SMB NEP make their projects more resilient to 

changing ocean and coastal conditions. 

• In 2016, SMB NEP completed design and permitting for a 3 acre fore-dune system on the 

beach north of the Santa Monica Pier, with funding from EPA. Fencing, maintenance and 

seeding will be conducted to create the necessary physical environment for the growth of 

native beach plants. The project is expected to form small dune hummocks, attract wildlife 

and provide recreational, educational and community benefits. It represents a pilot scale 

project to determine the efficacy of a living shoreline approach for building resilience to 

climate impacts.

• EPA approved the San Francisco Estuary Partnership’s (SFEP) revised Comprehensive 

Conservation Management Plan (CCMP) in October, 2016. The revision incorporated 

consideration of climate change impacts into planning and implementation for habitat 

restoration, flood protection infrastructure management, and water quality protection.

• Region 9 helped convene a 2016 workshop of scientists, managers, and monitoring 

entities to assess whether ocean-derived water body acidification and hypoxia are likely 

concerns in the San Francisco Bay. In addition, the participants identified potential impacts 
59

to beneficial uses, cost-effective monitoring strategies, and potential management 

actions. This work serves as a model for how to approach the development of Ocean 

Acidification and Hypoxia (OAH) monitoring strategies on the West Coast.

• Through funding from EPA, the Morro Bay National Estuary Program completed a 

Climate Vulnerability Assessment Report in February, 2016. The report evaluated 

potential future conditions in the Morro Bay watershed and estuary. It set the stage for 

identifying actions to build resilience and continue to protect and restore Morro Bay.

• Through EPA’s Making a Visible Difference in Communities, Region 9 worked with 

American Samoa EPA to identify additional challenges that climate change poses to the 

territory’s drinking water system. With EPA Office of Water support, Region 9 funded the 

development of a $150,000 Groundwater Exploration Plan by the University of Hawai’i, in 

partnership with the USGS. The island’s drinking water depends on groundwater, but the 

groundwater is increasingly subject to salt water intrusion from rising sea levels and more 

frequent droughts. The purpose of the plan is to identify inland drinking water sources and 

build the American Samoan’s resilience to climate change.

• EPA supported the analysis of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), and the cyanotoxins they 

produce, in California (i.e., Klamath River and Clear Lake). Cyanotoxins in lakes and rivers 

can be a serious threat to human health, fisheries, wildlife and pets. The ability to 

measure cyanotoxins levels helps us understand which waterbodies are already 

stressed, and therefore need attention as the climate changes if we are to protect and 

restore their water quality and beneficial uses. 

• In 2016 EPA completed a grant to the Sonoma Land Trust which breached levees to 

restore over 1000 acres of tidal marsh in North San Francisco Bay (San Pablo Bay). The 

restoration will build the resilience of the San Francisco Bay wetlands to sea level rise, 

while increasing flood protection and tidal habitat. EPA provided almost $2.5 million for 

this $18 million project.

• Region 9 continued to provide training on water-program-related climate change topics 

for Region 9 staff. Presentations covered topics such as: measuring water 

infrastructure sustainability (CA Department of Water Resources and the Envision Tool), 

mapping for sea level rise (NOAA’s Digital Coast tool), communicating potential impacts of 

sea level rise and options for action to communities (Marin County’s Game of Floods), 

incorporating science on potential future conditions into decision-making for watershed 

protection and restoration actions (Pepperwood Preserve and Climate Ready North Bay).

• Region 9 made a presentation to the Environmental Protection Agency leads in the 

governments of Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 

Marshall Islands, and Palau (July 2016, San Francisco, CA) focusing on tools, technical 

assistance and case studies for sea level rise assessment and adaptation planning.
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• Region 9 met with local regional offices of other federal agencies and departments (BIA, 

FEMA, DoD, NOAA) to share information on tools, funding, and opportunities for 

collaboration. The aim was to coordinate and build resilience for our water infrastructure, 

watersheds and coastal waters in the face of climate change. 

• Region 9 is an active member of the California Landscape Conservation Cooperative’s (CA 

LCC’s) Tribal Committee where it works with tribes, the California Department of Water 

Resources, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other agencies to bring technical and financial 

assistance to California Tribes for building climate change resilience. In June, 2016, 

Region 9 made a presentation to Tribes on potential funding sources for climate change 

assessment and planning (BIA workshop at Pala, CA). 

Region 10

• In April, OW and Region 10 hosted a two-day workshop with Bremerton, Washington on 

using the Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT 3.0) for their drinking 

water utility. The workshop was initiated as part of the Administrator’s Making a Visible 

Difference in Communities initiative and was attended by the Bremerton Public Works 

Director and several other staff members. The City is now interested in conducting a similar 

evaluation for their wastewater utility. 

• The Regional WaterSense program participated in the Living Future’s Water Summit where 

local governments, planners, designers, engineers and architects discussed future designs 

with more water efficiency in a net-zero impact approach. The program also provided 

outreach materials and the program mascot, FLO, to promote water efficiency and the 

program at the Washington State Fair.

• Region 10 and FEMA are working on a pilot project to demonstrate how green 

infrastructure and low impact development can be incorporated into a FEMA hazard 

mitigation plan to reduce flooding in Ashland, Oregon. The project is looking at: 

• assessing flood areas and the potential of using green infrastructure and low impact 

development to reduce flooding; 

• evaluating the ecosystem service benefits of the green infrastructure and low impact 

development;

• reviewing state policies and local codes and ordinances to determine if they need to 

be modified to accommodate the green infrastructure; 

• convening two workshops to discuss the results with the community; and 

• developing final recommendations and a final report for EPA and FEMA by 

September 2017.

• The 2016 Request for Proposals to support the Puget Sound Partnership (PSP) Action 

Agenda requested that applicants discuss how they propose to incorporate climate change 
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into their programs. All of the applicants selected provided information of how they 

would consider climate resiliency in ecosystem recovery plans and near-term actions. 

• The Region is working with the Puget Sound Partnership to develop a Puget Sound Wide 

Climate Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Plan by 2020. EPA has formed a 

technical working group of climate change experts from the different agencies to assist in 

the integration of climate change into Puget Sound projects. 

• Region 10 is working on two projects to examine how various regional land-based sources 

of carbon and nutrients, such as local air emissions, wastewater treatment plants, and 

nonpoint discharges, exacerbate ocean acidification in the Salish Sea, including Puget 

Sound, and the relative contribution of these regional sources to acidification. The first 

project is working with the Washington Department of Ecology to develop a model that will 

help identify when and where portions of the Salish Sea are most influenced by regional 

sources of carbon and nutrients. The second project is a study to investigate the role of

nutrients from fertilizer and wastewater sources in accelerating the resultant changes in 

carbonate chemistry parameters in a nearshore environment of Puget Sound. 

• Region 10 is working with the State of Oregon and others to develop cold water refuge 

(CWR) plans for the Columbia River and the lower 50 miles of the Willamette River. The 

purpose of the plans is to implement Oregon’s narrative cold water refugia criterion for the 

protection of salmon migration through these rivers during warm summer conditions, and 

to determine if sufficient CWR exists to meet the criterion. 

• RRegion 10, along with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, used Clean Water 

State Revolving Funds to assist the Farmer’s Irrigation District project around Hood River, 

Oregon to pipe and pressurize their irrigation system and to install in-pipe hydroelectric 

generation. The state of the art irrigation system provides Hood River growers and 

residential users with reliable access to water and a range of highly efficient water delivery 

systems. The new irrigation system has dramatically reduced water and energy use per 

acre, reduced labor costs, and improved crop quality and yield. Another benefit to this new 

irrigation system is the in-pipe hydroelectric system which produces enough clean, green, 

renewable energy to run the entire system and sell 26 million kilowatt hours annually. To 

help explain the complex project, EPA produced a high quality video to educate others 

about the CWSRF opportunity. 

• Region 10 is working with ORD and to examine the impacts of climate change on the 

suitability of temperature regimes for salmonids for a subset of Pacific Northwest (PNW) 

basins now, under restored conditions, and in the future. The results of this research will 

be used to determine whether or not stream temperatures will protect cold water fish given 

climate change with and without restoration actions. 

• Region 10 worked with OW to conduct a two-day workshop on Harmful Algal Blooms. The 

workshop reviewed the current science and included several sessions on impacts from 
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climate change. States and tribes also shared success stories and their needs. In addition, 

training provided to tribes discussed climate change. Approximately 100 people 

participated in the 2-day workshop. 

• Region 10 has been conducting a monthly climate change speaker series to increase 

awareness of staff on climate change science and to provide information they can use in 

their programs. In 2016, speakers presented on various topics including: mapping tools for 

evaluating changes to wetlands from climate change; impacts of climate change on Puget 

Sound; and sea level change tools from USGS and USACE. In addition, Region 10 has a 

monthly newsletter, In the Loop, that provides staff and managers with examples of climate 

change and sustainability projects within Region 10, as well as with information on current 

topics related to climate change. 

• Region 10 is working with other federal agencies on climate adaptation. The Region serves 

on the Executive Committees for the USGS Pacific Northwest Climate Science Center, the 

USFWS North Pacific and Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, and the 

USDA Pacific Northwest Climate Hub. Region 10 staff have participated on review panels for 

several Requests for Proposals from these organizations. Several of the projects funded by 

these organizations have been useful to the Region’s water program (e.g., stream 

temperature and cold-water refugia, impacts of sea level rise in Puget Sound, and 

visualization tools for projected changes in several climate stressors). 

• Region 10 created a cross-program team to assist in the implementation of activities 

related to climate, energy, and sustainability. The team helps to better integrate climate 

and sustainability into Regional programs and coordinate efforts across programs to ensure 

the most effective use of resources. The team sponsored the first Climate and Sustainability 

month that highlighted the great work Region 10 staff and others are doing to integrate 

sustainability and climate change into our activities. 

• Region 10 worked with USACE and the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group to 

explore possible climate change futures in the Pacific Northwest. The Time of Emergence 

(ToE) project uses climate information to characterize when and where climate change 

signals are estimated to emerge. ToE uses historical variability (noise) in key metrics 

throughout the Pacific Northwest. The project was designed to assist practitioners in 

exploring a range of possible ToE for a variety of scenarios composed to address program 

interests and risk tolerances. 

• As a part of the Administrator’s Making a Visible Difference Initiative, Region 10 provided 

assistance to three Alaska Native Villages to make their drinking water and wastewater 

infrastructure more resilient to climate change. Region 10 started working with the 

Environmental Finance Center to provide financing modules to support Alaskan 

communities who are facing relocation and/or adaptation in place to address the impacts of 

climate change. 
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• In order to help Alaska Native Villages, EPA in collaboration with the Institute for Tribal 

Environmental Professionals (ITEP) hosted quarterly webinars that provided information 

to Alaska Native Villages on different issues related to climate change and training on a 

variety of issues, including developing climate adaptation plans. 

• Region 10 initiated a Greener Grants Policy that builds on work already underway to 

incorporate sustainability and climate change considerations into grants. The purpose of 

the greener grant policy is to work with our partners to ensure they are considering 

sustainability and climate in their work including water related grants. The policy is phased 

in with the first year focusing on tribal grants and competitive grants. 
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. 

Office of Water (4101M)

Washington, D.C. 20460

EPA-850-R-17-001

January 2017

http://www.epa.gov/climate-change-water-sector