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Small Systems Working Group
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
National Drinking Water Advisory Council
March 20 & 21, 1997
Channel Inn, Washington, D.C.
The NDWAC Small Systems Working Group reaffirmed its consensus decisions
to recommend to the full NDWAC that EPA produce six specific work products
related to capacity development and affordability; and to recommend specific
first draft language for these products:
- 1.
- Guidance for States on Ensuring the Technical, Financial, and Managerial
Capacity of New Community Water Systems and New Non-Transient, Non-Community
Water Systems.
The
working group has agreed that the guidance should require States to
identify, from an extensive menu of options,: 1) the legal authority
or other means they intend to use as the basis of their efforts; 2)
the points in the new system development process at which the legal
authorities or other means will be utilized; 3) the specific mechanisms
to ensure system capacity that will be applied at each identified
point; and 4) the means that the State will use to assess success.
- 2.
- Guidance for States on Preparation of Capacity Development Strategies
(What States need to do to avoid the SRF withholding).
The
working group has agreed that the guidance should require: that the
States certify that they have proactively solicited public comment;
that the States briefly describe all significant public comments received
and the State response to them; that the State describe the issues
they considered relative to 1420(c)(2)(A-E) and explain why items
were included or excluded from the strategy; that the State briefly
describe how the strategy fits together as a strategy to assist PWS's
in acquiring and maintaining capacity; that the State describe the
method they will use to establish a baseline and measure improvement
in capacity; and that the State describe how it is implementing the
strategy.
- 3.
- Information for States on options they can consider in developing
their Capacity Development Strategies.
- 4.
- Information for States on how they could assess the technical, financial,
and managerial capacity of systems seeking SRF assistance.
- 5.
- Information for the public to better enable them to participate with
States in the development of State Capacity Development Strategies.
- 6.
- Information for States to assist them in developing affordability
criteria.
The working group has had detailed discussions regarding and has reached
substantial conceptual consensus on items 1, 2, and 6. EPA contractors
will be developing preliminary first drafts, based upon the working groups
discussions thus far, for the group to discuss at their next meeting on
April 28-29, 1997. The group has also engaged in substantial brainstorming
regarding items 3, 4, and 5. At the group's request, EPA contractor's
will develop preliminary discussion drafts of items 3, 4, and 5 based
upon the brainstorming results. These preliminary discussion drafts will
be considered by the group at their April meeting.
The Small Systems Working Group plans to have complete recommended first
draft language for items 1 through 6 ready by mid-July so that the full
NDWAC can consider it during their scheduled teleconference on August
27, 1997.
The working group also discussed, but did not reach consensus on, two
additional issues:
- (A)
- National level affordability criteria for EPA to use in listing affordable
technology for small systems.
- (B)
- Guidance for States on specific considerations in assessing system
technical, financial, and managerial capacity for purposes of SRF assistance.
The group has asked that EPA contractors develop some options papers
for these issues for the group to consider at their April meeting. After
reviewing the options papers the group will decide whether or not to continue
consideration of these issues.
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