2021

Annual 

Report

Office of 

Wastewater

Management
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Message from the 

Director

As FY 2021 comes to a close, yet again, I find myself rapt as I tally up the 

immense undertakings and incredible accomplishments of the Office of 

Wastewater Management (OWM). For all that we achieved together over the 

past 12 months, I express my immense gratitude.

Environmental protection and human health is as important as ever. While

the task may seem daunting at times, OWM staff brings their expertise

and dedication to the table every day. I’ve said it before: In my opinion, OWM is one of the most 

important offices in the entire agency. Our work keeps water safe – whether by setting guardrails 

to prevent pollution, helping communities figure out real solutions for their water needs, or helping 

them afford those solutions – the benefits of our work is seen in every home across the country. 

As the pandemic changes, OWM’s work remains consistent, reliable and enduring. More than that, we 

persist: in achieving what we set out to do, in continuing to bring our best selves to our work, and in 

performing our duties commendably. From dining room tables, basements, home offices, or wherever 

my colleagues in OWM worked from, the work simply got done right. 

Thank you for all you have done and all you continue to do to make OWM successful and a great 

place to work. 

WHO WE ARE

The Office of Wastewater Management 

(OWM) is part fo 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.

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.

WHAT 

WE DO

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.
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Table of Contents

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FUNDING

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.

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TOOLS

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

help states, industries, and communities make informed decisions about 

managing water resources.

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PERMITS

Protecting water quality under the Clean Water Act through permits, rules, 

and oversight to control water pollution. OWM regulations are developed 

with extensive input from stakeholders, industry, and the public.

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PARTNERSHIPS

Collaborating with stakeholders to encourage innovation and supplement 

regulatory programs with voluntary initiatives to protect water quality and 

quantity.
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Water Infrastructure and 

Innovation Act Program

WIFIA Loan Closings 

In FY 2021, the Water Infrastructure Finance and 

Innovation Act (WIFIA) program announced 24 loans 

totaling over $4.7 billion to help finance nearly $10.2 

billion of water infrastructure projects across the 

country. 2021 WIFIA borrowers represent 11 states 

plus Washington, D.C. In total, these borrowers will 

save over $1.4 billion and create over 33,000 jobs.

Administrator Michael Regan speaks to media 

gathered at the Silicon Valley Clean Water facility in 

Redwood City, CA; August 2021

WIFIA Notice of Funding Availability 

In April 2021, EPA announced the availability of 

financing for $5.5 billion in WIFIA loans and $1 billion 

in State infrastructure financing authority WIFIA 

(SWIFIA) loans. 

For the first time, EPA prioritized supporting 

economically stressed communities in its selection 

process. In addition, EPA also named protecting 

water infrastructure against the impacts of climate 

change; reducing exposure to lead; addressing 

emerging contaminants; updating aging 

infrastructure; and implementing new or innovative 

approaches including cybersecurity and green 

infrastructure as 

selection priorities. 

Also new for 2021, 

EPA offered small 

communities 

(serving less than 

25,000 people) WIFIA loans for up to 80 percent 

of total project costs. In June and July 2021, EPA 

received 50 letters of interest from public and private 

prospective borrower requesting $8.2 billion in WIFIA 

and SWIFIA loans to help finance water infrastructure 

projects totaling $22.5 billion in 25 states.

WIFIA Webinars & Articles

From May to June 2021, the WIFIA program hosted 

a series of webinars to provide program updates, 

explain the benefits of financing with WIFIA loans, 

and prepare prospective borrowers to submit 

letters of interest. The WIFIA program had over 200 

participants for the three webinars given during this 

time. As part of FY 2021 outreach, EPA supported the 

publication of a variety of articles highlighting the 

program in different online outlets including Journal 

AWWA, WaterWorld, and Water & Wastes Digest.

WIFIA’s Portfolio

After three years of closing loans, the WIFIA program 

Funding
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now has a robust portfolio of 61 loans to manage. 

The WIFIA program’s growing portfolio team tracks 

disbursements, construction progress, and works 

closely with borrowers to ensure environmental 

and economic project goals are met. The WIFIA 

program’s portfolio includes a mixture of wastewater, 

drinking water, stormwater, and water reuse 

projects. About one-third of closed loans support 

economically stressed communities and more 

than half of WIFIA-financed projects will provide 

infrastructure protection against climate change.

Clean Water State Revolving 

Fund Program

CWSRF Program Success

In 2020, Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) 

programs offered over 1,600 assistance agreements, 

providing over $7.5 billion for projects that improved 

wastewater infrastructure, addressed stormwater, 

promoted energy and 

water efficiency, and 

mitigated nonpoint 

source pollution. In 

the last three years 

alone, average annual 

CWSRF funding has 

exceeded $6.8 billion.

CWSRF programs 

continue to provide 

tremendous cost 

savings to borrowers. 

The national average SRF interest rate in 2020 

was 1.2 percent. During the same year, over $380 

million in additional subsidy was provided to help 

communities that could not otherwise afford critically 

important projects needed to address high priority 

environmental challenges. Since 1988, it is estimated 

that CWSRF low-cost loans have saved municipal, 

nonprofit, and individual borrowers more than $44 

billion in interest costs.

CWSRF Marketing and Outreach 

In FY 2021 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. 

This year one survey and two focus groups were 

conducted. Sixteen states have 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. 

PISCES 

Recognition 

Program

FY 2021, OWM’s 

CWSRF Performance 

and Innovation in 

the SRF Creating 

Environmental 

Success (PISCES) 

Recognition Program 

highlighted 33 

projects for their 

distinguished accomplishments in promoting 

human health and improving water quality. In 

December 2020, five of these projects were 

announced as an Exceptional Project for one of 

the following categories: Innovative Financing; 

System Partnerships; Community Engagement; 

Environmental and Public Health Protection; and 

Problem Solving.

CWSRF Training and Oversight

The CWSRF program continues to support training 

for state and regional staff on the financial and 

programmatic aspects of CWSRF programs. In FY 

2021, the program continued with a virtual format 

and held training sessions for state and regional staff 

from Region 1, 2, 5, 8, and 9. The training sessions 

included discussions on fund management, program 

marketing, and federal requirements. This year, the 

CWSRF program also conducted a national virtual 

SRF 101 with nearly 500 state and regional SRF 

program managers and staff registered and a virtual 

“mini training” session on SRF Streamlining with over 

200 people registered.

American Iron and Steel

In FY 2021, EPA continued its implementation of 

the American Iron and Steel (AIS) requirements. 

The AIS program completed 60 virtual site visits 

to active CWSRF construction projects across 11 

states. The site visits provided an opportunity for 

outreach with CWSRF projects. EPA conducted 12 

trainings for states and stakeholders, explaining how 
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the AIS requirements apply to SRF projects. This 

effort included one annual national training and 

two “Lunch and Learn” trainings, which are short 

presentations focusing on specific aspects of the 

AIS requirement. While the majority of the country’s 

water infrastructure projects use iron and steel made 

in America, when domestic sources are not available, 

EPA thoroughly evaluates project-specific waiver 

requests. In FY 2021, EPA received and processed 

29 CWSRF project-specific waiver requests, 28 

availability requests and one cost-based, of which 25 

were approved, 4 were withdrawn or not approved, 

and 6 are currently being processed.

Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse 

Municipal Grants Program

The Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse 

Municipal Grants Program (OSG) was launched in 

2021 and began accepting state applications for 

their allocation funding. States will soon provide 

funding for municipalities across the 50 states, D.C., 

Puerto Rico, and the territories to address their 

infrastructure needs in managing combined sewer 

overflows (CSOs), sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), 

and stormwater. In 2021, OWM received applications 

from six states totaling over $5 million for awards 

that will be used to fund municipal projects.

Clean Watersheds Needs Survey

The Clean Watersheds Need Survey (CWNS) is a 

comprehensive assessment of the capital costs (or 

needs) to meet the water quality goals of the Clean 

Water Act (CWA) and address water quality and 

water quality related public health concerns. It is 

administered to all states and territories over a yearlong period and requires significant coordination 

from local to national levels.

In FY 2021, OWM and state subcommittee members 

held their final meeting, ending a more than yearlong collaboration on survey scope and design. 

OWM also completed the beta-version of the new 

CWNS data entry portal and held testing with state 

coordinators at the end of August 2021. In addition 

to updating existing tools, OWM built new cost 

estimation tools for stormwater and certain nonpoint 

source needs categories to help states maximize the 

number of needs captured by the survey. Pending 

approval by the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB), the CWNS is slated to launch in March 2022. 

Training for state coordinators participating in the 

CWNS will begin in November 2021.

Water Infrastructure and 

Resiliency Finance Center

2021 Financial Capability Assessment 

for Clean Water Act Obligations

The proposed 2020 Financial Capability Assessment

(FCA) for CWA Obligations advances the ability 

of communities to more accurately demonstrate 

the financial burdens they face and increases the 

transparency of EPA’s considerations as it endeavors 

to consistently apply FCA methodologies across 

the country. The 30-day comment period on the 

new proposed FCA closed in October 2020. A total 

of 70 comments were received. EPA sought public 

comment on the two alternative approaches for 

assessing financial capability proposed in the 2020 

FCA. 

In January 2021, EPA signed a federal register notice 

finalizing the 2021 Financial Capability Assessment 

(FCA) for Clean Water Act (CWA) Obligations to 

replace the 1997 Guidance for Financial Capability 

Assessment and Schedule Development and 

revise the Combined Sewer Overflows Guidance 

for Financial Capability Assessment and Schedule 

Development and portions of the Interim Economic 

Guidance for Water Quality Standards: Workbook. 

Upon further comment, EPA is continuing to revise 

the guidance. 

Water Finance Clearinghouse

In December 2020, the Water Finance Center 

launched the Clearinghouse for Environmental 

Finance (ChEF). This new Clearinghouse is three 

databases in one: the original Water Finance 

Clearinghouse and two new finance Clearinghouses 

for Air and Land. At launch, the Clearinghouse for 

Environmental Finance includes 958 sources of 

funding and financing and 885 financial resources. 

Former Administrator Wheeler announced ChEF 

during prerecorded remarks to EPA’s Local 

Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) and 

Small Communities Advisory Subcommittee (SCAS) 

Meetings.

In June 2021, the Local Government Environmental 

Assistance Network (LGEAN) released their podcast 
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on “The 4-1-1 on Financing: Strategies and Support 

for Small Water and Wastewater Systems.” The 

podcast featured interviews with EPA’s Office of 

Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), the 

University of North Carolina Environmental Finance 

Center, and EPA’s Water Finance Center. The Center 

spoke about the differences between funding and 

financing as well as promoting the Water Finance 

Clearinghouse portion of EPA’s Clearinghouse for 

Environmental Finance. 

In August 2021, the Water Finance Center presented 

on the Water Finance Clearinghouse in partnership 

with the Organization for Economic Co-operation 

and Development (OECD) as part of the World 

Water Week. The Center provided information 

on the Clearinghouse as an example that session 

participants could use to develop a similar repository 

to get more international Water Supply, Sanitation 

and Water Security projects funded.

To enhance the Water Finance Clearinghouse user 

experience and improve access to its technical and 

funding-related information, the Water Finance 

Center modified the Clearinghouse’s filter and 

search functions. The modified search and filter 

tools were developed in response to user feedback 

and the Center plans to roll out additional design 

modifications to the Clearinghouse. In FY 2021, 1,015 

funds and 417 resources entries were added. The 

administration team reviewed and approved 367 

suggestions to add new entries and update existing 

data. The Clearinghouse has 290 general users and 

137 contributors – a gain of 2 contributors and 8 

general users in FY 2021. The Clearinghouse received 

52,349 visits for FY 2021.

Environmental Finance Center Grants

In FY 2021, EPA provided funding of $60,000 to each 

of the ten Environmental Finance Centers (EFCs). This 

core funding will be utilized to support regionalbased projects. These grants have been awarded 

annually. The grants support basic EFC operations 

and project work topics including environmental 

justice, 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.

Community Assistance Compendiums

EPA’s Water Finance Center continues to provide 

a suite of information and assistance to local 

decision makers, water utilities, and homeowners 

on funding and financing for their water needs. In 

FY 2021, the Water Finance Center completed three 

community assistance compendiums. EPA’s Office 

of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations 

(OCIR) routed a request to the Center as part of 

ongoing agency discussions with Greenville, MS. 

The Greenville compendium contains 33 potential 

funding sources or resources. The Center also 

provided compendiums for Lincoln, NE (64 potential 

funding sources or resources) and Boise, ID (87 

potential funding sources or resources). 

Forest Resilience Bond

In March 2021, the Water Finance Center developed 

an in-depth technical report on the first Forest 

Resilience Bond. This new financing structure was 

developed to fund a portion of a forest restoration 

project on the Tahoe National Forest in California’s 

North Yuba River watershed. The project protects 

and restores 15,000 acres of forest from catastrophic 

wildfire while providing additional water related 

and rural community co-benefits. To support the 

report’s release, in spring 2021, the Center hosted 

two webinars discussing the report. These webinars 

featured a moderated panel with speakers from 

the U.S. Forest Service, Yuba Water Agency, Blue 

Forest, Calvert Impact Capital, and World Resources 

Institute. Both webinars also had an open question 

and answer period for attendees. 160 people 

attended the webinars, which were recorded.

Environmental Finance Advisory Board

Environmental Finance Advisory Board 

Letter to the Administrator

In April 2021, the Environmental Finance Advisory 

Board (EFAB) submitted an introductory letter to EPA 

Administrator Michael Regan. The letter discusses the 

role of EFAB in supporting EPA, the composition of 

its membership, and the Board’s recently completed 

products. In the letter, the Board enumerates the 

ways it is working with EPA on current financing and 

investment issues facing the environmental sector. 

These include advancing social and environmental 

justice through infrastructure financing and 

investment, risk assessment and the cost of capital 
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for infrastructure, expanding regional approaches 

to scaling water-based infrastructure financing 

and investment, and more. This letter also notifies 

Administrator Regan that the Board is prepared 

to serve as a resource and engage on critical 

climate financing topics. Through this letter, EFAB 

offers to provide expertise and recommendations 

on innovative policy interventions to enable 

transformational environmental, economic, and social 

changes in communities throughout the country.

EFAB Public Meetings and Webinars

The Water Finance Center hosted EFAB’s first 

ever virtual public meeting in October 2020. EPA 

published the Federal Register Notice (FRN) in 

September 2020, the prior Fiscal Year, to meet 

the regulatory deadline of advance public federal 

advisory committee meeting notification. The 

meeting had a record registration with 273 people 

registered to view the meeting simulcast online. 

The meeting reached a peak viewership of over 

220 viewers. During the meeting, EFAB heard about 

opportunity zones, including community stories from 

St. Louis, MO, and Dubuque, IA, and voted to accept 

a charge on an opportunity zone report. In addition, 

the Board voted to further refine two proposed 

charges related to environmental risk and cost of 

capital and stormwater credit trading. The Board 

also received briefings on EFAB’s standard operating 

procedures, the Water Finance Center, Environmental 

Finance Center Network (EFCN), and EPA responses 

to recent EFAB reports. 

In February and March, all three EFAB workgroups 

held their first meetings. These workgroup meetings 

allowed the members to refine the charges and 

determine next steps to present at the upcoming 

full EFAB meeting. The workgroups are Opportunity 

Zones, Stormwater Credit Trading, and Environmental 

Risk & Cost of Capital. 

In April 2021, EFAB held a virtual public meeting with 

219 attendees in addition to the Board members. 

EPA issued the FRN of this public meeting in March 

2021, well in advance of the regulatory 15-day 

deadline. The Board heard from EPA’s Office of 

Public Engagement and Environmental Education, 

EPA’s Chief Financial Officer, EPA’s Office of Policy, 

and EPA’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer. EPA’s 

Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics presented 

on a proposed charge and members volunteered 

to form an exploratory group. The EFCN presented 

an update and overview on recent activities. EFAB 

also held discussions on three existing workgroups: 

Opportunity Zones, Stormwater Credit Trading, 

and Environmental Risk & Cost of Capital. EFAB’s 

Designated Federal Officer shared EPA’s responses 

to recent EFAB recommendations and received very 

positive feedback from the Board members. 

In August, EFAB held a public webinar for an 

Opportunity Zones Practitioner Panel for the EFAB 

Opportunity Zones Workgroup. Due to interest 

from the full Board, this webinar was opened to 

the public. EPA published the FRN announcement 

for this webinar earlier the same month, meeting 

the regulatory deadline. The webinar was held for 

members of the EFAB to hear from Opportunity 

Zones practitioners who work on Opportunity Zones 

investments in disadvantaged communities and 

shared their experiences to support the workgroup’s 

charge.

EFAB Chair

In August 2021, EPA announced the selection of 

Kerry E. O’Neill to serve as the chair of EFAB. Ms. 

O’Neill replaces Joanne Throwe, whose six-year 

term limit ended in June. Kerry E. O’Neill is the chief 

executive officer of Inclusive Prosperity Capital Inc., a 

nonprofit investment fund that was spun out of the 

Connecticut Green Bank in 2018 to scale up impact 

for underserved communities and under-invested 

markets across the country. Ms. O’Neill joined EFAB 

in June 2020 and was selected for a two-year term 

as chair. Ms. O’Neill and the other members of EFAB 

are drawn from all 10 EPA regions and hail from 17 

states and the District of Columbia.

Water Pollution Control 

Program Grants

Section 106 Program

Section 106 of the CWA 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. 
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EPA provided approximately $230 million in Section 

106 funding to prevent and control water pollution in 

FY 2021. 

State and Interstate Water Pollution 

Control Grants 

In FY 2020, EPA provided $181 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 basinwide 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. In FY 2021, the Section 

106 Program, working with EPA’s Office of Wetlands, 

Oceans, and Watersheds (OWOW) and EPA Region 8, 

developed seven water quality parameter fact sheets: 

temperature, e. Coli, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, 

nutrients and macroinvertebrates. The water quality 

parameter fact sheets provide an introduction to 

monitoring common parameters and are particularly 

useful for training new water quality monitoring staff 

and explaining water quality sampling to outside 

partners. 

Tribal Water Pollution Control Grants 

Section 106 grants are a crucial, dedicated source of 

funding for developing, maintaining, and expanding 

tribal programs designed to prevent, control, and 

eliminate water pollution. Of the 565 federally 

recognized tribes, approximately 330 meet the 

criteria to receive Section 106 funding, and 279 of 

these tribes were eligible to receive grants totaling 

approximately $26.4 million in FY 2021.

In FY 2020, OWM formed an EPA workgroup to 

develop recommendations for the revision of the 

2007 Final Guidance on Awards of Grants to Indian 

Tribes under Section 106 of the CWAct. OWM 

initiated consultation with tribal partners in January 

and requested comment on EPA’s recommended 

revision approach. Two informational webinars were 

conducted. The workgroup was expanded to include 

24 tribal members. EPA/tribal sub-groups were 

formed to revise the guidance. A draft guidance will 

be available for comment in early 2022.

State and Tribal Water Monitoring 

Initiative 

Using approximately $17 million, OWM and 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 2021, states and tribes 

conducted sampling and reported water quality 

monitoring data for the National Wetlands Condition 

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. 

Grants & Underserved 

Communities’ Infrastructure

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 CWSRF, 

as these jurisdictions have government agencies that 

also manage wastewater treatment systems. These 

jurisdictions receive CWSRF appropriated funds as 

grants. In FY 2021, EPA received $31.470 million for 

the CWA Title II Construction Grants Program, which 

was allocated to these jurisdictions. This funding 

does not include CWA 604(b) funds of $100,000 

to each of the jurisdictions. The grants are being 

awarded to municipalities for the construction of 

wastewater treatment systems. 

Wastewater Infrastructure Support for 

Tribal and Small Communities

In FY 2021, OWM’s tribal wastewater infrastructure 

program scheduled approximately 9,600 tribal homes 

to be provided improved access to sanitation services 

at an average cost of $3,400/home. The smallest 

project funded with the Clean Water Indian SetAside (CWISA) this year was $28,000 for lift station 

improvements for the Ho Chunk Tribe in Region 5, 

and while the largest project was $5.4 million for 
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constructing a new sewage lagoon for the Noorvik, 

AK, about 500 miles northwest of Anchorage. In 

addition, in FY 2021 the CWISA program aims 

to leverage an additional $43 million from other 

federal and tribal organizations for tribal wastewater 

infrastructure improvements. In FY 2021 the Alaska 

Native Villages grant program will fund six drinking 

water and/or wastewater infrastructure planning 

projects and eight construction projects.

Tribal Infrastructure Task Force

Staff from OWM and EPA’s Office of Ground Water 

and Drinking Water (OGWDW) continue to lead 

the tribal Infrastructure Task Force (ITF) and the 

important renewal of a multi-agency Memorandum 

of Understanding (MOU) in FY 2021. Although great 

progress has been made, following decades of work, 

tribal communities are disproportionately lacking 

access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and 

many struggle with the sustainability of infrastructure 

and the resiliency needed to mitigate the impacts of 

climate change. To better support tribal communities 

and to further our agencies’ goals, ITF members are 

seeking to renew and expand the MOU to include 

the Bureau of Reclamation and the Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Technical Assistance and Training for 

Small and Rural Tribal Communities 

In FY 2021, OWM kicked-off an inaugural grant 

program to fund technical assistance for small, 

rural, and tribal wastewater systems. Staff not only 

established roles, responsibilities, and financial 

conduits, but also developed the Request for 

Applications (RFA), directed the application review 

panel and public outreach. The $12 million will be 

distributed to three applicants at $4 million each to 

address: 

• Acquiring infrastructure financing

• Protecting water quality and achieving CWA

compliance, and

• Disseminating planning, design, construction, and

operation information.

U.S.-Mexico Border Infrastructure

Program

In FY 2021, Congress allocated $30 million in 

the agency’s State and Tribal Assistance Grants 

(STAG) account to the U.S.-Mexico Border Water 

Infrastructure Program (BWIP) to address drinking 

and wastewater infrastructure needs along the 

border that are negatively impacting U.S.-Mexico 

Border communities. OWM granted these funds 

to Regions 6 and 9 who ultimately award and 

administer these funds in close collaboration with the 

North American Development Bank (NADB). 

To date, the program has funded 136 projects. More 

than nine million people are benefiting from 101 

completed projects, and nearly 1.3 million people will 

benefit from projects currently under construction. 

In FY 2021 around $9.4 million were disbursed for 

the successful completion of four projects, positively 

impacting/benefiting close to 110,000 people in 

underserved communities.

USMCA Mitigation of Contaminated 

Transboundary Flows in the Tijuana 

River Watershed

Pursuant to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement 

Implementing Legislation (2020), EPA is coordinating 

with eligible public entities to identify infrastructure 

solutions to mitigate chronic transboundary flows 

in the Tijuana River and adjacent coastal areas 

that are often polluted with untreated wastewater, 

trash, and sediment. These flows routinely enter 

the U.S. in San Diego County, CA, from Mexico, 

causing significant negative impacts to water quality, 

public health, and the environment. In FY 2021, EPA 

convened five meetings of the Eligible Public Entities 

Coordinating Group, composed of federal, state, and 

local organizations to promote coordination and 

information sharing; held four public information 

meetings; conducted a robust technical assessment 

of potential infrastructure solutions; and initiated the 

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, 

including a 45-day public scoping period. The agency 

also initiated binational discussions with Mexico 

to promote cooperation and coordination during 

project implementation. Congress appropriated $300 

million for project implementation. 
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Water Workforce

America’s Water Workforce Initiative 

OWM, along with OGWDW, continued to implement 

America’s Water Sector Workforce Initiative, the 

first of its kind. The Initiative reflects a commitment 

by EPA and our federal, local, and state partners to 

work with other stakeholders across the water sector 

to ensure that our workforce is strong, diverse, and 

resilient and attracts talented individuals from many 

different backgrounds. The Initiative also emphasizes 

the need to recognize our water workforce for 

the vital service they provide to our communities 

every day. It convenes the resources across the 

government and industry by bringing discrete efforts 

together under one umbrella to more effectively 

bolster water sector careers and reach the next 

generation of water protection specialists. 

Water Workforce Case Study 

Compendium 

As part of our commitment to work with many 

partners to make water truly a career of choice, 

OWM developed an additional three case studies 

to add to our existing Water Workforce Case Study 

Compendium. All of these case studies describe 

in detail the many ways in which water workers 

across the country are making a difference in their 

communities every day. These case studies document 

how utility and community leaders are stepping 

forward to ensure their current workers have the 

skills to meet both current and future challenges 

as they continue to provide reliable, sustainable, 

and affordable water services. These case studies 

also highlight the policies and programs utilities are 

designing to ensure greater equity, diversity, and 

inclusion at their utility and for their community. 

Many utilities are engaging in innovative work to 

build community connections to attract and prepare 

new, talented people to the water sector. These 

community partnerships amplify and support both 

utility workforce and public engagement efforts. 

Water Workforce Webinar Series 

Recruiting and retaining a talented and diverse 

workforce are some of the most important 

challenges facing today’s water and wastewater 

utilities. Providing information to help utilities 

develop their own workforce programs is an essential 

part of OWM’s mission. As part of its ongoing 

webinar series in 2021, OWM conducted three 

national webinars, attracting over 1,500 registrants, 

to highlight ways in which various organizations 

are implementing programs that can help utilities 

and communities ensure that the many dedicated 

professionals that ensure our citizens have clean and 

safe water every day are sustained to help make sure 

the water continues to be a career of choice.

Water Workforce Grant Program

OWM led the effort to develop the RFA for a new 

workforce grant program authorized under America’s 

Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA) to support 

increased collaboration on water workforce among 

government and other organizations. The new grant 

program will help assist in the development and 

utilization of innovative activities related to workforce 

and expand public awareness about utilities. This 

new grant will help fund activities such as targeted 

internship, apprenticeship, and pre-apprenticeship 

programs; education programs for elementary, 

secondary, and higher education students; regional 

industry and workforce development collaborations; 

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Tools
11

integrated learning laboratories in secondary 

educational institutions; leadership development; 

occupational training; mentoring; and cross-training. 

The competition closed on March 26, 2021. Ten 

organizations will receive a total of $3.8 million in 

grant funding to support the front-line workers at 

water and wastewater treatment utilities across the 

country. 

Water Workforce Social Media 

Competition

Through an interagency agreement with U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 

OWM successfully completed a social media 

competition about the value of clean and safe water. 

Students ages 13-24 had the opportunity to submit 

one of the following creative ideas that expresses 

their feelings about water and water careers: a 

video essay, featuring acting, singing, poetry, or 

other spoken word; an illustration; a vision board; a 

poem; or a written essay. The competition ended on 

May 12, 2021. Three successful students received a 

winning prize. 

Social Media Contest Winner; Natalie W. 

Clean Water Technology 

Center

Clean Water Technology Center

The Clean Water Technology Center is an information 

and networking center, helping communities make 

informed decisions on innovative and alternative 

technology solutions for a resilient, sustainable, and 

equitable water future. The Center portfolio brings 

together under one umbrella technical expertise, 

sector partnerships, technology assessments, 

streamlining barriers to technology adoption, and 

information dissemination. In addition to providing 

technical support internally to the agency, the 

team has also met with many external entities and 

technology vendors seeking expertise and guidance.

Wastewater Treatment Technology 

and Research 

In FY 2021, 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 

mainstream and sidestream nutrient removal, 

low energy treatment, Mexico border wastewater 

infrastructure, wastewater-based epidemiology, PFAS 

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 

(ORD) and their Safe and Sustainable Water 

Resources research program.

Wastewater Technology Clearinghouse

The Wastewater Technology Clearinghouse was 

launched in January 2021. It is an easily navigated, 

web-based platform sharing resources on the 

cost-effectiveness and performance of innovative, 

alternative, and reuse wastewater technologies. 

The Wastewater Technology Clearinghouse aims 

to help communities make informed choices about 

innovative, alternative, and reuse wastewater 

technologies.

The Clearinghouse is separated into two searchable 

databases for centralized and on-site/ decentralized 

technologies. It highlights real-world uses of adopted 

technologies through resources such as reports, case 
12

studies, and webinars. Additionally, a searchable 

map links technology resources to a user’s location, 

allowing users to learn about the performance of 

technologies in their geographic conditions.

Training

NPDES Training to Regions and States 

OWM offers a range of training courses and 

workshops to support implementation of the NPDES 

Program. These efforts are critical to build and 

maintain program integrity in the 48 authorized 

state/territory programs and 10 EPA Regions. In 

2021, EPA hosted approximately 15 NPDES-focused 

trainings and workshops that reached over 1,000 

participants. These included the Guided Learning 

Permit Writers’ Course and several targeted and 

advanced trainings to build permit writers’ technical 

skills, such as specialized training on NPDES whole 

effluent toxicity for EPA Region 4 and its states. 

Pretreatment Training

In FY 2021, OWM completed the reconstituted 

national “Pretreatment Program 101” course and 

hosted six virtual events between December 2020 

and June 2021. The introductory level courses 

focused on local municipal program development by 

individuals with less than five years’ experience in the 

program and were conducted on a monthly basis. 

Approximately 1,000 municipal and state employees 

were trained in the National Pretreatment Program 

regulations and program implementation tools, as 

well as how the pretreatment program fits within 

the NPDES structure and interfaces with multimedia 

industrial regulations of hazardous waste and air 

emissions.

Stormwater Funding and Financing 

Approaches Webinar Series 

The Water Finance Center began a new webinar 

series in summer 2021 with a webinar on the EPA 

Programs for Stormwater Funding and Financing. 

This webinar highlighted opportunities for funding 

and financing stormwater infrastructure through 

existing EPA programs. Speakers for this first 

webinar include representatives from WIFIA, Georgia 

Environmental Protection Department’s Nonpoint 

Source Program, the CWSRF program, and the Sewer 

Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants 

program. The second webinar on stormwater equity 

highlighted equity considerations in stormwater 

infrastructure funding and financing. Speakers for 

this second webinar included representatives from 

the New York Environmental Facilities Corporation, 

the Environmental Finance Center at the University 

of Maryland, Moonshot Missions, and Greenprint 

Partners. The third webinar covered funding options 

for stormwater operations and maintenance 

with speakers representing OptiRTC, Milwaukee 

Metropolitan Sewerage District, and PowerCorps 

PHL.

Forest Resiliency Bond Webinar

In July 2021, the Water Finance Center participated 

on a webinar hosted by the Western States Water 

Council to discuss the newly innovated Forest 

Resilience Bond (FRB) finance mechanism. Other 

participants were from Blue Forest Conservation, the 

FRB developer, and the Yuba County Water Agency 

in California, which committed a revenue stream 

to secure the bonds. Yuba Water is a third-party 

beneficiary of the forest restoration work that is 

being undertaken on the Tahoe National Forest and 

their watershed. On the call, it was shared that there 

are new FRB initiatives, underscored by the enhanced 

need for forest restoration investment in the face of 

accelerating catastrophic fire risk.

Accounting for the Cost of Climate 

Change in Nutrient Management 

Activities: Forum and Community 

Framework

The Water Finance Center held a three-day virtual 

invitational forum in June 2021. The forum will 

help shape the development of a forthcoming 

community-facing framework for states and local 

governments to use in accounting for the influence 

of climate change on nutrient impacts. 

During the forum, participants heard from leaders 

at the leading edge of climate-driven nutrient 

management and the integration of external costs 

in nutrient management planning. Together, the 

panelists and attendees created an interdisciplinary 

exchange to advance understanding of the financial 

implications to practitioners resulting from climate 

change influences on nutrient impacts. They also 

worked to refine a community-facing framework 

to support practitioners in identifying the potential 

influence of climate change on nutrient impacts in 

12
13

their watersheds, the possible cost to communities 

resulting from failing to provide for adequate 

nutrient management, as well as robust, multi-benefit 

interventions available to optimize investments in a 

changing and difficult-to-predict future. Sixty-four 

people registered for the forum with a maximum 

attendance of 40 people. 

Agricultural-Municipal Partnerships 

Webinar

The Water Finance Center hosted a webinar on 

Improving Watershed Health through AgriculturalMunicipal Partnerships in July 2021. Attendees 

learned about three different agricultural-municipal 

partnerships and heard from the City of Boise, Ohio’s 

Miami Conservancy District, and Kansas Center for 

Agricultural Resources and the Environment. 

Sustainable Financial Management 

Planning for Water Utilities Webinar

In August 2021, the Water Finance Center hosted 

a webinar on Sustainable Financial Management 

Planning. Many water sector utilities across the 

nation are addressing mounting financial challenges 

by projecting revenue expectations, capital 

improvement needs, and expenses years into the 

future. These sustainable financial management 

practices often work in support of, and are also 

supported by, improved asset management. Key 

activities like improved capital budgeting can help 

utilities achieve stronger financial footing while 

enabling them to maintain and replace aging 

infrastructure well into the future. This webinar 

featured speakers from Columbus Water Works in 

Georgia and Union Sanitary District in California.

Technical Support & 

Assistance

Report to Congress on Integrated 

Planning

In July 2021, EPA transmitted the Integrated Planning 

Report to Congress. The report, which fulfills a 

requirement from the 2019 Water Infrastructure 

Improvement Act (WIIA), is based on research into 

how many communities used the integrated planning 

process, what challenges they tried to address, how 

they engaged their community, and how the process 

supported achieving their CWA goals. To date, 

more than two dozen municipalities and wastewater 

utilities have developed integrated plans. In addition 

to the report, OWM extended an agreement 

with Environmental Finance Centers to provide 

free technical assistance to municipalities and 

states interested in developing an integrated plan 

through September 2022. Finally, OWM has been 

implementing an extensive outreach plan to share 

the process with states and communities who need 

a holistic approach to planning their stormwater and 

wastewater management efforts.

Permit Writers’ Clearinghouse

OWM launched the NPDES Permit Writers’ 

Clearinghouse database and worked with Regions 

and States to populate it. The Clearinghouse, 

an easily navigable and searchable web-based 

portal, helps NPDES authorities access and share 

resources such as final permits, fact sheets, policies, 

program requirements, training materials, webinars, 

compendiums, guidance, frequently asked questions, 

tools, models, databases, and calculators that 

will enable them to make informed decisions for 

their permits. The Clearinghouse also provides 

permit writers with a space to showcase and share 

innovative approaches to addressing contaminants 

of emerging concern, such as PFAS.

National Approach to Disaster 

Mitigation and Recovery

OWM supported the Office of Water on EPA’s 

National Approach to Disaster Mitigation and 

Recovery (Order 2074). The purpose of the Order is 

to reaffirm and leverage existing agency programs 

and resources on disaster mitigation and recovery 

and to provide a structure for how regional offices 

and national programs will support states, tribes, 

territories, and local communities to recover from 

disasters. This cross-office effort is being led by staff 

from the Office of Water’s Water Security Division, 

who presented the standard operating procedures 

document in March 2021.

Wastewater Utility Emergency 

Response Plans

In August 2021, the Water Finance Center supported 

the Office of Water’s Water Security Division’s 

publication of Wastewater Utility Emergency 

Response Plan (ERP) Template and Instructions that 
14

describe strategies, resources, plans, and procedures 

for wastewater utilities to prepare for and respond 

to all-hazard incidents. This product is intended to 

address the gap in ERP guidance between drinking 

water systems under AWIA and wastewater systems. 

For consistency, the template was designed to 

mirror the structure in the AWIA drinking water 

ERP guidance and was developed with small- and 

medium-sized systems in mind.

Effective Utility Management 

Workshops 

As part of OWM’s long-standing commitment to 

help utilities improve all aspects of their operations 

and become truly sustainable, OWM continued to 

sponsor workshops with utilities to help them assess 

their operations using the Attributes of Effective 

Utility Management (EUM) framework, endorsed 

by EPA and other major water sector organizations. 

Since 2017, 14 workshops have been held, including 

5 in 2021. In total, over 800 attendees from various 

utilities, mainly smaller and medium-sized utilities, 

have benefited from this training. In addition, OWM 

completed a major case study describing how Austin 

Water Utility in Texas successfully used EUM to 

improve many facets of its operations.

Innovative Nutrient Removal 

Technologies Report

In FY 2021, the OWM completed a study and 

published a technical report that analyzed six 

municipal wastewater facilities that implemented 

innovative technologies or process enhancements 

to significantly intensify treatment or enhance 

the removal of nitrogen or phosphorus species. 

The analysis assesses technology performance at 

each facility and the statistical variability of plant 

effluent nutrient concentrations over a three-year 

period. Each case study presents a detailed process 

description, performance analysis, assessment of 

process train consistency in meeting permit limits, 

and lessons learned in process implementation. The 

report, Innovative Nutrient Removal Technologies: 

Case Studies of Intensified or Enhanced Treatment, 

can also be found in EPA’s Wastewater Technologies 

Clearinghouse. This report will support the work of 

utilities, states, tribes, and communities. 

Making the Right Choices for Your 

Utility

Effective planning is essential for water and 

wastewater utilities to manage their operations and 

infrastructure and ensure the sustainability of the 

communities they serve. As part of the ongoing 

commitment to assist utilities in their planning 

efforts, OWM collaborated with the Office of 

Community Revitalization (OCR) to work with utilities 

using the EPA developed, Augmented Alternatives 

Analysis (AAA) planning process, called Making 

the Right Choices for Your Utility. EPA partnered 

with the Highline Canal Conservancy near Denver, 

Colorado, and with the Saco Water Resources 

Recovery Department in Maine to go through the 

steps of the planning process. EPA hosted a webinar

that highlights the steps in process, the results of 

the process for each participant group, and valuable 

input from the Conservancy and Saco on how the 

process benefited them. 

Utilities as Anchor Institutions

EPA also met with utility leaders around the 

country to observe the ways utilities act as “Anchor 

Institutions,” deeply rooted within their communities. 

In addition to the extraordinary daily effort of 

safeguarding public health and protecting the 

environment by providing clean and safe water, 

utilities are also uniquely positioned as anchor 

institutions to create positive economic, social, and 

environmental impacts in their community. They do 

this through a variety of activities, above and beyond 

their daily operations, like workforce development, 

ecological improvements, and by increasing equity 

in their communities. EPA created a report that 

shares some examples of how utilities are leading 

to promote environmental justice, sustain critical 

infrastructure investments, and partner with others 

to advance community goals, with a focus on utility 

leadership and community equity. EPA hosted a 

webinar spotlight some of these utilities and their 

activities. 

Small Communities Lagoon Action 

Strategy Cross-Office Efforts 

Throughout the United States, most lagoon systems 

are found in small, tribal, and rural communities. 

Lagoons are typically used in these communities 

due to their affordability to construct, maintain, 

and operate. Additionally, they serve as excellent 
15

natural wastewater treatment systems. However, 

despite these benefits, small communities across 

the United States lack the necessary resources to 

upgrade and maintain their systems. To address 

this issue, OWM, Office of Water’s Office of Science 

and Technology, OECA, and EPA regional offices, 

are working on completing the development of the 

Cross-Office Small Community Lagoon Strategy. 

The strategy is supporting efforts to identify the 

universe of lagoons nationally. Additionally, it is 

helping with the development of cost and treatment 

performance data through the ORD STAR Grant 

RFA and completion of tools for states, tribes, 

and communities, to streamline the economic 

demonstration needed to support Water Quality 

Standards (WQS) variances for small rural and tribal 

communities. Lastly, the strategy is helping identify 

financial and technical assistance resources specific 

to small, rural, and tribal communities. As part of this 

work, the group has also connected with LGEAN to 

develop and serve as a “First-Stop Toolbox” for small 

communities looking for financial, regulatory, or 

compliance support.

2020 COVID-19 Water Sector Survey 

Summary Report

In August 2021, EPA published the 2020 COVID-19 

Water Sector Survey Summary Report, which relays 

the results of the 2020 COVID-19 Water Sector 

Survey. This voluntary survey was conducted under 

an OMB-approved emergency Information Collection 

Request (ICR) and gathered information on how the 

pandemic affected utility function across multiple 

areas. The survey included information on chemical 

and equipment supply-chain, workforce, financial, 

sampling and analysis, and cybersecurity concerns. 

Through continued technical assistance to potential 

respondents, the team achieved an impressive 30 

percent response rate for the voluntary survey. The 

results of the survey highlight the resilience of the 

water sector in continuing to deliver safe and reliable 

water services, despite the challenges presented by 

the pandemic. The Water Finance Center assisted 

Office of Water’s Water Security Division in the 

development of the survey and the report.

Compendium of U.S. Wastewater 

Surveillance to Support COVID-19 

Public Health Response

OWM created a compendium that documents efforts 

across the country to support the surveillance of 

SARS-CoV-2 through wastewater sampling and to 

guide those who are interested in implementing 

wastewater surveillance in the future by elaborating 

on funding, project management, results, and 

potential actions to prevent the continued spread 

of COVID-19. To support this goal, the compendium 

documents the efforts of federal, state, local, and 

tribal agencies—as well as associations, universities, 

and the private sector—throughout 2020 and into 

early 2021 to explore federal and other funding 

sources, develop and implement wastewater 

surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 and provide information 

on how programs were implemented through case 

studies. 

Industrial Stormwater Monitoring and 

Sampling Guide

In April 2021, OWM updated the Industrial 

Stormwater Monitoring and Sampling Guide as part 

of a suite of revised technical assistance materials 

for the industrial stormwater program. A how-to 

primer for industrial facility operators, specifically 

those under EPA’s 2021 Multi-Sector General 

Permit (MSGP), the guide presents procedures 

for conducting visual assessments and analytical 

monitoring of stormwater discharges. Most industrial 

stormwater permits, including the 2021 MSGP, 

require installation and implementation of control 

measures to minimize or eliminate pollutants in 

stormwater discharged from facilities. The results 

of regular stormwater monitoring, along with 

inspections and visual assessments, provide both 

quantitative and qualitative information to both 

the operator and regulators on the effectiveness 

of controls as well as the overall stormwater 

management program.

Transportation and Stormwater 

Management

In collaboration with the Federal Highways 

Administration, OWM co-hosted a webinar on EPA’s 

Transportation Stormwater Permit Compendium. 

Over 1,100 people participated, including the 

Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) 

permit writers and state and local Departments of 

Transportation. They learned about resources that 

can assist in developing MS4 permit terms specific to 

transportation MS4s. 

Robust outreach related to EPA’s involvement in 
16

the copper-free brake pad MOU continued through 

the year. In March 2021, OWM met with MOU 

signatories and several automotive industry groups, 

ECOS, California’s Department of Toxic Substances 

Control, and Washington’s Department of Ecology 

to mark the 5-year milestone target date of reducing 

copper in brake pads to <5 percent by 2025. EPA 

and fellow signatories co-hosted a webinar detailing 

the partnership on October 6, 2021. Environment 

and Climate Change Canada’s industrial sectors 

directorate automotive industry liaison met with 

OWM to learn about U.S. models for voluntary 

initiatives to reduce automotive related water 

pollution.

Smart Data Infrastructure to Improve 

Control and Decision-making in Sewer 

Systems

Advancements in data gathering technologies have 

led to the development of decision support tools 

for real time wet weather management. These 

dynamic systems remotely adjust facility operations 

in response to evolving field conditions to manage 

combined sewer overflows, sanitary sewer overflows, 

sewer backups, street flooding, and stormwater 

discharges. In March 2021, OWM published updates 

to Smart Data Infrastructure for Wet Weather 

Control and Decision Support, a summary of how 

municipalities, utilities, and related organizations 

can use these advances for wet weather control in 

real time, or near real time. Smart data infrastructure 

enhances the collection, storage, and analysis of 

water-related data to inform operational decisions. 

Such decisions can improve efficiency, reliability, the 

lifespan of physical assets, and save costs. With 22 

case studies, the document demonstrates the value 

of smart data infrastructure today and its potential 

for transforming water and wastewater management 

in the future.
17

PFAS Interim Strategy

In November 2020, the Office of Water issued an 

interim NPDES permitting strategy for PFAS, which 

provides recommendations from a cross-agency 

workgroup to include PFAS-related conditions in 

EPA-issued NPDES permits. The strategy advises EPA 

permit writers to consider including PFAS monitoring 

at facilities where these chemicals are expected to 

be present in wastewater discharges, including from 

MS4 and industrial stormwater permits. The PFAS 

that could be considered for monitoring are those 

that will have validated EPA analytical methods for 

wastewater testing, which the agency anticipates 

being available on a phased-in schedule as multi-lab 

validated wastewater analytical methods are finalized. 

The agency’s interim strategy also encourages the 

use of best management practices where appropriate 

to control or abate the discharge of PFAS and 

includes recommendations to facilitate information 

sharing to foster adoption of best practices across 

states and localities.

Rescission of the Maui Guidance

In September 2021, the Office of Water rescinded

the recently issued guidance document entitled 

“Applying the Supreme Court’s County of Maui v. 

Hawaii Wildlife Fund decision in the CWAct Section 

402 NPDES Permit Program,” which was signed on 

January 14, 2021. In April 2020, the Supreme Court 

held that discharges to groundwater require an 

NPDES permit if the pollutants eventually reach a 

WOTUS and they are the “functional equivalent” 

of a direct surface discharge. The Court identified 

seven factors to determine a functional equivalent 

discharge. The guidance was rescinded because, after 

careful review and consideration, it was determined 

to be inconsistent with the CWA and the Maui 

decision. 

Issuance of the 2021 Pesticide General 

Permit

In September, EPA re-issued the Pesticide General 

Permit (PGP). Point source discharges of biological 

pesticides and chemical pesticides that leave a 

residue in waters of the U.S. are required to comply 

with the PGP in areas where EPA is the permitting 

authority. The permit was issued almost two 

months in advance of it becoming effective to give 

permittees time to seek coverage via a new electronic 

system. The PGP issuance process also piloted many 

of OWM’s efforts to improve the effectiveness of 

engagement with states, territories, and tribes where 

EPA is the NPDES permitting authority. EPA believes 

these actions we believe will result in an EPA-issued 

permit that better ensures that state, territories, and 

tribal concerns are appropriately addressed. 

Water Quality Trading on a Watershed 

Scale

In November 2020, following the issuance of the 

2019 memorandum updating EPA’s water quality 

trading policy, OWM published a paper titled “Water 

Quality Trading on a Watershed Scale,” which 

describes three factors – watershed connectivity, 

relevant regulatory and policy information, and 

availability of data and modeling – to consider when 

evaluating the appropriate scale for a trading area. 

The paper recommends that boundaries for marketbased programs, including water quality trading, 

result from careful consideration of the available 

hydrological and ecological data of the watershed 

along with the extent of the pollutants of concern, 

Permits
18

and that a larger geographic area may yield greater 

participation, with corresponding water quality 

benefits. 

Information Collection Requests

EPA publishes reporting and record-keeping 

requirements to the public through ICRs. In 2020 

OWM published two ICRs: “Public Notification 

Requirements for CSO to the Great Lakes Basin” 

and “Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards 

for the Dental Office Point Source Category, Final 

Rule.” OWM is also in the process of renewing 

the NPDES Program ICR, which consolidates the 

collection burden of several NPDES-related ICRs. 

OWM published the first FRN for the CSO ICR and 

the second FRN for the Dental Office Category ICR. 

For the NPDES Program ICR, EPA began the process 

of data collection and estimate refinement. 

Addressing NPDES Permit Backlog

EPA’s FY 2018-2022 Strategic Plan calls for 

streamlining and modernizing EPA programs, 

including issuing permits more efficiently. Improving 

the timing for issuance and re-issuance 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. EPA regions have already succeeded 

in reducing their backlog of new NPDES permits 

from 106 in March 2018 to 26 in August 2021. 

Additionally, EPA regions reduced their backlog of 

existing permits from 547 to 300 in that same time 

frame. 

State Program Authorizations

OWM continued to support EPA regions’ 

authorization of states to implement components 

of the NPDES program. On July 1, 2021, Idaho’s 

Department of Environmental Quality completed 

its four-year phased process to assume full 

responsibility for administering and enforcing the 

NPDES program. And on January 15, 2021, EPA 

authorized the Texas Department of Environmental 

Quality to implement the NPDES program for oil 

and gas discharges, which includes discharges of 

produced water, hydrostatic test water, and gas plant 

effluent. (Note that Texas received authorization for 

the other components of the NPDES program on 

September 14, 1998).

Assessment Process for NPDES Permits 

and Programs

OWM continued supporting the EPA regions with 

their oversight of state NPDES programs and stateissued NPDES permits, including support for 10 

permit and program quality reviews (PQRs). In 

2021, OWM also worked collaboratively with EPA 

regions to develop and launch an annual program 

assessment framework designed to promote greater 

efficiency and consistency in permit oversight. OWM 

tested the process by holding detailed meetings with 

all ten EPA regions to discuss their performance and 

processes for EPA-issued NPDES permits. 

NPDES Implementation of Water 

Quality Standards

EPA coordinates closely across Office of Water 

programs, EPA regions, and states to ensure that 

NPDES permits reflect the latest water quality criteria 

and best science. In July 2021, EPA published the 

Final Technical Support Document: Implementing 

the 2019 Recommended Recreational Water Quality 

Criteria or Swimming Advisories for Microcystins and 

Cylindrospermopsin, which explains how permitting 

authorities that adopt EPA’s 2019 recommended 

criteria for these two cyanotoxins that are linked to 

harmful algal blooms in their water quality standards 

can implement the criteria through NPDES permits. 

EPA has circulated, for public comment, four draft 

documents to support NPDES implementation of the 

2016 aquatic life water quality criterion for selenium 

in freshwater. 

Publication of the Draft 2022 

Construction General Permit

In May 2021, EPA published the FRN for the 

proposed 2022 Construction General Permit (CGP) 

for stormwater discharges from construction activity. 

This proposed permit, which will replace the 2017 

CGP, covers stormwater discharges from construction 

activities in areas where EPA is the NPDES permitting 

authority. Key proposed changes include new or 

clarified provisions related to erosion and pollution 

prevention controls, dewatering discharges, and 

permittee training. The public comment period for 

the proposed permit garnered over 80 comment 

letters from a variety of stakeholders including 

tribes, states (e.g., transportation departments), 

the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), 

Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), 
19

and Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF). Since the 

proposed rule was announced, OWM has hosted 

two CWA Section 401 pre-filing meetings with state 

and tribal certifying authorities. In addition, EPA staff 

have hosted informational webinars for the public as 

well as for tribes. 

Issuance of the 2021 Multi-Sector 

General Permit

In January 2021, OWM finalized the 2021 MultiSector General Permit (MSGP) for stormwater 

discharges from industrial activity. This permit, 

which replaces the 2015 MSGP, covers stormwater 

discharges from industrial facilities in areas 

where EPA is the NPDES permitting authority and 

establishes requirements for eligibility, Notice of 

Intent, effluent limits, inspections, monitoring, and 

other conditions for 29 sectors of industrial activity. 

Since the permit was finalized, OWM has presented 

extensively to over 1,700 stakeholders on the new 

permit requirements via webinars and professional 

meetings. New provisions in this permit that will 

advance protections from industrial stormwater 

pollutants include requirements for considering 

enhanced controls for major storm events; indicator 

monitoring for pH, Total Suspended Solids (TSS), 

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and polycyclic 

aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); a revised monitoring 

schedule for impaired waters and benchmark 

monitoring; and revised follow-up actions for 

benchmark exceedances.
20

WaterSense

Fifteen Years of Saving Water

Since June 2006, the program and its more than 

2,000 partners have helped save more than an 

estimated 5.3 trillion gallons of water—more than 

the amount used by all U.S. households for 200 

days. US households, by looking for and installing 

WaterSense labeled products, saved 968 billion 

gallons of water in 2020 alone. WaterSense labeled 

products are independently certified to use at least 

20 percent less water and perform as well or better 

than standard models. More than 36,500 different 

models of toilets, bathroom faucets and accessories, 

showerheads, flushing urinals, flushometer-valve 

toilets, weather-based irrigation controllers, and 

spray sprinkler bodies have earned the label. EPA 

estimates WaterSense labeled products have helped 

Americans save $108 billion in energy and water 

bills. The WaterSense 2020 Accomplishments Report 

revisits other successes of the last 15 years. 

Controlling Irrigation with Soil 

Moisture Sensors 

After more than a decade of research and 

collaboration, WaterSense published the final 

WaterSense Specification for Soil Moisture-Based 

Irrigation Controllers in February 2021. Soil moisturebased irrigation controllers, also referred to as soil 

moisture sensors (SMSs), detect the amount of 

moisture in the ground to prevent sprinkler systems 

from watering when plants don’t need it. Installing a 

WaterSense labeled SMS can save an average home 

with an automatic landscape irrigation system more 

than 15,000 gallons of water annually.

Major Update to WaterSense Homes 

Program 

Completing a process initiated in 2018, WaterSense 

released Version 2 of the WaterSense Labeled 

Homes Program in February 2021. The updated 

program leverages other green building certification 

programs, provides builders with greater flexibility 

on how they achieve water savings, and reduces the 

implementation burden for EPA. Homeowners will 

benefit from the water and utility bill savings that 

come from homes that use at least 30 percent less 

water than typical new homes.

WaterSense Partner Assistance that 

Saves

During the pandemic many households experienced 

challenges in managing their utility bills in the face 

of economic hardships. EPA’s WaterSense program 

worked to better understand how water efficiency 

programs can help customers with affordability 

challenges by convening a series of roundtables with 

several of its partners. The result was the Assistance 

20

Partnerships
21

that Saves: How WaterSense Partners Incorporate 

Water Efficiency into Affordability Programs 

report that was released in July 2021. The resource 

describes their efforts, lessons learned, and provides 

case studies that can help other water utilities 

looking to develop or enhance their programs.

It’s Dry Out There! Be Drought Aware!

With drought conditions facing much of the West, 

WaterSense provided partners with new resources 

in the summer of 2021 to help them raise awareness 

with their customers about the need to use water 

efficiently during a water shortage. The program 

also updated the drought pages on the WaterSense 

website with new material to help different parts of 

the community understand what they can do to help 

out during a drought. 

WaterSense Partners of the Year 

Awards

WaterSense partners across the country help save 

water by advancing and promoting WaterSense and 

water efficiency. While the in-person WaterSmart 

Innovations Conference was canceled due to the 

pandemic, the 2020 WaterSense award winners 

were announced during an October 7, 2020 webinar 

hosted by the conference organizers. 

In 2020, eight partners were recognized with 

Sustained Excellence Awards for their continued high 

level of support: 

• Athens-Clarke County (Georgia) Public Utilities

Department

• Citrus County (Florida) Utilities

• City of Charlottesville (Virginia)

• City of Plano (Texas)

• Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning

District

• Kohler Co.

• The Sonoma-Marin (California) Saving Water

Partnership

• KB Home

Eight partners were recognized as Partners of the 

Year: 

• Big Bear Lake (California) Department of Water

and Power

• Irvine Ranch (California) Water District

• City of Sacramento (California) Department of

Utilities

• Upper San Gabriel Valley (California) Municipal

Water District

• Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District

• Orange County (Florida) Utilities

• City of Aspen (Colorado), as a Professional

Certifying Organization

• Fulton Homes

WaterSense also presented 13 Excellence Awards, 

which recognize organizations that stood out in one 

or more evaluation categories: 

• The City of Allen (Texas)

• Hilton Head (South Carolina) Public Service

District

• Placer County (California) Water Agency

• City of Durham (North Carolina) Water

Management

• Cobb County (Georgia) Water System

• The Toro Company

• City of Flagstaff (Arizona) Water Conservation

Program

• Municipal Water District of Orange County

(California)

• Sonoma Marin (California) Saving Water

Partnership

• SUEZ North America-New York

• Santa Clarita Valley (California) Water Agency

• G3, Green Gardens Group, Los Angeles

• Energy Inspectors Corporation
22

Decentralized Wastewater 

Program

Celebrating the 9th 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 9th 

Annual SepticSmart Week occurred September 

20-24, 2021. Each year, states and organizations

submit proclamations of support and commitment to

SepticSmart Week; this year, the program received 15

proclamations. 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 and released all seven new SepticSmart 

Quick Tip Videos to educate homeowners on how to 

care for their septic systems. New Frequently Asked 

Questions for Septic Systems were also created to 

provide information for commonly asked questions 

related to septic systems. It includes information 

on proper use, maintenance, and environmental/ 

public health impacts of septic systems. Lastly the 

Program created a SepticSmart Week Recognition 

Document as a more efficient means for MOU 

Partners to promote SepticSmart Week within their 

organizations. 

Decentralized Wastewater 

MOU Partnership 2017–2020 

Accomplishments Report

The 2017–2020 Accomplishments Report highlights 

key accomplishments for the MOU renewal period 

2017-2020. The information was provided by 

members of EPA’s Decentralized Wastewater MOU 

Partnership. The document focuses on the MOU 

Partnership’s priorities to:

• work with state and local government entities

on outreach to homeowners with septic systems,

such as the annual homeowner awareness

campaign, SepticSmart Week;

• obtain accurate decentralized system data

nationally;

• emphasize the growing decentralized system

technologies;

• leverage financial mechanisms for homeowners

with septic systems;

• and promote education and training for the

decentralized workforce.

Decentralized Wastewater MOU 

Partnership Webinar Series

EPA’s Decentralized Wastewater MOU Partnership 

hosted two webinars in 2021. The May 2021 

webinar focused on innovative technologies and 

approaches to address decentralized wastewater 

infrastructure challenges in the Alabama Black Belt, 

which highlighted three speakers from academia 

and public health. The second webinar took place 

in September 2021, during SepticSmart Week, and 

explored solutions to data gaps on both national and 

local levels. The webinar highlighted a recent data 

gathering effort in Puerto Rico to support planning 

and funding initiatives; and the research of a Ph.D. 

candidate using machine learning techniques to 

identify locations of decentralized systems. 

22
23

Compendium of Decentralized 

Wastewater Demonstration Grant 

Projects 

In August 2021, EPA released the Compendium of 

Decentralized Wastewater Demonstration Grant 

Projects, which summarizes the 18 community 

decentralized project grantee final reports, funded 

under those congressional appropriations. Each 

summary includes project objectives, funding, 

technology, lessons learned, and current statuses 

of those communities or projects. These projects 

range in topics from installation of new advanced 

wastewater treatment systems, community-wide 

assessments, to green infrastructure and stormwater 

improvements.

Decentralized Wastewater Workforce 

Efforts 

In February 2021, the Decentralized Wastewater 

Program released the first of three decentralized 

wastewater workforce reports. The Pipeline to 

a Sustainable Workforce: Decentralized/Onsite 

Wastewater Occupations report provides a 

foundational understanding of the career pathways 

and job clusters in the decentralized industry. It 

expands on occupational characteristics, including 

growth projections, and basic education and training 

requirements of occupations in the industry. It 

outlines challenges that have led to shortage in the 

supply of decentralized workers. It also includes 33 

individual profiles on specific career occupations. 

The second and third reports, titled “Education and 

Training Landscape: Providing a Supply of Talent 

for “Decentralized/Onsite Wastewater Occupations” 

and Building a Decentralized Wastewater Training 

Program” were also developed and will be available 

in early FY 2022. 

Report to Congress on Alternative 

Decentralized and Centralized 

Wastewater Treatment Technology

As required by AWIA, OWM provided a report to 

congress compiling historical and current data from 

grant and loan programs, in addition to a review of 

existing EPA materials. EPA’s reports, publications, 

funding programs, and technical assistance 

documents were compiled to show the types and 

amount of information provided to units of local 

government and nonprofit organizations regarding 

alternative wastewater treatment and recycling 

technologies. EPA provided data on investments 

awarded to the states through EPA-funded loan, 

grant, and technical assistance programs to show 

which states and regions have made the greatest use 

of alternative wastewater treatment and recycling 

technologies. An overview of programs initiated 

through EPA seed money, including grant programs, 

technical assistance tools, guidance documents, and 

other resources were compiled to show which actions 

taken by the Administrator have assisted states in the 

deployment of alternative wastewater treatment and 

recycling technologies.

Other Collaboration & 

Synergy

Campus RainWorks Challenge

EPA announced the winners of the 9th annual 

Campus RainWorks Challenge, a design competition 

that engages the next generation of environmental 

professionals to showcase the benefits of green 

infrastructure. The University of Texas at Arlington 

and the University of Pittsburgh were the first and 

second place winners, respectively, in the master plan 

category. The University of Pennsylvania and Florida 

International University placed first and second 

in the demonstration project category. This past 

year, students from the University of Pennsylvania 

went above and beyond the requirements of the 

challenge to obtain funding for project construction. 

The team’s vision will protect urban waters and 

provide local elementary school students with a 

more equitable and vibrant space in which to learn. 

This year’s challenge involved over 300 students 

competing on 57 teams from 39 different institutions. 

Announced in July 2021, the current Campus 

RainWorks Challenge marks the 10th anniversary of 

the competition.

WEFTEC Connect

WEFTEC Connect – the virtual WEFTEC – was 

held in October 2020. The fully virtual conference 

attracted over 5,700 registrants. EPA hosted a virtual 

booth, featuring several documents for download 

in addition to video recorded presentations on 

highlighted topics. Former Administrator Wheeler 

delivered a live keynote speech. The Future of Water 
24

Policy technical session with the Office of Water 

Office Directors followed immediately after.

Affordability Collaboration with 

Department of Health & Human 

Services

Since February 2021, the Water Finance Center 

organized standing biweekly meeting with HHS 

and OGWDW to discuss program development and 

stakeholder input for the Low-Income Household 

Drinking Water and Wastewater Emergency 

Assistance Program. This program provides funding 

to assist low-income households that pay a high 

proportion of household income for drinking water 

and wastewater services. OWM assisted HHS with 

the review of State Implementation Plans for the 

program, and a virtual event for World Water Week. 

American Rescue Act Plan 

Collaboration with Department of 

Treasury

In June 2021, the Water Finance Center met with 

staff from the U.S. Department of Treasury to 

discuss Treasury’s plans for tracking and reporting 

how American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding is 

spent. Treasury is building a system to collect the 

data and staff from Treasury offered to run reports 

specifically for EPA. The Center also established up 

an informal cross-office team in July 2021 to help 

share information and address any questions from 

Treasury.

New Hampshire Department of 

Environmental Services 

The Water Finance Center coordinated a 

meeting with the New Hampshire Department of 

Environmental Services (NHDES), per a request 

they submitted to the Office of Homeland Security. 

Representatives from the Water Security Division, 

Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, and Office 

of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations 

attended. NHDES explained they are looking into 

using a portion of the state’s ARPA allotment 

towards a grant program to support cybersecurity 

initiatives at water utilities. NHDES was interested 

in any potential new cybersecurity requirements, 

especially regarding sanitary surveys. NHDES has 

also been in contact with other New England states 

and are also working with the National Association 

of Water Companies on this initiative. The Water 

Security Division agreed to follow-up with NHDES 

separately on technical assistance and contract 

support for vulnerability assessments. NHDES also 

took the opportunity to ask about dam rehabilitation 

eligibility for SRF funding.

Climate Resilient Infrastructure and the 

Brookings Institution

In August 2021, the Water Finance Center 

participated in an interview with the Brookings 

Institution for a new research project to examine 

the opportunity for more proactive investment in 

climate resilient infrastructure nationally. The Center 

discussed the federal agencies’ role investing in 

climate resilient infrastructure, ongoing research in 

that space, and opportunities for expansion.

National Caucus of Environmental 

Legislatures Forum Presentation

In July 2021, the Water Finance Center presented at 

the National Caucus of Environmental Legislatures

(NCEL) national forum on the panel titled “Improving 

Water Infrastructure at the State and Local Level 

Through Federal Partnerships.” Representative 

Abe Hudson, Jr. (District 29, MS) facilitated the 

session. Black Millennials for Flint spoke of lead and 

other hazardous contaminants in drinking water, 

CWA presented on recent research on basement 

backups, and the Center discussed the Water Finance 

Clearinghouse and the importance of affordable 

financing for affordable rates.

Co-regulator National Pretreatment 

Virtual Event

In May, OWM, in collaboration with the National 

Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), the 

Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA, 

also known as “the States”) held a “Co-regulator 

National Pretreatment Virtual Event.” Over 500 

participants pre-registered for the three-day event 

which included discussions and presentations with 

all three governmental levels, where topics include: 

“Breaking Down Barriers,” Pretreatment Goes to Pot, 

Clearing FOG, Wastewater Surveillance and Moving 

beyond the Pandemic, Pretreatment for PFAS, 

Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Rule (CROMERR), 

One Water, Case Studies, Wipes, and Round Table 

discussions at the end of each day. 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Water

Office of Wastewater Management

1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW

Washington, D.C. 20460

www.epa.gov/owm

Publication # 830R21006