EPA expands its water technical assistance program to help more communities access historic federal infrastructure funding
Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
WASHINGTON – Feb. 22, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is announcing the expansion of its water technical assistance, or WaterTA, program to better support communities applying for federal infrastructure resources through the agency’s State Revolving Fund programs. The addition of engineering support to the WaterTA program will ensure that historic levels of federal infrastructure funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law reach disadvantaged communities who need it most.
“In low income and black and brown communities across the country, lack of access to engineering services is a significant barrier to applying for and securing federal water infrastructure funding,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “Providing access to these services through our WaterTA program will help break down this barrier and enable more communities to access the Biden-Harris Administration’s unprecedented investments in America.”
Everyone deserves access to safe, clean, and reliable water. Yet too many communities across America—rural, urban, and suburban, small, and large—face challenges in providing safe drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services to their residents. An estimated 2.2 million people in the U.S. lack basic drinking water and plumbing in their homes. The Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law represents an unprecedented opportunity to change the odds for these communities by investing $50 billion in water.
Disadvantaged and underserved communities often struggle to access this funding for a variety of reasons such as financial constraints, limited expertise, procurement of engineers, competing priorities in resource allocation, geographic isolation, and/or other historical factors.
EPA’s free Water Technical Assistance (WaterTA) programs address this need by helping communities identify their water challenges, develop plans, build capacity, and develop their application materials. The expansion of engineering services enhances EPA’s WaterTA programs and includes the development of project needs assessments, preliminary engineering reports, and other studies needed to support community applications for State Revolving Funds.
EPA is partnering with states, Tribes, territories, other federal agencies, local governments, community groups, and other technical assistance providers to meet the needs of communities nationwide. The WaterTA Engineering Support Team will work with local engineers where available to ensure adequate local expertise and to build relationships and trust.
Examples of WaterTA Success
EPA recently kicked off a project to address significant wastewater treatment system challenges for the Big Valley Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians Water District. The wastewater system is experiencing, structural integrity failures and poor effluent quality, which is impacting public health and the environment. The WaterTA Engineering Support will include a structural evaluation of the wastewater treatment plant, environmental review, and preliminary engineering report development, which will meet the requirements for, and support the Tribe’s Clean Water Indian Set-Aside (CWISA) funding application. The project will provide sustainable, reliable wastewater treatment for approximately 400 tribal members.
WaterTA is prioritized for disadvantaged and underserved communities, communities that have never accessed SRF funding before, and communities that are not currently receiving an equivalent kind of technical assistance. Communities can request technical assistance through the WaterTA Request Form or be referred by a WaterTA provider, state program staff, EPA Region or other means.
Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-expands-its-water-technical-assistance-program-help-more-communities-access-0
