2019 

ANNUAL 

REPORT

Office of Wastewater

Management
OUR 

VISION

We envision a nation 

where all communities have 

access to clean water. By working 

with stakeholders, we develop 

approaches to manage water as a critical 

resource and prevent water pollution. Our 

programs and initiatives protect public 

health and the environment as we 

support a growing economy. 

WHO 

WE ARE

The Office of Wastewater 

Management (OWM) is part 

of the U.S. EPA's Office of Water.

OWM partners with federal, state, and

local governments, industries, and

tribes to provide innovative

solutions for our nation's

water quality and quantity

challenges. 

Colleagues,

Each year, I look forward to celebrating OWM’s 

many accomplishments in this Annual Report. 

And while I often highlight new innovative 

programs, by now many of our recent exciting 

initiatives have been fully incorporated into our 

programs. Innovation is commonplace in OWM 

with lasting positive impacts to public health and 

the environment.

The CWSRF program was established 31 years 

ago, and we continue to identify new ways to 

use the program’s flexible structure to reach 

high priority projects. The WIFIA program was 

created 5 years ago, and we’re now prioritizing 

projects that address lead and emerging 

contaminants. The NPDES permits program 

was established in the 1970s, and we’re still 

modernizing our approaches, including outreach 

so communities have easier access to 

information about their water quality and making 

strides in efficiency by reducing backlogs and 

improving review times. 

We are what we repeatedly do, we innovate and 

we assist communities in protecting their local 

waters through permitting, financial and other 

regulatory efforts. 

This year, I commend all my colleagues within 

OWM for continuing to reinforce our identity as 

an office that develops new ideas, solutions, 

and approaches to challenges in the clean water 

sector. 

Message from 

the Director

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Funding 3 

Providing affordable financing to build water quality projects in communities. OWM 

identifies new and innovative approaches to financing water infrastructure that help 

existing dollars work smarter and harder. 

Tools 11 

Promoting best practices, technical assistance, guidance, and training to help states, 

industries, and communities make informed decisions about managing water resources.

Permits 14 

Protecting water quality under the Clean Water Act through pollution control permits, 

rules, and oversight. OWM regulations are developed with extensive input from 

stakeholders, industry, and the public.

Partnerships 17 

Collaborating with stakeholders to encourage innovation and supplement regulatory 

programs with voluntary initiatives to protect water quality and quantity. 

An electronic version of this document is available at www.epa.gov/owm

Table of 

Contents

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Funding

Did you know? OWM manages a suite of water financing programs, offering solutions that are a good fit for 

both small and large, rural and urban communities. 

WATER INFRASTRUCTURE 

FINANCE AND INNOVATION ACT 

PROGRAM

WIFIA Loan Closings

In 2019, the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation 

Act (WIFIA) program closed nine transactions totaling 

over $1.9 billion in loans to help finance nearly $4.5 billion 

for water infrastructure projects across the country. 2019 

WIFIA borrowers are the Baltimore City Department of 

Public Works, MD; Indiana 

Finance Authority, IN; 

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer 

District, MO; City of San Diego, 

CA; Miami-Dade County, FL; 

City of Hillsboro, OR; 

Narragansett Bay Commission, 

RI; Silicon Valley Clean Water, 

CA; and Tualatin Valley Water District, OR. In total, these 

borrowers will save up to $497 million (compared to 

typical bond financing) and create approximately 10,000 

jobs. 

WIFIA Notice of Funding Availability

In April 2019, EPA announced the availability of financing

for $6 billion in WIFIA loans in its third selection round. 

The WIFIA program solicited letters of interest from 

utilities, governmental entities, State Revolving Fund 

programs, partnerships, and private corporations to 

finance water infrastructure projects expected to cost at 

least $20 million or $5 million for small communities 

(serving less than 25,000 people). It also named four 

priorities for this selection round: (1) readiness to 

proceed; (2) provide for clean and safe drinking water, 

including reducing exposure to lead and addressing 

emerging contaminants; (3) repair, rehabilitate, and 

replace aging infrastructure and conveyance systems; 

and (4) water reuse and recycling. In July 2019, the 

WIFIA program received 51 

letters of interest requesting 

$6.6 billion in WIFIA loans from 

prospective borrowers for water 

infrastructure projects in 21 

states. 

WIFIA Information 

Sessions

From October 2018 to July 2019, the WIFIA program 

hosted a series of information sessions and webinars to 

explain the benefits of financing with WIFIA loans and 

prepare prospective borrowers to submit letters of 

interest. The WIFIA program hosted approximately 125 

participants at one-day information sessions in 6 cities: 

Seattle, WA; Chicago, IL; Boston, MA; Atlanta, GA; 

Washington, D.C.; and Phoenix, AZ. The program 

provided the same information via webinar to nearly 400 

additional people. 

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Template Term Sheet

In fall 2019, EPA made available a template term sheet

for public system borrowers. It is intended to provide a 

reference for the potential terms and conditions 

applicable to WIFIA loans with public system borrowers, 

including various options that the WIFIA program can 

offer. 

CLEAN WATER 

STATE REVOLVING 

FUND PROGRAM

Program Success

In 2018, Clean Water State 

Revolving Fund (CWSRF) programs 

offered over 1,500 assistance 

agreements, providing $6.8 billion for 

projects that improved wastewater 

infrastructure, addressed 

stormwater, promoted energy and water efficiency, and 

mitigated nonpoint source pollution. These projects also 

received approximately $500 million in non-SRF funding. 

In the last three years alone, average annual CWSRF 

funding has exceeded $7 billion.

CWSRF programs continue to provide tremendous cost 

savings to borrowers. The national average SRF interest 

rate in 2018 was 1.5 percent. During the same year, over 

$250 million in additional subsidy was provided to help 

communities that could not otherwise afford critically 

important projects needed to address high priority 

environmental challenges.

PISCES Recognition Program

OWM’s CWSRF Performance and Innovation in the SRF 

Creating Environmental Success (PISCES) Recognition 

Program highlighted 30 projects from all 10 Regions for 

their distinguished accomplishments in promoting human 

health and improving water quality. Five projects were 

chosen for the Exceptional Projects 

category: a Renewable Energy and 

Biosolids Facility in Wilmington, DE; a 

Biogas Reuse Motor Fuel Project in 

Dodge City, KS; a Regional Sewerage 

Authority Pump Station Resiliency 

Project in South Monmouth, NJ; the 

Crooked River Wetlands Complex in 

Prineville, OR; and a Permanent Reuse 

Project in Wichita Falls, TX.

Agreement to Restructure 

Puerto Rico’s Debt

EPA and Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority 

(PRASA) announced the restructuring of more than 200 

delinquent loans—totaling approximately $571 million in 

principal—owed to Puerto Rico’s clean water and drinking 

water State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs. This 

restructuring clears the way for the commonwealth’s idled 

SRF programs to once again provide critically needed 

funding to improve Puerto Rico’s water and sewer 

systems, create local jobs, and ensure that the people of 

Puerto Rico have safe and clean water. 

The finalization of the restructuring agreement will ensure 

the repayment of PRASA’s SRF loans, and PRASA will 

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be eligible to apply for financial assistance from the 

Puerto Rico SRFs, which will help ensure the continued 

protection of public health and the environment for the 

residents of Puerto Rico. The sound management of the 

state programs has ensured that the SRFs remain at the 

forefront of funding innovative solutions for treating 

wastewater, providing safe drinking water, addressing 

stormwater runoff, tackling non-point source pollution, 

and addressing a multitude of other environmental and 

public health issues facing this nation.

American Iron and Steel

In 2019, EPA continued its implementation of the 

American Iron and Steel (AIS) requirements. The AIS 

program completed 45 site visits to active CWSRF 

construction projects across 12 states. The site visits 

provide an opportunity for outreach with engineers, 

contractors, suppliers, and manufacturers involved with 

CWSRF projects. EPA conducted four trainings for states, 

explaining how the AIS requirements apply to SRF 

projects and outline the responsibilities of each 

stakeholder. 

While the vast majority of the country’s water 

infrastructure projects use iron and steel made in 

America, when domestic sources are not available EPA 

thoroughly evaluates submitted project-specific waiver 

requests. In 2019, EPA received and processed 22 

CWSRF project-specific waiver requests - of which 7 were 

approved, 13 were withdrawn or not approved, and 2 are 

currently being processed. 

Marketing and Outreach 

In FY 2019 the CWSRF program continued to assist 

interested state programs with surveys and focus groups 

to gain feedback on potential assistance recipients’ 

perceptions of the CWSRF program. Twelve states 

participated in this effort to date. The feedback from these 

surveys and focus groups helps to guide states in 

streamlining and marketing their programs so that they 

can increase assistance provided. In FY 2019 the 

CWSRF program also provided technical assistance to 

the Oklahoma CWSRF to develop a marketing plan for 

their program. The Oklahoma CWSRF reported that as a 

result of the marketing work they have undertaken with 

support from EPA, they saw an impressive 33 percent 

increase in overall CWSRF project submissions for the 

priority list in FY 2019 over FY 2018 and 24 percent 

increase in FY 2018 over FY 2017. 

MOU with Federal Emergency 

Management Agency 

EPA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

(FEMA) announced a Memorandum of Understanding 

(MOU) to streamline coordination between FEMA and the 

“EPA is pleased that Puerto Rico’s SRFs are 

back on track and able to provide critically 

important funding for clean and safe water. 

With this loan restructuring, EPA is protecting 

taxpayer dollars while ensuring that funding 

is available for water infrastructure projects 

that will help build a stronger, safer, and 

healthier Puerto Rico.” - EPA Administrator 

Andrew Wheeler

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EPA-funded SRF programs. Now, the funding used to 

restore vital water infrastructure can be provided more 

quickly in times of disaster. Immediately after a disaster,

communities, and tribes typically incur expenses for life 

safety, clean-up, and other disaster-related operations. 

Normally, communities have to pay out of pocket and 

wait to receive a reimbursement through a FEMA grant 

for eligible expenses or wait for an emergency 

supplemental appropriation for disaster relief and 

recovery from Congress. By securing a loan through this 

MOU early on after a disaster, a community would not 

need to expend its own funds first.

CWSRF Training and Oversight 

The CWSRF program continues to support training for 

state and regional staff. In FY 2019, the program held a

total of eight training sessions for state staff to learn about 

the financial and programmatic aspects of CWSRF 

programs. Financial analyst and annual review training 

sessions were held for regional staff. 

Water Infrastructure and 

Resiliency Finance Center 

EFAB Meeting (April 2018)

EPA's Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB)

held a public meeting in April 2019 in Washington, D.C. 

At the meeting, EPA heard from Board members on 

environmental finance issues and EPA priorities, finalized 

and approved recommendations from EFAB work 

products, discussed changes to the EFAB’s process of 

selecting new topics and developing recommendations, 

and presented details on the Stormwater Finance Task 

Force/Workgroup.

Stormwater Finance Task Force/

Workgroup

EPA’s EFAB held its first kickoff meeting for the 

Stormwater Finance Task Force/Workgroup via 

conference call in June 2019. Under the America’s Water 

Infrastructure Act (AWIA), the agency was directed to 

form a task force to analyze existing stormwater 

infrastructure funding and financing efforts, identify 

success and areas for improvement for these existing 

efforts, and provide recommendations on future 

stormwater infrastructure funding and financing. 

Stormwater Financing Stakeholder 

Workshop

On May 8, 2019, EPA hosted a workshop on “Stormwater 

Financing: Opportunities and Challenges to Address 

Stormwater Financing Needs” in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. This 

“This first-of-its-kind MOU with FEMA will 

give disaster-stricken communities expedited 

access to federal funds that will aid in their 

rebuilding process by helping to restore vital 

infrastructure and water services in times of 

disaster.” - EPA Administrator Andrew 

Wheeler

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workshop solicited feedback about stormwater financing 

challenges from experts across the sectors, funding 

options they found most beneficial to communities, and 

opportunities to increase funding particularly by 

leveraging private sector funds. Around 35 participants 

attended from states, industry, associations, academics, 

and consulting firms. 

Stormwater Financing Agency Listening 

Sessions

OWM hosted a workshop on “Stormwater Financing: 

Innovative Opportunities to Help You Address Your 

Stormwater Challenges” in Boston, MA on July 9, 2019. 

This workshop was designed to hear about stormwater 

financing challenges in the region, what mechanisms 

towns are currently using to pay for stormwater 

infrastructure, and to identify opportunities to address 

gaps in funding. Around 40 participants attended from 

local municipalities, state government, and local planning 

commissions. 

Learning Modules and Clearinghouse 

Updates

In March 2019, the Water Infrastructure and Resiliency 

Finance Center (WIRFC) announced the release of two 

new Water Finance Learning Modules, hosted on EPA’s 

Water Finance Clearinghouse. These modules focus on 

the drinking water and clean water state revolving funds 

and WIFIA. In addition to these learning modules, WIRFC 

recently completed updates to the Water Finance 

Clearinghouse, providing new information on funding and 

other resources for water infrastructure. The 

Clearinghouse received 11,485 hits for FY 2019.

EFC Day

EPA and the Environmental Finance Centers (EFCs) 

hosted a successful EFC Day on June 4, 2019. The EFCs 

shared project examples to show how they can support 

agency programs. One-hour sessions were held on a 

variety of topics including water affordability, stormwater 

finance, sustainable materials management, tribal 

infrastructure management, and asset and energy 

management.

EFC Grants

In FY 2019, EPA provided funding of $60,000 to each of 

the ten EFCs. This core funding will be used to support 

regional-based projects. Since 2000, these grants have 

been awarded annually. The grants support basic EFC 

operations and project work topics including small system 

asset management, utility financial sustainability and 

rates management, water and wastewater training and 

employment needs, tribal technical assistance, 

stormwater financing, environmental finance education 

and outreach, source water protection, watershed 

management, and green infrastructure. 

Federal P3 Conference 

EPA led discussions at the Federal P3 Conference in 

Washington, D.C. in December 2018. The federal 

representatives met to discuss implementation of publicprivate partnership (P3) activities. Focused 

conversations centered on barriers to execution as well 

as possible interagency synergies. 

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Notably, EPA organized and led a federal agency 

roundtable that included 26 representatives from EPA, 

Department of the Treasury, Department of State, 

Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of 

Transportation (DOT), National Park Service (NPS), Office 

of Personnel Management (OPM), Department of the 

Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (DOI BIA), Department 

of Agriculture (USDA), Army Corps of Engineers 

(USACE), Navy, and Federal Aviation Administration 

(FAA). This was the beginning of future discussions to 

develop successful practices and common solutions 

across the federal family.

Affordability 

EPA remains committed to providing assistance to local 

decision makers on financing their public health and 

environmental obligations. As part of this commitment, 

EPA continues to work with stakeholders to explore 

affordability at both the household and community level for 

drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services. 

This year WIRFC worked across the Office of Water and 

the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance to 

facilitate monthly discussions on how affordability is 

assessed across a range of water media. These 

discussions brought greater awareness of the similarities 

and differences that each of the programs encounter 

when using this common assessment approach. The 

Center also worked with the Southwest Environmental 

Finance Center through a cooperative agreement to 

research how affordability of other essential services such 

as energy, housing, and nutrition are being assessed 

domestically and internationally. This work helped inform 

our review of stakeholder recommendations on changes 

to the common assessment approach that the agency 

uses in various ways within the water programs. 

WATER POLLUTION CONTROL 

PROGRAM GRANTS

Section 106 Program 

Section 106 of the Clean Water Act authorizes EPA to 

provide federal assistance to states, territories, the 

District of Columbia, interstate agencies, and eligible 

tribes to establish and implement water pollution control 

programs. This funding supports ambient water quality 

monitoring, water quality standard and total maximum 

daily load development, National Pollutant Discharge 

Elimination System (NPDES) permitting and enforcement, 

training, and public information. EPA provided 

approximately $223 million in section 106 funding to 

prevent and control water pollution in FY 2019.

State and Interstate Water Pollution 

Control Grants 

In FY 2019, EPA provided $178 million in section 106 

grant funding to state and interstate agencies to protect 

and restore water bodies. Increasingly, EPA and states 

are working together to develop basin-wide approaches 

to water quality management. The grant program 

encourages states to take a watershed protection 

approach which looks at state water quality problems 

holistically and targets finances to the most important 

problems.

Tribal Water Pollution Control Grants 

Section 106 grants are a crucial, dedicated source of 

funding for developing, maintaining, and expanding tribal 

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programs designed to prevent, control, and eliminate 

water pollution. In FY 2019, the tribal set-aside was 

approximately $25.6 million. Of the 565 federally 

recognized tribes, approximately 330 meet the criteria to 

receive section 106 funding, and 276 of these tribes were 

eligible to receive grants in FY 2019.

State and Tribal Water Monitoring 

Initiative

Using approximately $17.3 million in FY 2019, OWM and 

the Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds 

(OWOW) continue to work with states and tribes to 

enhance their water quality monitoring programs and 

implement a multi-year, statistically valid survey of the 

nation’s waters. In FY 2019, states and tribes conducted 

sampling and reported water quality monitoring data for 

the National Rivers and Streams Conditions Assessment. 

The monitoring initiative allows EPA, states, and tribes to 

enhance their water quality monitoring programs and 

implement a multi-year, statistically valid survey to report 

on the condition of the nation's waters and make progress 

toward assessing trends in water condition in a scientifically 

defensible manner.

Additional Supplemental Appropriations 

for Disaster Relief Act, 2019

In June of 2019, Congress enacted the Additional 

Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act that 

provides an additional $5 million in Section 106 funding 

for areas impacted by Hurricane Florence, Hurricane 

Michael, Typhoon Yutu, and 2018 wildfires. The funds are 

targeted for use by states in counties that have a Federal 

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Major Disaster 

Designation. OWM, working with the EPA Regions, 

developed an alternate allocation and grant guidance for 

the supplemental funds.

Long-Term Monitoring Authorized Under 

the Water Infrastructure Improvement 

for the Nation Act

Section 5004(d) of the Water Infrastructure Improvement 

for the Nation (WIIN) Act enacted in December 2016 

provides that EPA, “in conjunction with affected States, 

Indian tribes and local governments, shall, subject to the 

availability of appropriations, develop and implement a 

program for long-term water quality monitoring of rivers 

contaminated by the Gold King Mine release.” In FY 

2019, $4 million was appropriated for the program. OWM, 

working with OWOW; Regions 6, 8, and 9; and impacted 

states and tribes, continues to implement a long-term 

monitoring strategy which incorporates state and tribal 

short-term monitoring priorities and a long-term approach 

for assessing the health of the watershed. 

GRANTS & UNDERSERVED 

COMMUNITIES’ 

INFRASTRUCTURE

Small and Rural Community Technical 

Assistance Grants

In FY 2019, EPA issued two grants to the Rural 

Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP). With the first 

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grant from EPA, which was nearly $1 million, the RCAP 

provided technical assistance to small and rural 

communities for managing their wastewater and 

decentralized treatment systems to 56 projects – 45 of 

which were small wastewater systems and 11 were 

decentralized systems. Technical assistance providers 

served 50 communities with approximately 50,608 

people. Of those communities, 18 percent were 

considered low-income, living below the poverty line. 

RCAP conducted 60 trainings to small publicly owned 

wastewater systems, 25 trainings to communities using 

decentralized systems, and two webinars. 

For the second grant, EPA conducted a competition for a 

combined grant of $2.2 million of prior years’ funding to 

provide technical assistance to small wastewater 

treatment systems and awarded RCAP the grant. With 

this funding, RCAP provided technical assistance to 36 

small wastewater systems and six decentralized 

wastewater treatment systems. RCAP also conducted 17 

trainings to small publicly owned wastewater systems and 

one training to communities using decentralized systems. 

Clean Water Act Title II Grants to District 

of Columbia and the U.S. Territories

The District of Columbia and the U.S. Territories, namely, 

Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands received 

an exemption from establishing a Clean Water State 

Revolving Fund, as these jurisdictions have a single level 

of government. In FY 2019, EPA received $31.47 million 

for the Clean Water Act Title II Construction Grants 

Program, which was allocated to these jurisdictions. The 

grants are being awarded to municipalities for the 

construction of wastewater treatment systems. 

U.S.-Mexico Border Water 

Infrastructure

Program

In FY 2018, the U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure 

Program (BWIP) issued almost $10 million in grants to 

the North American Development Bank (NADB) to fund 

critical water infrastructure construction projects in the 

region along the U.S.-Mexico border. In FY 2019, grants 

to NADB for additional water infrastructure funding along 

the border are projected to total approximately $14.5 

million. Since 2003, the BWIP has funded more than 128 

projects, and the majority of those projects already 

completed construction. Working closely with U.S. and 

Mexican federal, state, and local partners, the program 

has provided first-time access to safe drinking water to 

more than 70, 000 homes and wastewater collection and 

treatment services to more than 673,000 homes. Since 

the program’s inception, it helped develop the capacity to 

treat over 280 million gallons per day of raw wastewater 

in the border area, improving the quality of surface and 

groundwater for the entire region. 

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Tools

Did you know? Most webinars and webcasts are recorded and posted online afterwards, so they are 

available for viewing for anyone who couldn’t attend the live version.

TRAINING

Webinars on Nutrient Reduction 

Financing 

In June and July 2019, EPA co-hosted a series of 

webinars with USDA on Innovative Financing Strategies 

for Reducing Nutrients. The topics of this four-part 

webinar series included Federal Financing for Nutrient 

Reductions: Grants and Lending Opportunities, Private 

Sector Financing Solutions for Nutrient Reductions, 

Funding Large-Scale Nutrient Reductions, and 

Stormwater Financing Solutions Nutrient Reductions. 

These webinars featured case studies of successful 

approaches from across the country for funding nutrient 

reductions.

Decentralized Wastewater Webcast 

Series

EPA's Decentralized Wastewater Management MOU 

Partnership sponsors webcasts to discuss topics of 

interest to the decentralized wastewater community. This 

year, the webinars included: 

• Career Perspectives in Decentralized Wastewater

Management (March 2019): Seasoned decentralized

wastewater career professionals shared their

perspectives on their more than 40 years of

experience in the industry.

• Natural Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for

Communities Served by Decentralized Wastewater

Systems (June 2019): Natural disasters of all kinds 

can have significant impacts on septic systems. This 

webinar highlighted two case studies of large-scale 

natural disasters and their impacts on populations 

dependent on decentralized systems: Puerto Rico 

from Hurricane Maria in 2017, and along coastal 

Connecticut from Superstorm Sandy in 2012. New 

disaster preparedness resources from the National 

Environmental Health Association were also shared. 

• SepticSmart Week 2019: Promoting Best Practices

for Community Involvement (Sept 2019): The

successes of SepticSmart Week occur primarily due

to local and state-wide involvement. This webinar

highlighted the activities of states and localities for

SepticSmart Week and aired during SepticSmart

Week 2019.

Green Infrastructure Webcasts

In FY 2019, OWM continued the Green Infrastructure 

Program’s Green Infrastructure webcast series. Initiated 

in 2014, the series is geared toward public officials and 

other stakeholders that are interested in implementing 

green infrastructure for the first time or augmenting an 

established program. Attendees can learn from and 

interact with leading researchers and industry 

practitioners on a variety of topics that highlight the 

environmental, economic, and social benefits of green 

infrastructure.

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Technical Support & Assistance

Smart Data Infrastructure for Wet 

Weather Control and Decision Support

In September 2018, OWM published a compendium of 

technology advances called “smart data infrastructure” 

used by municipalities, utilities, and related organizations 

for wet weather control. Rain and snowmelt can 

significantly increase flows at wastewater treatment 

facilities, creating operational challenges and potentially 

affecting treatment efficiency, reliability, and control of 

treatment units. Current approaches to wet weather 

control rely primarily on gray or green infrastructure, or a 

combination of the two. However, more public works 

departments are investing in approaches that give facility 

managers innovative data and monitoring tools to support 

wet weather control and decision-making in real time or 

near real time.

Several case studies showcase the application of smart 

data: real-time control systems are used in Newburgh, NY 

to provide notice of combined sewer overflow events to 

the public and in Philadelphia, PA to manage stormwater 

and reduce runoff impacts; San Antonio, TX uses an 

advanced system for detecting when sewer pipes need 

cleaning that saves money compared to a standard 

cleaning schedule. 

Green Infrastructure Engagement

The green infrastructure program staff continued work 

with the Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange 

Network, a national network of practitioners that supports 

communities seeking to grow their green infrastructure 

programs. At this year’s exchange annual conference in 

June 2019, representatives from the 60 member 

communities met in Milwaukee, WI to share experiences 

in the following priority areas:

• Equity: Integrating equity into the full value chain of

green stormwater infrastructure.

• Workforce Development: Cross-training, building

workforce requirements into contracts, effective

partnerships, and connecting green stormwater

infrastructure to the water industry.

• Asset Management: Comparing approaches and

prioritizing asset maintenance based on risk.

• Details and Specifications: Developing a library of

cost-effective designs and lessons learned.

• Maintenance: Using smart technology to identify

maintenance needs, comparing service delivery

models and maintenance standards.

• Performance Contracts: Defining performance

metrics. 

• Training: Sharing existing resources for technical/

leadership/change management.

• Trees and Green Stormwater Infrastructure: Aligning

stormwater trees with urban forestry.

Long-Term Stormwater Planning

In October 2016, EPA released a draft guide, Community 

Solutions for Stormwater Management: A Guide for 

Voluntary Long-Term Planning, to promote 

comprehensive, community-wide planning approaches to 

manage stormwater. Throughout 2019, EPA tested these 

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approaches with four pilot communities: Santa Fe, NM; 

Burlington, IA; Hattiesburg, MS; and Rochester, NH. 

Through this voluntary approach, communities can 

prioritize actions related to stormwater management as 

part of capital improvement plans, integrated plans, 

master plans, or other planning efforts. With the pilot 

plans finalized next year, EPA may leverage the lessons 

learned from these efforts by sharing information related 

to lowering barriers to long-term stormwater planning, 

making progress on human health and water quality 

objectives, and decreasing the costs of stormwater 

management.

Low Flow Statistics Guidebook

In October 2018, as part of the agency’s efforts to provide 

tools to permit writers to assist in more efficient permit 

issuance, OWM released the primer Low Flow Statistics 

Tools, A How-To Guidebook for NPDES Permit Writers. 

The tools, developed by and in collaboration with the U.S. 

Geological Survey, provide more accurate measures of 

low flow statistics and support the development of robust 

permit limits and conditions protective of water quality. 

The Guidebook provides step-by-step instructions to help 

permit writers to calculate complex statistics accurately.

Manure Management Technical 

Assistance

In FY 2019, OWM continued to provide technical 

assistance to special projects aimed at improving manure 

management at animal agriculture facilities. In October 

2018, OWM, in partnership with New Mexico Environment 

Department and EPA Region 6, convened a Nutrient 

Management Plan Technical Forum. The Forum explored 

many of the technical aspects of nutrient management 

planning, including soil science, land application rates 

and protocols, nutrient budgets, and on-site assessments. 

In June 2019, OWM completed a model of the financial 

ability of confined dairies in Vermont to transition to 

intensive grazing operations to reduce phosphorus inputs 

and improve water quality in Lake Champlain. The model 

predicts that grazing dairies, on average, especially those 

with fewer than 50 cows, may be more likely than 

confined dairies to be profitable. 

Wastewater Treatment Technology and 

Research 

In 2019, OWM continued to provide technical support to EPA 

regions and Office of Water program offices on wastewater 

technology performance areas and actively collaborated with 

internal and external stakeholders on wastewater studies and 

research projects. Areas of technical support included nutrient 

removal and recovery, energy management, and water reuse. 

OWM’s research coordination efforts included collaborating 

with the National Water Program research coordination team 

and EPA’s Office of Research and Development in various 

projects of the EPA Safe and Sustainable Water Resources 

research plan.

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Permits

Did you know? 47 states across the country have delegated authority to run their own water discharge 

permitting program.

Timeliness of Permit Issuance

EPA’s FY 2018-2022 Strategic Plan calls for streamlining 

and modernizing EPA programs, including issuing permits 

more efficiently. Under the Strategic Plan, by September 

30, 2022, EPA must make all permitting-related decisions 

within six months. Improving the timing for issuance and 

reissuance of NPDES permits will provide greater 

certainty for the regulated community and ensure that 

permits reflect the most up-to-date requirements and 

scientific information. 

For the first time, EPA is applying a Lean Management 

System to the EPA permit backlog. On June 15, 2018, 

EPA leadership issued a directive that backlogs for new 

permits in the Regions must be eliminated. EPA Regions 

have already succeeded in reducing their backlog of new 

NPDES permits from 106 in March 2018 to 32 in July 

2019. Additionally, EPA Regions have reduced their 

backlog of existing permits from 547 to 401 in that same 

timeframe. 

NPDES Updates Rule 

On February 12, EPA published a final rule updating and 

streamlining specific provisions of the agency’s NPDES 

permitting regulations. The final rule deletes an outdated 

regulation that is no longer applicable, clarifies other 

existing regulations, and eliminates inconsistencies 

between regulations and permit application forms. The 

final rule also revises public notice requirements for 

certain classes of permits and revises the agency’s 

application forms. These new application forms promote 

the submission of complete applications that will allow 

for more timely development of NPDES permits to 

protect human health and the environment. 

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Reviewing State and EPA Regional 

Office NPDES Programs 

EPA ensures the integrity of the NPDES permitting 

process by conducting program and permit quality

reviews (PQRs) of state and regional NPDES programs. 

OWM and EPA Regional Offices remain committed to 

maintaining and improving NPDES permit and program 

health by beginning to implement new cycle PQRs and by 

continuing to support the completion of identified action 

items from prior PQRs. 

The Water Permits Division PQR team in FY 2019 

enhanced the oversight of the NPDES program by 

reducing the review timeline of PQRs from an average of 

16 business days to 9.4 days. This reflects a 40 percent 

reduction, which exceeded the initial target of 20 percent. 

PQRs involve audits of state programs by Regional 

offices, which result in a findings report. 

Peak Flows Management Rulemaking 

In April 2018, EPA announced a new rulemaking to 

examine issues associated with the management and 

treatment of peak flows during wet weather events at 

publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) with separate 

sanitary sewer systems. This proposed rulemaking seeks 

to ensure a consistent national approach for permitting 

POTWs that allows efficient treatment plant operation 

while protecting the public from potential adverse health 

effects of inadequately treated wastewater. In FY 2019 

EPA met with stakeholders, including state regulators, 

hosted a technical stakeholder roundtable meeting, held 

three public listening sessions, and published a federal 

register notice requesting input via the rulemaking docket. 

EPA received over 30,000 comments including unique 

comment letters from municipalities, trade groups, 

consultants, environmental stakeholders, state 

governmental agencies, equipment manufacturers, and 

private citizens. EPA plans to publish a proposed rule in 

FY 2020.

Aquaculture Permitting 

In FY 2019, OWM strengthened partnerships and 

expanded efforts in the area of aquaculture permitting to 

promote efficiencies in the regulatory program while 

supporting the development of a sustainable aquaculture 

industry. In the fall of 2018, OWM analyzed monitoring 

requirements in NPDES permits nationwide at the request 

of the National Aquaculture Association (NAA). The 

analysis demonstrated reasonable and appropriate 

monitoring parameters and frequencies. 

In March 2019, EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers 

coordinated a session on permitting at the Aquaculture 

2019 international conference in New Orleans, LA at the 

request of the NAA. In June 2019, OWM participated in a 

Capitol Hill briefing to provide current and accurate 

scientific information on marine finfish aquaculture. In 

2019, OWM, through the National Science and 

Technology Committee, Subcommittee on Aquaculture, 

worked to produce collaborative reports across multiple 

federal agencies on both research needs and regulatory 

efficiencies pertaining to aquaculture.

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Updates to NPDES eRule Data Elements 

to Reflect MS4 General Permit Remand 

Rule

In April, EPA proposed updates to the NPDES Electronic 

Reporting Rule (NPDES eRule) that applies to regulated 

municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s). The 

proposed rule updates specific data elements to be 

consistent with the current MS4 regulations, which were 

recently modified by the MS4 General Permit Remand 

Rule. EPA plans to finalize this rule in FY 2020.

Multi-Sector General Permit for 

Industrial Stormwater Discharges

EPA funded a study by the National Academies of 

Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to receive 

input on the Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) and its 

effectiveness in protecting waterways from industrial 

stormwater impacts. The study had three major focus 

areas: 1) the adequacy of stormwater benchmark 

monitoring requirements, 2) numeric retention standards 

feasibility, and 3) analysis of certain types of facilities’ 

activities and discharges to determine if more rigorous 

requirements are appropriate. The recommendations are 

related to pollutant monitoring requirements and 

benchmark thresholds, stormwater sampling and data 

collection, and consideration of retention standards. 

Construction General Permit

EPA’s Construction General Permit (CGP) protects 

waterways from pollutants in stormwater discharges from 

construction activities. This permit provides NPDES 

permit coverage to construction operators in the states of 

New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Idaho, 

as well as most of Indian country, Puerto Rico, the District 

of Columbia, and the Pacific Island territories, among 

others. After EPA issued the CGP in January 2017, both 

the National Association of Home Builders and the 

Chesapeake Bay Foundation filed petitions for review in 

the D.C. Circuit. Based on new information provided to 

EPA, the agency proposed a permit modification in 

December 2018 and published the final modification in 

May 2019. The final modification removes examples of 

the types of parties that could be considered operators in 

the definition of operator, aligns three requirements that 

implement the Construction and Development Effluent 

Limitations Guidelines (ELG) and New Source 

Performance Standards (NSPS) with the ELG text, and 

clarifies individual operator responsibilities in multiple 

operator scenarios. 

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Partnerships

Did you know? That small drip from your faucet can lead to more water wasted than you think. Household 

leaks waste about 10,000 gallons of water per year for the average family. That’s over 270 loads of laundry! 

WATERSENSE

Defeating Water Waste 

Since June 2006, the program estimates it has helped

save more than 3.4 trillion gallons of water—more than 

the amount used by all U.S. households for four months. 

US households, by looking for and installing WaterSense 

labeled products, saved 725 billion gallons of water in 

2018 alone. WaterSense labeled products are 

independently certified to use at least 20 percent less 

water and perform as well or better than standard models. 

Also in 2018 more than 30,200 different models of toilets, 

bathroom faucets and accessories, showerheads, 

flushing urinals, flushometer-valve toilets, weather-based 

irrigation controllers, spray sprinkler bodies, and pre-rinse 

spray valves had earned the label. EPA estimates 

WaterSense labeled products have helped Americans 

save $84.2 billion in energy and water bills. More than 

2,000 utility, manufacturer, retail, builder, and other 

organizational partners helped Americans save water, 

energy, and money with products, programs, and 

promotions. 

WaterSense Authorized

The WaterSense program was formally authorized with 

the signing of the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 

2018 on October 24, 2018 to promote water efficiency 

through adoption of WaterSense labeled products and 

other practices. The law also requires EPA to review any 

WaterSense specifications created before 2012 which 

includes tank-type toilets, flushing urinals, bathroom 

faucets, showerheads, and irrigation controllers for 

potential improvements to product performance and/or 

water efficiency. 

WaterSense Homes — Version 2.0

Since the WaterSense labeled homes program began in 

2009 the construction industry has grown to include a 

greater focus on green homes. To better align with the 

changing marketplace EPA began working on Version 2.0 

in 2018. The home specification is being revised to 

increase flexibility in meeting WaterSense’s technical 

requirements without compromising a home’s water 

efficiency or performance for the homeowner. 

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Specification Sunset

WaterSense has successfully transformed the 

marketplace for pre-rinse spray valves (PRSVs). The 

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) adopted the 

WaterSense efficiency threshold and performance test 

for a national energy standard covering commercial 

kitchen pre-rinse spray valves sold in the United States. 

Although, pre-rinse spray valves were sunset as of 

January 1, 2019, kitchens and other facilities will continue 

to save water and be ensured the performance with 

PRSVs that meet the DOE standard.

Outdoor Irrigation

WaterSense created new materials for the outdoor 

portfolio. Two micro-irrigation, a low-pressure, low-flowrate type of technology, guides were created and can be 

found on the website. Micro-irrigation, also know as drip 

irrigation, delivers water directly to the root zone of plants 

which can reduce overwatering, prevent runoff, and 

reduce evaporation. The guides provide design, 

installation, and maintenance tips to help homeowners as 

well as irrigation professionals maximize outdoor water 

savings while enhancing the health and beauty of the 

landscape.

WaterSense also created “Is Your Watering Under 

Control?” mini-brochure, which helps homeowners 

understand their irrigation controllers, how to adjust 

watering schedules with the change of seasons and/or 

weather conditions (rain, wind, etc.). 

To enhance the popular, Sprinkler Spruce-Up campaign 

we added a brochure to walk customers through a check 

list — inspect, direct, connect, and select WaterSense 

labeled irrigation controller — for their in-ground irrigation 

system. 

Partners of the Year Awards

On October 4, 2018, the 2018 WaterSense award 

winners were announced at WaterSmart Innovations 

Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas, NV. 

WaterSense partners across the country help save water 

by advancing and promoting WaterSense and water 

efficiency. 

In 2018, nine partners were recognized with Sustained 

Excellence Awards for their continued high level of 

support: American Standard - Part of LIXIL AthensClarke County (GA) Public Utilities Dept., City of 

Charlottesville (VA), Cobb County (GA) Water 

System, Delta Faucet Company, Energy Inspectors 

Corporation, KB Home, Metropolitan North Georgia 

Water Planning District, and Sonoma-Marin (CA) Saving 

Water Partnership. 

Four partners were recognized as Partners of the Year: 

City of Fort Worth, TX; City of Plano, TX; Citrus County, 

FL; Utilities, and The Broward Water Partnership, FL.

WaterSense also presented eight Excellence Awards, 

which recognize organizations that stood out in one or 

more evaluation categories: City of Durham (NC) Dept. of 

Water Mgmt., Sacramento (CA) Suburban Water District, 

City of Frisco (TX), Alliance for Water Efficiency, Sonoma

-Marin (CA) Saving Water Partnership, The Toro

Company, Hunter Industries, and San Diego County (CA)

Water Authority.

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Decentralized Wastewater 

Program

Celebrating the 7th Annual SepticSmart 

Week

EPA’s SepticSmart Week campaign informs homeowners 

about proper septic system care and maintenance, 

assists local agencies in promoting homeowner education 

and awareness, and educates local decision makers 

about infrastructure options to improve and sustain their 

communities. The 7th Annual SepticSmart Week 

occurred September 16-20, 2019. Each year, states and 

organizations submit proclamations of support and 

commitment to SepticSmart Week; this year, the program 

received 11. The Decentralized MOU Partnership also 

updated their SepticSmart Week Social Media Guide, 

which contains social media posts, blogs, press releases, 

local outreach examples, and much more.

New SepticSmart Program Materials

EPA’s Decentralized Wastewater Program created 

several new SepticSmart Week products for MOU 

partners, states, and homeowners. The program 

developed a new SepticSmart magnet to remind 

homeowners of what not to put down their drain and 

when they last had their system serviced. New 

educational products were also created for vacation rental 

property owners with septic systems, including a onepage guide and signs for the kitchen and bathroom, to 

educate renters about what not to put down the drain. 

Decentralized Wastewater Workforce 

Efforts

Stemming from the fifth priority of the Decentralized 

Wastewater MOU Partnership, which focuses on 

education and growing a sustainable workforce, the 

Decentralized Wastewater Program hosted two listening 

sessions and a national meeting to discuss workforce 

challenges and potential solutions for the decentralized 

wastewater industry. In October 2018, the program held 

two listening sessions, one on challenges associated with 

installers, pumpers, maintenance providers, etc, and the 

second on challenges experienced in academia (i.e. 

research, or engineering programs). 

These listening sessions were broad in scope and helped 

put all potential issues and solutions on the table. A 

Decentralized Wastewater Workforce Steering Group was 

created out of these listening sessions to inform the 

development of a National Meeting focused on identifying

solutions to increase workforce training and competency 

and advance decentralized wastewater education in 

community colleges and universities. The Steering 

Committee includes diverse expertise from academic and 

industry experts and was instrumental in developing the 

meeting approach, scoping the discussion topics, and 

refining research materials particularly on the range of 

decentralized wastewater systems, job types, and 

competencies. 

The National Meeting was held in July and focused on 

three themes: Key Jobs and Associated Competencies; 

Education and Training; and Recruitment and Retention. 

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The Meeting included a session on identifying workforce 

development opportunities with a view towards building a 

roadmap for action. The Convening included over 40 

participants with a mix of professional backgrounds from 

within and outside of the decentralized wastewater sector. 

Other Collaboration and Synergy

Campus RainWorks Challenge

EPA’s Green Infrastructure program held the 7th annual 

Campus RainWorks Challenge, a design competition that 

engages with the next generation of environmental 

professionals to showcase the environmental, economic, 

and social benefits of green infrastructure practices. 

Student teams design an innovative green infrastructure 

project for their campus that addresses stormwater 

pollution while benefitting the campus community and the 

environment. During this round, 67 student teams 

submitted green infrastructure designs for their respective 

campuses to compete in one of two categories: master 

plan or demonstration project. The University of Louisiana 

at Lafayette and Florida International University were the 

first and second place winners, respectively, in the master 

plan category. The University of Oregon and the 

University of Arizona were first and second, respectively, 

in the demonstration project category. 

Tyson Foods, Inc. CRADA

On May 20, 2019, Tyson Foods, Inc. and the Director of 

National Exposure Research Laboratory signed the 

Materials Cooperative Research and Development 

Agreement (CRADA) for a water reuse pilot project. 

Tyson approached OWM in June 2018 to collaborate on 

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water reuse pilot project. OWM worked with EPA’s Office 

of Research and Development to draft a CRADA to 

establish a process for onsite protein processing 

wastewater reuse that maintains protection of food quality 

and consumer health. Specific objectives include 

characterizing the quality of protein processing 

wastewater, determining the treatment requirements 

necessary to achieve public health benchmarks along 

with the determination of an appropriate direct potable 

reuse microbial risk assessment methodology, and 

identifying potential treatment train configurations to meet 

treatment targets.

MOU Advances EPA’s Efforts to 

Address Excess Nutrients in Nation’s 

Waterways 

In February, EPA signed an MOU with the Water 

Research Foundation (WRF) to accelerate progress on 

reducing excess nutrients in the nation’s waterways. The 

MOU builds on successes achieved through the Nutrient 

Recycling Challenge, a competition launched by EPA to 

develop affordable technologies to recycle nutrients from 

livestock manure. Through the MOU, EPA and WRF will 

collaborate with the agricultural community to build 

capacity and awareness of programs and tools that 

support watershed and market-based approaches to 

nutrient management. To accomplish these goals, the 

MOU aims to:

• Facilitate greater collaborations between the

regulated water community, technology, and

agricultural producers;

• Match innovative manure and nutrient management

technologies with on-farm testing sites, funders for

technology demonstrations, and third-party

evaluators;

• Enable producer-to-producer information exchange

regarding technology performance; and

• Develop and disseminate information on specific

topic areas related to manure management and

resource recovery and reuse.

National Water Workforce Convening 

In November 2018, OWM and other sector partners 

hosted the National Water Workforce Convening at the 

Alexandria Renew Enterprises facility in Alexandria, 

VA. Approximately 75 utility leaders, states, federal 

agencies, and other thought-leaders in the water 

workforce arena engaged in a series of discussions 

around workforce recruitment, retention, training, and 

collaboration with outside organizations. Several leading 

organizations from the water sector and other sectors 

presented on their efforts to help utilities develop 

sustainable workforce plans, along with lessons learned 

and challenges from their experiences. EPA and other 

sector partners are using the results from the convening 

to develop water workforce strategies. 

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U.S.-Brazil Innovative Forest Investment

Forum

EPA participated in the U.S.-Brazil Forum on Innovative 

Forest Investments in July 2019 with two presentations 

on the Evolution of Forest Resilience Bonds and the 

current state of green infrastructure in the United States. 

Participants included representatives from U.S. and 

Brazilian governments, as well as local and international 

financial institutions, forestry companies, and forestry and 

financial non-governmental organizations. The goal was 

to learn about and share innovative ideas from the U.S. 

and Brazilian methodologies. It also served to enhance 

interagency collaboration with the Forest Service on 

water quality issues and State Department on 

international water finance efforts. 

Green Infrastructure Engagement

The green infrastructure program staff continued work 

with the Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange 

Network, a national network of practitioners that supports 

communities seeking to grow their green infrastructure 

programs. At this year’s exchange annual conference in 

June 2019, representatives from the 60 member 

communities met in Milwaukee, WI to share experiences 

in the following priority areas:

Equity: Integrating equity into the full value chain of green 

stormwater infrastructure.

Workforce Development: Cross-training, building 

workforce requirements into contracts, effective 

partnerships, and connecting green stormwater 

infrastructure to the water industry.

Asset Management: Comparing approaches and 

prioritizing asset maintenance based on risk.

Details and Specifications: Developing a library of costeffective designs and lessons learned.

Maintenance: Using smart technology to identify 

maintenance needs, comparing service delivery models 

and maintenance standards.

Performance Contracts: Defining performance metrics. 

Training: Sharing existing resources for technical/

leadership/change management.

Trees and Green Stormwater Infrastructure: Aligning 

stormwater trees with urban forestry.

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Office of Wastewater Management

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (4201M)

Washington, DC 20460

EPA Publication Number 830R19002 

January 2020

www.epa.gov/OWM