Funding and Implementing Your CWA 319 Program: Base and Competitive Funding and Developing Work Plans

When: Tuesday September 13, 2011, from 1 to 2:30pm Eastern Time

This webcast will review the Tribal CWA 319 Program funding structure and compare the base and competitive grant processes. Discussion on the competitive grant process will include an update on upcoming changes to the FY 2012 Request for Proposals, differentiate Regional review and Committee review, explain the match component, and discuss the importance of linking the budget and work plan together. The webcast will also cover steps for developing a good work plan and include a tribal case study discussing lessons learned from the base and competitive grant processes.

For more information: www.epa.gov/nps/tribal

Recreational Water Quality Criteria 2011 Stakeholder Webinar

When: September 20, 2011, from 1 to 4:30 pm Eastern Time

EPA is conducting a webinar on selected presentations from the 2011 Stakeholder Meeting on EPA's Development of New or Revised Water Quality Criteria. The webinar will be held on Tuesday, September 20, 2011 from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm EDT. The purpose of the webinar is to obtain input from interested stakeholders who were unable to attend the face-to-face meeting in New Orleans in June 2011. Stakeholders will have an opportunity to provide feedback to EPA on the general direction and EPA's evaluation and current thinking for the new or revised recreational water quality criteria.

For more information: http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/criteria/health/recreation/index.cfm

2011 National Tribal Water Quality Conference Posuwageh (Water Meeting Place) Where CWA Section 106 and 319 Meet

When/Where: November 14-17, 2011 at the Hilton Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino, Santa Fe, New Mexico

EPA is hosting a national conference for all tribes with water quality programs, or those who wish to begin water quality programs. The conference will highlight the blended nature of the Clean Water Act Section 106 and Section 319 programs.

For more information: http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/tribal/conference2011index.cfm

While a majority of the documents that the US Environmental Protection Agency has developed for small systems are applicable to tribes, they have also created valuable resources with tribal utilities in mind.

Drinking Water

Building Water System Capacity: A Guide for Tribal Administrators
This 6-page handbook is designed to help tribal decision-makers develop capacity for improvement of drinking water systems.

Total Coliform Rule Monitoring Placards for Community Water Systems Serving 25-1,000 People or 1,001 to 10,000 People
These 1-page mini posters may be displayed in the treatment plan as a reminder for the distribution system monitoring requirements for total coliform. Additional posters are available for Non-Community Water Systems.

Lead and Copper Rule Minor Revisions Fact Sheet for Tribal Water System Owners and Operators
This 9-page document presents the minor revisions to the LCR, covering the topics of demonstrating optimal corrosion control, monitoring and reporting, public education, and lead service line replacement.

Preventive Maintenance Tasks for Tribal Drinking Water Systems: Guide Booklet & Log Cards
This 35-page document provides a schedule of routine operation and maintenance tasks for small drinking water systems that use a groundwater supply. They will help you develop a preventive maintenance program for your water system.

Wastewater

Primer for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Systems
This 30-page document provides basic information on municipal wastewater treatment systems and advanced methods for treating wastes.

Tribal Management of Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems
A fact sheet that defines onsite wastewater treatment systems and explains the four onsite wastewater management steps (map, design, maintain, and regulate).

Source Water Protection

Drinking Water Quality in Indian Country: Protecting Your Sources
4-page factsheet provides guidance about source water protection; also lists additional resources for tribes.

For additional resources, you can visit US EPA's pages for tribal drinking water and wastewater systems.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is sponsoring a series of in-person training workshops for federally recognized tribes and Alaskan Native Villages across the country to help increase participants' skills and knowledge in the operation of wastewater and drinking water treatment systems. The training is intended for water system operators, wastewater system operators, tribal utility managers, tribal council members and leaders involved with water utility management.

Dates and locations include:

• July 26-28, 2011 — Billings, Montana
  
• August 9-11, 2011 — St. Paul, Minnesota
  
• September 13-15, 2011 — Phoenix, Arizona
  
• September 27-29, 2011 — Kansas City, Kansas
  
• October 25-27, 2011 — Anchorage, Alaska
  

There is no registration fee for the workshops. There is a cap of 50 participants at each session, and tribes and Alaskan Native Villages that received 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds will be given priority. Travel, hotel, and per diem costs for attendees from tribal reservations may be covered by a participant's local Indian Health Service Area office. For more information, including how to register, please go to: http://water.epa.gov/learn/training/tribaltraining/tcourse7_2011.cfm.

 

For the past several months, SmallWaterSupply.org staff have ramped up efforts to complete a new Tribal Resources content area on the site. We are pleased to let you know this area is now live!

The flagship of this project is a helpful contact manager that lists all of the national, state and regional groups that serve tribal water and wastewater systems and their operators. The contact manager will allow tribes to identify assistance providers as well as the groups that serve them to better coordinate with one another. To keep the tool up-to-date, our staff has been working closely with this large group of providers to establish access and procedures for editing their own information.

Additionally, SmallWaterSupply.org staff will enhance our content delivery gear toward this important subset of small water supplies. Through an ongoing series of blog posts and short articles on tribal issues, resources and events, we will provide the same style of relevant and useful information currently found in our blog and newsletter. The most recent updates will be found on the main page of the new Tribal Resources content area, under News & Information for Tribes and Tribal TA Providers.