National Water
Program Guidance
Fiscal Year 2008
Ew9
Office of Water 4- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 4 April 2007
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Contents
Executive Summary
I. Introduction
. Strategies To Protect Public Health 5
1) Water Safe to Drink 5
2) Fish and Shellfish Safe to Eat 9
3) Water Safe for Swimming 11
I. Strategies To Protect Fresh Waters, Coastal Waters, And Wetlands 13
1) Restore and Improve Water Quality on a Watershed Basis 13
- 2) Protect Coastal and Ocean Waters 19
3) Protect Wetlands . .21
IV. Strategies To Protect Large Aquatic Ecosystems 24
1) Protect Mexico Border Water Quality 24
2) Protect Pacific Islands Waters . . 25
3) Protect the Great Lakes 25
4) Protect and Restore Chesapeake Bay 27
5) Protect the Gulf of Mexico 29
6) Protect Long Island Sound 32
*J
fjfeil 7) Protect the South Florida Ecosystem 34
8) Protect the Puget Sound Basin 36
9) Protect the Columbia River Basin. . . 37
V. Water Program And Grant Management System 39
Appendices:
A) Summary table: Environmental and Program Measures
B) Measures with National and Regional Data and Targets
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Executive Summary
I) PROGRAM OFFICE: NATIONAL
WATER PROGRAM
This National Water Program Guidance for Fiscal Year
(FY) 2008 describes how the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), States, and Tribal govern-
ments will work together to protect and improve the
quality of the Nation's waters. Within EPA, the Office
of Water oversees the delivery of the national water
programs and the Regional Offices work with States,
Tribes, and others to implement these programs and
other supporting efforts.
II) INTRODUCTION/CONTEXT
The Guidance describes the key actions needed to
accomplish the public health and environmental
goals established in the new EPA Strategic Plan.
These goals include:
• Protect public health by improving the quality of
drinking water, making fish and shellfish safer to
eat, and assuring that recreational waters are
safe for swimming;
• Restore and protect the quality of the Nation's
fresh waters, coastal waters, and wetlands; and
• Improve the health of large aquatic ecosystems
across the country.
Ill) WATER PROGRAM PRIORITIES
The Office of Water recognizes that Regions, States,
and Tribes need flexibility in determining the best
allocation of resources for achieving clean water goals
at the Regional, State, and Tribal level. From a
national perspective, however, EPA, States, and
Tribes need to give special attention in FY 2008 to
the priority areas identified below:
• Support Sustainable Water Infrastructure;
• Improve Water Security and Emergency
Response;
• Contribute to the President's Wetlands Goals;
• Improve Water Monitoring;
• Restore Water Quality on a Watershed Basis; and
• Improve Compliance with Drinking Water
Standards.
More information on these priorities is provided in
the Introduction to this Guidance.
IV) IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES
The National Water Program Guidance describes, in
general terms, the work that needs to be done in FY
2008 in order to reach the public health and water
quality goals related to water that are identified in
the EPA Strategic Plan. These public health and
environmental goals are organized into 15 "subobjec-
tives," and each of the subobjectives is supported by
a specific implementation strategy that includes the
following key elements:
• Environmental/Public Health Results Expected: Each
subobjective strategy begins with a brief review
of national goals for improvements in environ-
mental conditions or public health, including
national "targets" for progress in FY 2008.
• Key Strategies: For each subobjective, the key
strategies for accomplishing environmental goals
are described. The role of core programs (e.g.,
State Revolving Funds (SRFs), water quality
standards, discharge permits, development of
safe drinking water standards, and source water
protection) is discussed, and a limited number of
key program activity measures are identified (see
Appendix A).
• FY 2008 Targets for Key Program Activities: For
some of the program activities, EPA, States, and
Tribes will simply report progress accomplished
in FY 2008 while for other activities, each EPA
Region has defined specific "targets" (see
Appendices A/B). These targets are a point of
reference for the development of more binding
commitments to measurable progress in State
and Tribal grant workplans.
• Grant Assistance: Each of the subobjective strate-
gies includes a brief discussion of EPA grant
assistance that supports the program activities
identified in the strategy (see Part V of this
Guidance for more information).
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
V) MEASURES
The National Water Program uses three types of
measures to assess progress toward the goals in the
new EPA Strategic Plan-.
• Measures of changes in the environment or pub-
lic health (i.e., "outcome measures");
• Measures of activities to implement core national
water programs; and
• Measures of activities to restore and protect large
aquatic ecosystems and implement other water
program priorities in each EPA Region.
In the process of developing the new EPA Strategic
Plan, EPA worked with interested parties to improve
and streamline the measures of changes in public
health and the environment. As part of this process,
new goals and supporting measures were established
for improving five additional large aquatic ecosystems
that were not addressed in the previous Strategic
Plan (i.e., Long Island Sound, South Florida, the
Columbia River, Puget Sound, and the Pacific
Islands).
In addition, in the Fall of 2006, EPA worked with
States and Tribes to streamline the number of nation-
al water program measures. As a result of this
process, EPA has deleted over 30 of the national pro-
gram measures used in FY 2007 from this FY 2008
Guidance.
Assessment Rating Tool (PART) program man-
aged by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB). Additional evaluations will be developed
by other offices or agencies, including the EPA
Inspector General (IG) and the Government
Accountability Office (GAO).
VII) PROGRAM CONTACTS
For additional information concerning this Guidance
and supporting measures, contact:
• Michael Shapiro; Deputy Assistant Administrator
for Water
• Tim Fontaine; Senior Budget Officer, Office of
Water
• Jeff Peterson; Senior Policy Advisor, Office of
Water
INTERNET ACCESS:
This FY 2008 National Water Program
Guidance and supporting documents are avail-
able at .
VI) TRACKING PROGRESS
The National Water Program will evaluate progress
toward the environmental and public health goals
described in the EPA Strategic Plan using three key
tools:
• National Water Program Performance Reports: The
Office of Water will use data provided by
Regions, States, and Tribes to prepare perform-
ance reports for the National Water Program at
the mid-point and end of each fiscal year.
• EPA HGI/Regional Dialogues: Each year, the Office
of Water will visit up to four EPA Regional
Offices and Great Waterbody Offices to conduct
dialogues on program management, grant man-
agement, and performance.
• Program-Specific Evaluations: In addition to look-
ing at the performance of the National Water
Program at the national level and performance in
each EPA Region, individual water programs will
be evaluated periodically under the Program
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.Introduction
Clean Water Goals for 2011
In October of 2006, EPA published a new Strategic
Plan defining specific environmental and public
health improvements to be accomplished by 2011.
With the help of States, Tribes, and other partners,
EPA expects to make significant progress toward pro-
tecting human health and improving water quality by
2011, including:
• Protect Public Health
Water Safe to Drink: increase the rate of
compliance with drinking water standards
to 90%;
Fish Safe to Eat: reduce the percentage of
women of child-bearing age having mercury
levels in their blood above levels of con-
cern; and
Water Safe for Swimming: maintain the cur-
rently high percentage of days of the beach
season that beaches are open and safe for
swimming.
• Restore and Protect Fresh Waters, Coastal Waters,
and Wetlands
Healthy Waters: restore an increasing number
of the approximately 40,000 impaired
waters identified by the States in 2002, with
the goal of having at least 2,250 of these
waters attain water quality standards fully by
2012;
Healthy Coastal Waters: show improvement in
the overall condition of the Nation's coastal
waters while at least maintaining conditions
in the four major coastal regions; and
More Wetlands: meet the President's goal to
achieve an overall increase in the Nation's
wetlands, including restoring, improving, and
protecting millions of acres of wetlands over
the next five years.
• Improve the Health of Large Aquatic Ecosystems
Implement collaborative programs with other
Federal agencies and with States, local govern-
ments, and others to improve the health of large
aquatic ecosystems, including:
• Mexico Border waters;
• Pacific Island waters;
• the Great Lakes;
• the Chesapeake Bay;
• the Gulf of Mexico;
• Long Island Sound;
• South Florida waters;
• Puget Sound; and
• the Columbia River.
Purpose and Structure of
This FY 2008 Guidance
This National Program Guidance defines the process
for creating an "operational plan" for EPA, State, and
Tribal water programs for FY 2008. This National
Program Guidance is divided into three major sec-
tions:
1) Subobjective Implementation Strategies
The EPA Strategic Plan addresses water programs in
Goal 2 (i.e., "Clean and Safe Water") and Goal 4
(i.e., "Healthy Communities and Ecosystems").
Within these goals, there are 15 subobjectives that
define specific environmental or public health results
to be accomplished by 2008. This Guidance
describes, for each subobjective, the increment of
environmental progress EPA hopes to make in
FY 2008 and the program strategies to be used to
accomplish these goals.
The National Water Program is working with EPA's
Innovation Action Council to promote program innova-
tions, including: 1) the National Environmental
Performance Track Program (http://www.epa.gov/
performancetrack/); 2) Environmental Management
Systems (EMS) (http://www.epa.gov/ems/); and 3) the
Environmental Results Program (http://www.epa.gov/
permits/erp/index.htm). States and Tribes may be able
to use these or other innovative tools in program plan-
ning and implementation.
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
2) Water Measures
Appendix A of this Guidance includes three types of
measures that support the subobjective strategies
and are used to manage water programs:
• "Outcome" Measures: Measures of environmental
or public health changes (i.e., outcomes) are
described in the EPA Strategic Plan and include
long-range targets for FY 2008. These measures
are described in the opening section of each of
the subobjective plan summaries in this
Guidance.
• National Program Measures: Core water program
activity measures (i.e., output measures) address
activities to be implemented by EPA and by
States/Tribes that administer national programs.
They are the basis for monitoring progress in
implementing programs to accomplish the envi-
ronmental goals in the new Agency Strategic
Plan. Some of these measures have national and
Regional "targets" for FY 2008 that serve as a
point of reference as Regions work with
States/Tribes to define more formal Regional
"commitments" in the Spring/Summer of 2007.
• Ecosystem Program Measures: These measures
address activities to restore and protect large
aquatic ecosystems and implement other water
program priorities in each EPA Region.
EPA worked with OMB to evaluate key water pro-
grams using the PART. This work included identifying
measures of progress for each program. Most of the
measures identified in the PART process are included
in this Guidance.
3) Water Program Management System
Part V of this Guidance describes a three-step
process for management of water programs in FY
2008:
• Step 1 is the development of this National Water
Program Guidance.
• Step 2 involves consultation among Regions,
States, and Tribes, to be conducted during the
Spring/Summer 2007, to convert the "targets" in
this Guidance into Regional "commitments" sup-
ported by grant workplans and other agreements
with States and Tribes. This process allocates
available resources to those program activities
that are likely to result in the best progress
toward accomplishing water quality and public
health goals given the circumstances and needs
in the State/Region. The tailored, Regional
"commitments" and State/Tribal workplans that
result from this process define, in an operational
sense, the "strategy" for the National Water
Program for FY 2008.
• Step 3 involves work to be done during FY 2008
to assess progress in program implementation
and improve program performance.
FY 2008 Program Priorities
The Office of Water recognizes that Regions, States,
and Tribes need flexibility in determining the best
allocation of program resources for achieving clean
water goals given their specific needs and condition.
From a national perspective, however, EPA, States,
and Tribes need to give special attention in FY 2008
to the priority areas identified below:
1) Support Sustainable Water Infrastructure: EPA will
work with utilities, States, Tribes, and others to
ensure that the Nation's wastewater and drinking
water infrastructure is maintained and sustained
over time, including ongoing attention to the
effective operation of the SRF. EPA will also
encourage practices that reduce the costs of
water infrastructure and promote the adoption of
proven management approaches, like EMS and
asset management. This effort will include work
to enhance the market for water-efficient prod-
ucts, encourage adoption of pricing structures
that recover full cost of service, and promote a
watershed approach as an integral part of infra-
structure decision-making.
2) Improve Water Security and Emergency Response:
EPA will work with partners to improve security
and preparedness at drinking water and waste-
water facilities to reduce the risks associated
with potentially catastrophic natural and deliber-
ate incidents. EPA will produce tools and training
to enhance general preparedness and continue to
implement the Water Security Initiative by com-
pleting deployment of the first pilot, initiating
additional pilots, and developing key guidance.
3) Contribute to the President's Wetlands Goals: On
Earth Day 2004, the President announced a new
national goal of achieving an overall increase in
the Nation's wetlands, including restoring,
improving, and protecting at least three million
acres of wetlands over five years (by 2009). In
FY 2008, EPA will play a leadership role in work-
ing with other Federal agencies and States to
marshal program resources to meet this goal.
EPA has committed to contributing at least
12,000 acres toward the goal by 2009. A key
step in meeting this commitment is building the
capacity of State and Tribal wetlands programs.
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I. Introduction
4) Improve Monitoring: Improving monitoring, report-
ing, and environmental goal setting to keep the
Nation's waters clean, safe, and secure remains a
top priority. In FY 2008, EPA will support States
in implementing monitoring strategies developed
over the past several years and participating in
national, statistically valid assessments of the
condition of lakes and rivers. EPA will work with
States to increase progress in submitting State
integrated report assessment data using the
Assessment Database or a compatible electronic
format. This assessment information is critical to
measuring progress toward water quality goals.
5) Restore Water Quality on a Watershed Basis: The
National Water Program continues efforts to
build a nationwide capacity to restore the health
of aquatic systems on a waterbody and watershed
basis. In FY 2008, EPA, States, and Tribes
should give priority to implementing key national
program activities supporting this goal, including:
• Implementing Total Maximum Daily Loads
(TMDLs), including organizing restoration on
a waterbody or watershed basis where appro-
priate;
• Targeting Clean Water Act Section 319 non-
point pollution control funds to develop and
implement watershed plans to help restore
impaired waters;
• Encouraging water quality trading; and
• Assuring that high-priority permits are current.
6) Improve Compliance with Drinking Water Standards:
The percentage of the population served by com-
munity water systems (CWSs) that are in compli-
ance with health-based standards is now just
under 90 percent. Water systems have been
challenged to meet new regulatory requirements
that represent a higher overall level of public
health protection. In FY 2008, EPA, States,
Tribes, and local water systems must enhance
efforts to maintain compliance with existing
drinking water standards, promptly address cases
of noncompliance, prepare to comply with new
rules, and improve the quality of data by which
drinking water compliance is measured, includ-
ing paying special attention to reporting under
the Lead and Copper Rule.
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Strategies To Protect Public
Health
For each of the key subobjectives related to water
addressed in the EPA Strategic Plan, EPA has worked
with States and other stakeholders to define strate-
gies for accomplishing the improvements in the envi-
ronment or public health identified for the
subobjective. This National Program Guidance draws
from the Strategic Plan, but describes plans and
strategies at a more operational level and focuses on
FY 2008. In addition, this Guidance refers to
"Program Activity Measures" that define key program
activities that support each subobjective (see
Appendix A).
1) Water Safe to Drink
A) Subobjective
Percent of the population served by CWSs that receive
drinking water that meets all applicable health-based
drinking water standards through effective treatment and
source water protection.
2006 Baseline: 89.4%
2008 Target: 90%
2007 Commitment: 89.5%
2011 Target: 91%
(Note: Additional measures of progress are identified
in Appendices A and B.)
B) Key Program Strategies
For more than 30 years, protecting the Nation's pub-
lic health through safe drinking water has been the
shared responsibility of EPA, the States, and over
52,000 CWSs1 nationwide that supply drinking water
to more than 280 million Americans (approximately
90% of the U.S. population). Over this time, safety
standards have been established and are being
implemented for 91 microbial, chemical, and other
contaminants. Forty-nine States have adopted pri-
mary authority for enforcing their drinking water pro-
grams. Additionally, CWS operators are better
informed and trained on the variety of ways to both
treat contaminants and prevent them from entering
the source of their drinking water supplies.
EPA, the States, and CWSs will work to increase the
percentage of the population served by CWSs that
meet all health-based standards. This goal reflects the
fundamental public health protection mission of the
national drinking water program. Health protection-
based regulatory standards for drinking water quality
are the cornerstone of the program. The standards do
not prescribe a specific treatment approach; rather,
individual systems decide how best to comply with
any given standard based on their own unique circum-
stances. Systems meet standards by employing "mul-
tiple barriers of protection," including source water
protection, various stages of treatment, proper opera-
tion and maintenance of the distribution and finished
water storage system, and customer awareness.
The overall objective of the drinking water program is
to protect public health by ensuring that public water
systems deliver safe drinking water to their cus-
tomers. To achieve this objective, the program must
work to maintain the gains of the previous years'
efforts. In doing so, drinking water systems of all
types and sizes that are currently in compliance will
remain in compliance. Systems that are not currently
in compliance will achieve compliance, and all sys-
tems will prepare to comply with the new regulations.
Making sound decisions to allocate resources among
various program areas requires that each Region first
work with States to define goals for the program in
public health (i.e., "outcome") terms. The table on
page 6 describes estimates of progress under the key
drinking water measure describing the percent of the
population served by CWSs that receive water that
meets all health-based drinking water standards.
Although Regions should use the national FY 2008
target of the population served by CWSs receiving
safe drinking water as a point of reference, Regional
commitments to this outcome goal may vary based on
differing conditions in each Region.
EPA and States support the efforts of individual water
systems by providing a national program framework
that includes core programs implemented by EPA
Regional offices and States. Core national program
1 Although the Safe Drinking Water Act applies to 155,710 public water systems nationwide (as of December 2006), which include
schools, hospitals, factories, campgrounds, motels, gas stations and other entities that have their own water system, this implementation
plan focuses only on CWSs. A CWS is a public water system that provides water to the same population year-round. As of December
2006, there were 52,056 CWSs.
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
areas that are critical to ensuring safe drinking water
are:
• Development or revision of drinking water
standards;
• Implementation of drinking water standards and
technical assistance to water systems to enhance
their technical, managerial, and financial capacity;
• CWS financing;
• Water security;
• Source water protection;
• Underground injection control (UIC); and
• Integration of programs to protect surface water
that is a source of drinking water.
Collectively, these core areas of the national safe
drinking water program comprise the multiple-barrier
approach to protecting public health. At the national
level, implementation of this approach is expected to
result in significant progress toward the public health
goals described above. In each of these areas, specif-
ic Program Activity Measures indicate progress being
made, and some measures include "targets" for FY
2008. For measures with targets, a national target
and a target for each Region are provided in
Appendix A.
1) Development/Revision of Drinking Water
Standards
In FY 2008, EPA is evaluating the contaminants on
the second drinking water Contaminant Candidate
List (CCL 2) and is preparing a final determination to
regulate or not regulate at least five contaminants.
For the third Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 3),
the Agency is evaluating a broad universe of chemical
and microbial agents, identifying the contaminant
candidates with a greater likelihood of occurring in
drinking water at levels that could affect human
health, and preparing a preliminary listing of these
contaminants. In conjunction with the CCL, EPA is
monitoring contaminant occurrence for more than 20
contaminants, which are not regulated by national
primary drinking water regulation, to support future
determinations of whether to regulate a contaminant
in the interest of protecting public health. EPA is
assessing data on health effects, occurrence, analyti-
cal methods, and treatment technologies for currently
regulated contaminants and determining what revi-
sions, if any, are appropriate to drinking water regula-
tions as part of the second six-year National Primary
Drinking Water Rule Review required in 2008. EPA
has engaged stakeholders to determine the best
approach for developing revisions to the Total
Coliform Rule (TCR) and is currently addressing TCR
issues and public health risks from distribution sys-
tem contamination.
Targets for Population Served by Systems Meeting Standards
EPA Region
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
a
9
10
National Total
2002 Baseline
88%
81%
98%
96%
94%
93%
95%
97%
99%
91%
93.6%
2006 Actual
92.1%
61%
93%
92%
92.2%
87.6%
91.3%
95.7%
98%
95.1%
89.4%
2007 Commitment
87%
75%
94%
91%
92%
86%
92.4%
94%
95%
90%
89.5%
2008 Target
88%
75%
92%
89%
91%
87%
92%
90%
95%
90%
90%*
*NOTE: Sum of Regional targets = 89%; national target of 90% is a high priority
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I. Strategies To Protect Public Health
2) Implementation of Drinking Water
Standards and Technical Assistance
In order to facilitate compliance with drinking water
regulations, EPA will use the following tools in part-
nership with States:
• Sanitary Surveys: Sanitary surveys are on-site
reviews of the water sources, facilities, equip-
ment, operation, and maintenance of public
water systems. States must conduct sanitary sur-
veys for all CWSs once every three years starting
in 2004 (see Program Activity Measure SDW-1).
For systems determined by the State to have out-
standing performance based on prior surveys,
subsequent surveys may be conducted every five
years. EPA will also conduct surveys at systems
on Tribal lands. This measure applies to surface
water systems and ground water under direct
influence.
• Technical Assistance and Training: Reference
materials for new regulations (i.e., ground water
rule, surface water treatment rule, and disinfec-
tion byproducts rule) will be developed. These
materials will include technical guidance, rollout
strategies, implementation guidance, and quick
reference guides. EPA will also offer training ses-
sions, both in person and through satellite/
Web cast, on implementation of new regulations.
For the new rules promulgated in January 2006,
EPA will oversee early implementation activities
and will carry out some aspects directly. EPA will
also continue to provide technical assistance and
leverage partners to help systems serving less
than 3,300 people meet existing and new drink-
ing water standards.
• Area-wide Optimization Program: In FY 2020,
through EPA's voluntary Area-Wide Optimization
Program (AWOP), drinking water systems and
States will continue to use a variety of optimiza-
tion tools, including comprehensive performance
evaluations to assess the performance of filtra-
tion technology. AWOP can help water systems
go beyond compliance to significantly reduce the
human health risks associated with turbidity in
finished drinking water and disinfection byprod-
ucts in distribution systems in FY 2008.
• Data Access, Quality, and Reliability: The Safe
Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS)
serves as the primary source of national informa-
tion on compliance with all health-based regula-
tory requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
EPA will continue to work with States on their
various management challenges, with one focus
being increased use of SDWIS/State because of
its ease of reporting and compatibility with the
national SDWIS.
To improve SDWIS data quality, EPA will contin-
ue to work with States to implement the recom-
mendations of the Agency's Data Reliability
Improvement Plan that are based on results of
data verification audits conducted by the Agency.
In FY 2008, EPA will report annually the percent
of data concerning health-based violations that is
complete and accurate (see Program Activity
Measure SDW-2). In addition, EPA will also mon-
itor Lead and Copper Rule action-level data for
CWSs serving greater than 3,300 people to
ensure that they are complete (see Program
Activity Measure SDW-3).
• Coordination with Enforcement: Finally, the Office
of Water will also work with the Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA)
to identify instances of actual or expected non-
compliance that pose risks to public health and
to take appropriate actions as necessary.
3) Water System Financing
The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF),
established under the Safe Drinking Water Act,
enables States to offer low-interest loans to help pub-
lic water systems across the nation make improve-
ments and upgrades to their water infrastructure or
conduct other activities that build system capacity.
As of the end of FY 2006, EPA has made available
$12.8 billion to finance about 4,985 infrastructure
improvement projects nationwide.
EPA will work with States to increase the DWSRF
fund utilization rate (cumulative dollar amount of
loan agreements divided by cumulative funds avail-
able for projects from a 2002 level of 73% to 86%
in 2008 (see Program Activity Measure SDW-4). EPA
will also work with States to monitor the number of
projects that have initiated operations (see Program
Activity Measure SDW-5).
In addition, in FY 2008, EPA will work in partnership
with States, the water utility industry, and other
stakeholders to improve sustainability of water and
wastewater systems. This initiative is to identify and
promote new and better ways of doing business in
the water and wastewater industry. EPA will work with
the water industry to identify best practices that have
helped utilities address issues related to technical,
managerial, and financial capacity.
7
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
4)
EPA will provide tools, training, and technical assis-
tance that protects the Nation's critical water infrastruc-
ture from terrorist and other catastrophic events.
Reducing risk in the water sector requires a multi-step
approach of determining risk through vulnerability
assessments, reducing risk through security enhance-
ments, and preparing to respond and recover effectively
to incidents. Homeland Security Presidential Directives
(HSPDs) 7 and 9 direct EPA to help the water sector
implement protective measures—including comprehen-
sive water surveillance and monitoring programs.
As outlined in HSPD 7, the water sector must be pro-
vided tools and information to prevent, detect, and
respond to and recover from a terrorist or other inten-
tional attack. EPA will, in FY 2008, continue preven-
tion, detection, response, and recovery activities for
the water sector in collaboration with the Department
of Homeland Security and States' homeland security
and water officials. Also in FY 2008, EPA will devel-
op surveillance and monitoring systems in select pilot
cities. These pilots will provide opportunities to eval-
uate operational experience of different water sys-
tems. EPA also will release interim guidance to the
water sector on designing contamination warning sys-
tems and developing consequence management
plans.
5) of
EPA will continue to promote the concept of a
multiple-barrier approach to drinking water program
management and will work with States to track the
development and implementation of source water
protection strategies. EPA has set a goal of increasing
the number of CWSs with minimized risk to public
health through development and implementation of
protection strategies for source water areas (counted
by States at the CWS level) from an estimated base-
line of 20% of all areas in FY 2005, to 25% in FY
2007, and approaching 30% in FY 2008 (see meas-
ure SP-4).
EPA will continue to work with a broad range of
stakeholders through the Agency's participation in a
voluntary collaborative of national organizations
established in FY 2007 to improve protection of
sources of drinking water. EPA will also leverage pro-
grams within the Federal government, such as the
Clean Water Act and underground storage tank pro-
grams, to increase source water protection efforts in
source water areas for CWSs.
6)
EPA works with States to monitor the injection of flu-
ids, both hazardous and non-hazardous, to prevent
contamination of underground sources of drinking
water. In 2008, EPA and States will continue to
implement the program for Classes I, II, III, IV, and V
wells, including tracking if mechanical integrity is
maintained (see Program Activity Measure SDW-7).
EPA and States will also work to address Class V
wells identified in violation and to close or permit
Class V motor vehicle waste disposal wells (see
Program Activity Measure SOW- 6). EPA will also
monitor the number and percent of high-priority
Class V wells identified in source water protection
areas that are closed or permitted (see Program
Activity Measure SDW-8).
Other UIC program activities include efforts to
address geologic sequestration (GS) of carbon dioxide
(C02) and Drinking Water Treatment Residuals
(DWTRs) disposal through injection wells.
In 2006, EPA initiated the development of a national
technical guidance to assist Regional and State UIC
programs in permitting pilot-scale C02 GS projects,
operated by the Department of Energy's Regional
Partnerships, as Class V Experimental Technology
wells. EPA issued a final guidance document on
March 1, 2007, and will turn full attention to devel-
oping a management framework for larger-scale, com-
mercial C02 GS projects through FY 2007 and FY
2008.
Also in 2006, EPA began a report, through its
National Technical Workgroup, outlining the back-
ground and issues pertaining to the use of injection
well technology for managing ever-increasing volumes
of wastewater generated by drinking water treatment
and desalination plants. The final report will be com-
pleted in 2007 and will recommend additional steps
for EPA to take in FY 2007 and 2008 if, ultimately,
injection wells play a larger role in a management
strategy for DWTRs.
8
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I. Strategies To Protect Public Health
7) Protecting Surface Water that is a Source
of Drinking Water
In addition to implementing programs authorized by
the Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA is encouraging
States and communities to expand source water pro-
tection to leverage the resources of other programs to
protect drinking water supplies, such as water quality
standards and watershed restoration under the Clean
Water Act and land stewardship authorities of the
Forest Service.
State water quality standards set the benchmarks for
water surface quality, including that of drinking water
sources. In FY 2007, EPA will transmit to the States
the results of the evaluation of the extent to which
surface water sources of drinking water are designat-
ed for public water supply use. EPA expects States to
use this information to improve coordination of water
quality protection activities between the State Water
Quality Standards Program and the State Source
Water Protection Program. In addition, EPA will begin
to track which of these surface water sources of
drinking water are monitored by States (see Program
Activity Measure SDW-9) and will track progress in
developing and implementing TMDLs for any of these
waters that are impaired (see Program Activity
Measure SOW-10).
C) Grant Program Resources
EPA has several grant programs to the States, author-
ized under the Safe Drinking Water Act, that support
work towards the drinking water strategic goals, includ-
ing the Public Water System Supervision (PWSS),
DWSRF, UIC, and water security grants. For additional
information on these grants, see the grant program
guidance on the Web site at
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
1) Fish
EPA's approach to making fish safer to eat includes
several key elements:
• Encourage development of Statewide mercury
reduction strategies;
• Reduce air deposition of mercury; and
• Improve public information and notification of
fish consumption risks.
A] Comprehensive Statewide Mercury Reduction
Programs
EPA recognizes that restoration of waterbodies
impaired by mercury may require coordinated efforts
to address widely dispersed sources of contamination
and that restoration may require a long-term commit-
ment.
In early March 2007, EPA established guidelines
allowing States the option of developing comprehen-
sive mercury reduction programs in conjunction with
their FY 2008 lists of impaired waters developed
under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. Under
the new guidelines, EPA allows States that have a
comprehensive mercury reduction program to place
waters impaired by mercury in a subcategory "5m" of
their impaired waters lists and defer development of
mercury TMDLs for these waters. These mercury-
impaired waters would not be included in estimates
of the "pace" of TMDL development needed to meet
the goal of developing TMDLs for impaired waters
within 8 to 13 years of listing the waterbody.
The key elements of a State comprehensive mercury
reduction program are:
• Identification of air sources of mercury in the
State, including adoption of appropriate State
level programs to address in-State sources;
• Identification of other potential multi-media
sources of mercury in products and wastes and
adoption of appropriate State-level programs;
• Adoption of statewide mercury reduction goals
and targets, including targets for percent reduc-
tion and dates of achievement;
• Multi-media mercury monitoring;
• Public documentation of the State's mercury
reduction program in conjunction with the State's
Section 303(d) list; and coordination across
States where possible, such as multi-State
mercury reduction programs.
EPA expects that these elements of a comprehensive
mercury reduction program will be in place in order
for 5m listings to be approved (i.e., specific legisla-
tion, regulations, or other programs that implement
the required elements have been formally adopted by
the State, as opposed to being in the planning or
implementation stages). States will have the option
of developing comprehensive mercury reduction pro-
grams as part of the FY 2008 Section 303(d) lists
due to EPA in April 2008.
EPA will also use available tools to identify specific
waters with high mercury levels and then address
these problems using core Clean Water Act program
authorities, including TMDL and permitting programs
where a State does not develop a comprehensive
statewide reduction strategy for specific waters where
a local source of mercury can be addressed using
existing tools.
B] Reduce Air Deposition of Mercury
Most fish advisories are for mercury, and a critical
element of the strategy to reduce mercury in fish is
reducing emissions of mercury from combustion
sources in the United States. On a nationwide basis,
by 2010, Federal regulatory programs are expected to
reduce electric-generating unit emissions of mercury
from their 2000 level (see EPA Strategic Plan; Goal
1: Clean Air, Subobjective 1.1.2: Reduced Risk from
Toxic Air Pollutants).
C] Improve Public Information and Notification of
Fish Consumption Risks
Another key element of the strategy to make fish
safer to eat is to expand and improve information and
notification of the risks of fish consumption. As part
of this work, EPA is also encouraging and supporting
States and Tribes to adopt the new fish tissue criteri-
on for mercury that EPA issued in 2001 and apply it
based on implementation guidance to be issued in
2007.
EPA is actively monitoring the development of fish
consumption advisories and working with States to
improve monitoring to support this effort. By 2008,
EPA expects that fish tissues will be assessed to sup-
port waterbody-specific or regional consumption advi-
sories for at least 28% of lake acres and 40% of river
miles (see Program Activity Measure FS-1). EPA also
encourages States and Tribes to monitor fish tissue
based on national guidance, and most States are now
doing this work.
10
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I. Strategies To Protect Public Health
2) Safe Shellfish
Shellfish safety is managed through the Interstate
Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC), a partnership
of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
State shellfish control agencies, National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and EPA.
The State shellfish control agencies monitor shellfish-
ing waters and can prohibit or restrict harvesting if
the waters from which shellfish are taken are consid-
ered unsafe.
Success in achieving the shellfish goals relies on
implementation of Clean Water Act programs that are
focused on sources causing shellfish acres to be
closed. Important new technologies include pathogen
source tracking, new indicators of pathogen contami-
nation, and predictive correlations between environ-
mental stressors and their effects. Once critical areas
and sources are identified, core program authorities,
including expanded monitoring, development of
TMDLs, and revision of discharge permit limits, can
be applied to improve conditions.
In addition, a wide range of clean water programs
that apply throughout the country will generally
reduce pathogen levels in key waters. For example,
work to control Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), to
reduce discharges from Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operations (CAFOs), to reduce storm water runoff,
and to reduce nonpoint pollution will contribute to
restoration of shellfish uses.
Finally, success in achieving the shellfish goal also
depends on improving the availability of State shell-
fish information. EPA, along with NOAA and FDA, are
encouraging States to participate in the ISSC and
report shellfish information. EPA is also working to
improve data concerning the location of open and
restricted shellfishing areas.
C) Grant Program Resources
Grant resources supporting this goal include the
State program grant under Section 106 of the Clean
Water Act, other water grants identified in the Grant
Program Resources section of Subobjective 4, and
grants from the Great Lakes National Program Office.
For additional information on these grants, see the
grant program guidance on the Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/water/waterplan).
3) Water Safe for
Swimming
A) Subobjective
Percentage of days of the beach season that coastal and
Great Lakes beaches monitored by State beach safety
programs will be open and safe for swimming:
2006 Baseline: 97%
2008 Target: 96%
2007 Commitment: 95%
2011 Target: 96%
(Note: Additional measures of progress are included
in Appendices A and B.)
B) Key National Strategies
The Nation's waters, especially beaches in coastal
areas and the Great Lakes, provide recreational
opportunities for millions of Americans. Swimming in
some recreational waters, however, can pose a risk of
illness as a result of exposure to microbial pathogens.
By "recreational waters" EPA means waters officially
recognized for primary contact recreation use (or sim-
ilar full body contact use) by States, authorized
Tribes, and Territories.
For FY 2008, EPA's national strategy for improving
the safety of recreational waters will include four key
elements:
• Establish pathogen indicators based on sound
science;
• Identify unsafe recreational waters and begin
restoration;
• Reduce pathogens levels in all recreational
waters; and
• Improve beach monitoring and public notifica-
tion.
1) Continue to Develop the Scientific
Foundation to Support the Next Generation
of Recommended Water Quality Criteria
The BEACH Act requires EPA to develop new or
revised recreational water quality criteria. EPA is
actively working to develop and begin implementing a
science plan that will provide the support needed to
underpin the next generation of recommended water
quality criteria.
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
A key component of the strategy to restore waters
unsafe for swimming is to identify the specific waters
that are unsafe and develop plans to accomplish the
needed restoration. A key part of this work is to
maintain strong progress toward implementation of
TMDLs, which are developed based on the schedules
established by States in conjunction with EPA.
Program Activity Measure WQ-8 indicates that most
EPA Regions expect to maintain schedules providing
for completion of TMDLs within 13 years of listing.
EPA will continue to work with States to expand
implementation of TMDLs, including developing
TMDLs on a water segment or watershed basis where
appropriate (see Section 11.1).
In a related effort, the Office of Water will work in
partnership with the OECA to better focus compli-
ance and enforcement resources to unsafe recreation-
al waters. In addition, wet weather discharges, which
are a major source of pathogens, are one of OECA's
national priorities.
In addition to focusing on waters that are unsafe for
swimming today, EPA, States, and Tribes will work in
FY 2008 to reduce the overall level of pathogens dis-
charged to recreational waters using three key
approaches:
• Reduce pollution from CSOs;
• Address other sources discharging pathogens
under the permit program; and
• Encourage improved management of septic sys-
tems.
Overflows from combined storm and sanitary sewers
in urban areas can result in high levels of pathogens
being released during storm events. Because urban
areas are often upstream of recreational waters, these
overflows are a significant source of unsafe levels of
pathogens. EPA is working with States and local gov-
ernments to fully implement the CSO Policy providing
for the development and implementation of Long
Term Control Plans (LTCPs) for CSOs. EPA expects
that close to 75% of the 829 CSO permits will have
schedules in place to implement approved LTCPs in
FY 2008 (see Program Activity Measure SS-1).
Other key sources of pathogens to the Nation's waters
are discharges from CAFOs and municipal storm
sewer systems and industrial facilities. EPA expects
to work with States to assure that these facilities are
covered by permits.
Finally, there is growing evidence that ineffective
septic systems are adversely impacting water
resources. EPA will work with State and local govern-
ments to develop voluntary approaches to improving
management of these systems, including design of
decentralized treatment systems. EPA will continue
to encourage States to adopt Voluntary Management
Guidelines for On-site/Decentralized Wastewater
Treatment Systems published by EPA.
Another important element of the strategy for improv-
ing the safety of recreational waters is improving
monitoring of public beaches and notifying the public
of unsafe conditions. EPA is working with States to
implement the Beaches Environmental Assessment
and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act and expects that
approaching 100 percent of "significant" public
beaches will be monitored in accordance with BEACH
Act requirements in FY 2008 (see Program Activity
Measures SS-2). Significant public beaches are those
identified by States as "Tier 1" in their BEACH moni-
toring and notification programs. Finally, EPA will
continue to receive and display State information on
beach notifications through the eBeaches system
(http://www.epa.gov/beaches/).
C) Grant Program Resources
Grant resources supporting this goal include the
Clean Water Act Section 106 grant to States, non-
point source program implementation grants (Section
319 grants), and the BEACH Act grant program
grants. For additional information on these grants,
see the grant program guidance on the Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/water/waterplan).
12
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. Strategies To Protect Fresh Waters,
Coastal Waters, And Wetlands
An overarching goal of the National Water Program is
to protect aquatic systems throughout the country,
including rivers, lakes, coastal waters, and wetlands.
Although the three subobjective strategies described
below address discrete elements of the Nation's water
resources, the National Water Program manages
these efforts as part of a comprehensive effort. In
addition, the national strategies described below are
intended to work in concert with the efforts to restore
and protect the large aquatic ecosystems described
in Part IV of this Guidance.
1) Restore and Improve
Water Quality on a
Watershed Basis
A) Subobjective
Use pollution prevention and restoration approaches to
protect and restore the quality of rivers, lakes, and
streams on a watershed basis.
(NOTE: Additional measures of progress are included
in the Appendices, including measures related to
watersheds and maintaining water quality in streams
already meeting standards.)
B) Key National Strategies
In FY 2008, EPA will work with States and others to
implement programs to protect and restore these
water resources with three key goals in mind:
• Core Water Programs: EPA, States, and Tribes
need to maintain and improve the integration
and implementation of the core national clean
water programs throughout the country.
• Broaden Use of the Watershed Approach: EPA will
continue to support implementation of "water-
shed approaches" to restoring and protecting
waters. This work will be coordinated with the
efforts to restore and protect large aquatic
ecosystems discussed in Part III of this
Guidance.
• Water Restoration Goals and Strategies: EPA will
work with States and Tribes to strengthen capaci-
ties to identify and address impaired waters and
to use adaptive management approaches to
implement cost-effective restoration solutions,
giving priority to watershed approaches where
appropriate.
1) Implement Core Clean Water Programs to
Protect All Waters Nationwide
In FY 2008, EPA and the States need to continue to
effectively implement and better integrate programs
established under the Clean Water Act to protect,
improve, and restore water quality on a watershed
basis. Regions have the flexibility to emphasize vari-
ous parts of core national programs and modify tar-
gets to meet Region/State needs and conditions. Key
tasks for FY 2008 include:
• Strengthen the water quality standards program;
• Improve water quality monitoring and assess-
ment;
• Implement TMDLs and other watershed plans;
• Implement practices to reduce pollution from all
nonpoint sources;
• Strengthen the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) permit program; and
• Support sustainable wastewater infrastructure.
Adapting to a Changing Climate: An Emerging Challenge
In March 2007, the National Water Program established a Water Program Climate Change Workgroup to
improve understanding of climate change impacts on water resources. The Workgroup included represen-
tatives of Headquarters (HQ) water program offices and EPA Regional water offices as well as representa-
tives of the Office of Air and Radiation and the Office of Research and Development. As part of this
effort, the Workgroup will develop a strategy identifying appropriate, effective, and practical actions EPA
water program managers can take to adapt program implementation to climate change as well as to sup-
port climate change mitigation and research efforts. This Water Program Climate Change Strategy,
expected later in 2007, is likely to identify activities to be implemented in FY 2008.
13
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
Priorities for FY 2008 in each of these program areas
are described below.
A] Strengthen Water Quality Standards
Water quality standards are the regulatory and scien-
tific foundation of water quality protection programs
under the Clean Water Act. Under the Act, States
and authorized Tribes establish water quality stan-
dards that define the goals and limits for waters with-
in their jurisdictions. They are used to determine
which waters must be cleaned up, how much may be
discharged, and what is needed for protection.
To help achieve strategic targets, EPA will continue to
review and approve or disapprove State and Tribal
water quality standards and promulgate replacement
standards where needed; develop water quality crite-
ria, information, methods, models, and policies to
ensure that each waterbody in the United States has a
clear, comprehensive suite of standards that define
the highest attainable uses; and, as needed, provide
technical and scientific support to States, Territories,
and authorized Tribes in the development of their
standards. EPA will also continue implementation of
the Strategy for Water Quality Standards and Criteria
(EPA, August 2003), which identifies highest-priority
actions for strengthening the policy and scientific
foundation of State and Tribal water quality programs.
A high priority is to support State and Territory devel-
opment of nutrient criteria—water quality criteria to
help target reductions in excess nutrients that can
cause eutrophication and other problems in lakes,
estuaries, rivers, and streams. EPA will work with
States and Territories as they develop and implement
mutually agreed upon plans for developing nutrient
criteria and will provide technical tools and guidance
to assist them (see Program Activity Measure WQ-1).
In a related effort, EPA will encourage and support
Tribes to obtain approval to administer water quality
standards programs and to develop water quality
standards (see Program Activity Measure WQ-2).
EPA will also work with States and Tribes to ensure
the effective operation of the standards program,
including working with States in keeping their water
quality criteria up to date with the latest scientific
information (see Program Activity Measure WQ-3) and
working with States and Tribes to facilitate adoption
of standards that EPA can approve (see Program
Activity Measure WQ-4).
B) Improve Water Quality Monitoring
Over the next five years, EPA will work with States
and Tribes in providing information to make good
water quality protection and restoration decisions and
tracking changes in the Nation's water quality over
time.
A top priority for the past several years is State and
EPA cooperation on statistically valid assessments of
water condition nationwide. In FY 2008, EPA, States,
and Tribes will be analyzing data from the lakes sur-
vey and collecting samples for the rivers survey.
Planning for surveys of streams, coastal waters, and
wetlands conditions will also occur.
In FY 2008, States will continue implementing their
monitoring strategies to keep to established sched-
ules (see Program Activity Measure WQ-5). EPA will
stress the importance of using statistical surveys to
generate statewide assessments, monitor waters
where restoration actions have been implemented,
and transmit water quality data to the national
STORET warehouse using the new WQX protocol. EPA
will also assist Tribes in developing monitoring strate-
gies appropriate to their water quality programs (see
Program Activity Measure WQ-6) and encourage
Tribes to provide data in a format accessible for stor-
age in EPA data systems.
In a related effort, EPA will work with States and
Territories to develop integrated assessments of water
conditions, including reports under Section 305(b) of
the Clean Water Act and lists of impaired waters
under Section 303(d) of the Act by April 1, 2008.
In support of this integrated reporting, and to
improve State capability to report on environmental
progress in a geo-referenced format, EPA is asking all
States/Territories to report their data using the
Assessment Database or a compatible system in FY
2008 (see Program Activity Measure WQ-7) and to
provide these reports in a timely manner.
C] TMDLs and Related Plans
Development and implementation of TMDLs for an
impaired waterbody is a critical tool for meeting
water restoration goals. TMDLs focus on clearly
defined environmental goals and establish a pollutant
budget, which is then implemented via permit
requirements and through local, State, and Federal
watershed plans/programs.
EPA will track the degree to which States develop
TMDLs on approved schedules, based on a goal of at
least 80% on pace each year to meet State sched-
ules or straight-line rates that ensure that the
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I. Strategies To Protect Fresh Waters, Coastal Waters, And Wetlands
national policy of TMDL completion within 8 to 13
years of listing is met (see Program Activity Measure
WQ-8).
As noted below, EPA is encouraging States to organ-
ize schedules for TMDLs to address all pollutants on
an impaired segment when possible (see Program
Activity Measure WQ-21). Where multiple-impaired
segments are clustered within a watershed, EPA
encourages States to organize restoration activities
across the watershed (i.e., apply a watershed
approach).
D] Control Nonpoint Source Pollution
Polluted runoff from sources such as agricultural
lands, forestry sites, and urban areas is the largest
single remaining cause of water pollution. EPA and
States are working with local governments, watershed
groups, property owners, Tribes, and others to imple-
ment programs and management practices to control
polluted runoff throughout the country.
EPA provides grant funds to States under Section
319 of the Clean Water Act to implement compre-
hensive programs to control nonpoint pollution,
including reduction in runoff of nitrogen, phosphorus,
and sediment. EPA will monitor progress in reducing
loadings of these key pollutants (see Program Activity
Measure WQ-9). In addition, EPA estimates that
some 5,967 waterbodies are primarily impaired by
nonpoint sources and will track progress in restoring
these waters (see Program Activity Measure WQ-10)
nationwide.
As described in more detail in Section 2 on page 16,
EPA is encouraging States to use the Section 319
program to support a more comprehensive, watershed
approach to protecting and restoring water quality.
EPA first published in FY 2003 new grant guidelines
for the Section 319 program to require the use of at
least $100 million for developing and implementing
comprehensive watershed plans. These plans are
geared towards restoring impaired waters on a water-
shed basis while still protecting high-quality and
threatened waters as necessary. EPA has a goal of
substantially implementing many of these plans by
2008. State Clean Water State Revolving Fund
(CWSRF) funds are also available to support efforts to
control pollution from nonpoint sources.
E) Strengthen NPDES Permit Program
The NPDES program requires point sources discharg-
ing to waterbodies to have permits and requires pre-
treatment programs to control discharges from
industrial facilities to sewage treatment plants.
In FY 2003, EPA worked with States to develop the
Permitting for Environmental Results Strategy to
address concerns about the backlog in issuing per-
mits and the health of State NPDES programs. The
strategy focuses limited resources on the most criti-
cal environmental problems and addresses program
efficiency and integrity. In FY 2004 and 2005, EPA
worked with States to assess NPDES program integri-
ty. In FY 2005 and 2006, EPA developed a commit-
ment and tracking system to ensure that NPDES
programs implement follow-up actions resulting from
assessments. In FY 2007 and 2008, EPA will contin-
ue to emphasize the importance of these follow-up
actions (see Program Activity Measure WQ-11).
EPA is also working with States to structure the per-
mit program to better support comprehensive protec-
tion of water quality on a watershed basis. Some key
elements of this effort (described in more detail in
Section 2) include:
• High-Priority Permits: permits that can help
implement TMDLs, watershed plans, effluent
guidelines, or other environmental needs will
continue to be identified as high priority (see
Program Activity Measure WQ-19);
• Watershed Trading: permits are an effective
mechanism to facilitate cost-effective pollution
reduction through watershed trading (see
Program Activity Measure WQ-20).
• Watershed Permits: organizing permits on a water-
shed basis can improve the effectiveness and
efficiency of the program.
EPA will continue to work with States to set targets
for the percentage of permits that are considered cur-
rent, with the goal of assuring that not less than 90%
of all permits are current by the end of 2008 (see
Program Activity Measure WQ-12). In addition, EPA
is working with States to expedite reviews of permit
renewals and modifications for NPDES permits held
by Performance Track facilities.
EPA will work with States to assure that industrial,
construction, and MS4 facilities are covered by cur-
rent Phase I and Phase II stormwater permits and to
monitor the number of facilities covered by storm
water and CAFO permits (see Program Activity
Measure WQ-13).
EPA and States will monitor the percentage of signifi-
cant industrial facilities that have control mecha-
nisms in place to implement applicable pretreatment
requirements prior to discharging to publicly owned
treatment works (POTWs). EPA will also monitor the
percentage of categorical industrial facilities in non-
pretreatment POTWs that have control mechanisms
15
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
in place to implement applicable pretreatment
requirements (see Program Activity Measure WQ-14).
Finally, EPA will track and report on key measures of
compliance with discharge permits, including the
percent of major dischargers and the percent of
major sewage treatment plants (POTWs) in significant
noncompliance (see Program Activity Measures WQ-
15 and WQ-16).
F] Support Sustainable Water Infrastructure
Much of the dramatic progress in improving water
quality is directly attributable to investment in drink-
ing water and wastewater infrastructure. But the job
is far from over. Communities are challenged to find
the fiscal resources to replace aging infrastructure,
meet growing infrastructure demands fueled by popu-
lation growth, and secure their infrastructure against
threats. If these challenges are not met, rising water
pollution levels could erase the gains in water quality
that the Nation has achieved.
Today's challenges require a multi-faceted approach
to managing infrastructure assets. The Nation must
embrace a fundamental change in the way we man-
age, value, and invest in infrastructure. EPA is pursu-
ing a Sustainable Infrastructure Initiative, organized
around four principles or "pillars":
• Better Management: work with utilities and com-
munities to promote utility management pro-
grams based on attributes of effectively managed
utilities and performance measures that will help
change the paradigm from managing for compli-
ance to managing for sustainability.
• Water Efficiency: promote wise water use by
consumers and utilities through market enhance-
ment programs for water efficient products, part-
nerships, and public education.
• Full Cost Pricing: help utilities and communities
recognize the full cost of providing services and
implement pricing structures that recover these
costs.
• The Watershed Approach: to help utilities and
other stakeholders use watershed approaches to
think holistically about infrastructure planning,
including drinking water, source water, waste-
water, and stormwater management and soft path
technologies, such as low-impact development.
In pursuing actions under each of these pillars, EPA
will be guided by several cross-cutting themes, such
as innovation, collaboration with partners, use of new
technology, and research focused on new tools and
techniques. In addition, EPA will pursue innovative,
market-based tools to increase and accelerate the
amount of capital invested in the Nation's water infra-
structure. One focus will be on removing barriers to
private investment in public purpose infrastructure.
Also important to the implementation of the
Sustainable Infrastructure Strategy are the CWSRFs
that provide low-interest loans to help finance waste-
water treatment facilities and other water quality
projects. Recognizing the substantial remaining need
for wastewater infrastructure, EPA expects to contin-
ue to provide significant annual capitalization to
CWSRFs through 2011. EPA will work with States to
assure the effective operation of SRFs, including
monitoring the fund utilization rate (see Program
Activity Measure WQ-17). EPA will also work with
States to monitor progress in the restoration and
protection of waters (see Program Activity Measure
WQ-18).
In a related effort, EPA will work with other Federal
agencies to improve access to basic sanitation. The
2002 World Summit in Johannesburg adopted the
goal of reducing the number of people lacking access
to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 50%
by 2015. EPA will contribute to this work through its
support for development of sanitation facilities in
Indian country, Alaskan Native villages, and Pacific
Island communities using funds set aside from the
CWSRF and targeted grants. Other Federal agencies,
such as the Department of the Interior (DOI), the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, also
play key roles in this area and are working with EPA
in this effort. EPA is also working to improve access
to drinking water and wastewater treatment in the
Mexico Border area (see Section 7 of this Guidance).
2)
Strong implementation of core Clean Water Act pro-
grams is essential to improving water quality, but is
not sufficient to accomplish the water quality
improvements called for in the Agency's Strategic
Plan. Today's water quality problems are often caused
by many different and diffuse sources resulting in an
accumulation of problems in a watershed. Addressing
these complex problems demands watershed
approaches that use an iterative planning process to
actively seek broad public involvement and focus
multi-stakeholder and multi-program efforts within
hydrologically defined boundaries to address priority
resource goals.
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Strategies To Protect Fresh Waters, Coastal Waters, And Wetlands
The National Water Program has successfully used a
watershed approach to focus core program activities
and to promote and support accelerated efforts in key
watersheds. At the largest hydrologic scales, EPA and
its partners operate successful programs addressing
the Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico,
and National Estuary Program (NEP) watersheds.
Many States, EPA Regions, and their partners have
also undertaken important efforts to protect, improve,
and restore watersheds at other hydrologic scales.
Together, these projects provide strong evidence of
the value of a comprehensive approach to assessing
water quality, defining problems, integrating manage-
ment of diverse pollution controls, and defining
financing of needed projects.
Over the past decade, EPA has witnessed a
groundswell of locally driven watershed protection
and restoration efforts. Watershed stakeholders, such
as citizen groups, governments, non-profit organiza-
tions, and businesses, have come together and creat-
ed long-term goals and innovative solutions to clean
up their watersheds and promote more sustainable
uses of their water resources. EPA estimates that
there are approximately 6,000 local watershed
groups active nationwide.
For FY 2008, EPA will continue to implement its
National Strategy for building the capacity of local
government and watershed groups. The Strategy
emphasizes three activities to accelerate local water-
shed protection efforts:
• Target training and tools to areas where existing
groups can deliver environmental results;
• Enhance support to local watershed organizations
through third-party providers (e.g., Federal part-
ners, EPA assistance agreement recipients); and
• Share best watershed approach management
practices in locations where EPA is not directly
involved.
EPA is also working at the national level to develop
partnerships with Federal agencies to encourage their
participation in watershed protection and to promote
delivery of their programs on a watershed basis. For
example, EPA will work with USDA to promote coor-
dinated use of Federal resources, including grants
under Section 319 and Farm Bill funds. EPA is also
working with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to foster
efficient strategies to address water quality impair-
ments by maintaining and restoring National Forest
System watersheds. EPA and the USFS will work to
advance a suite of water quality related actions,
including category 4b watershed plans that will build
partnerships between agencies and among States.
ie
s
In 2002, States identified some 39,798 specific
waterbodies as impaired (i.e., not attaining State
water quality standards) on lists required under
Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. Although core
programs contribute to improving these impaired
waters, success in restoring the health of impaired
waterbodies often requires a waterbody-specific focus
to define the problem and implement specific steps
needed to reduce pollution.
Nationally, EPA has adopted a goal of restoring
2,250 of those waters identified as impaired by
2012 (about 5.6% of all impaired waters identified
in 2002), and Regions have indicated the progress
they expect to make toward this goal in FY 2008 (see
table on the next page).
Regional commitments for waterbody restoration, to
be developed over the Summer of 2007, based on
the targets in the table, should be the best effort by the
Regions and States to restore impaired waters based on
an affirmative effort to redesign and refocus program
priorities and delivery methods where this is necessary
to meet or exceed water restoration targets. In the
event that a Region finds that existing program deliv-
ery and alignment is not likely to result in a signifi-
cant contribution to national goals, the Region should
work with States to rethink and redesign the delivery
of clean water programs to more effectively restore
waterbodies and watersheds. Regions will also devel-
op targets and commitments for progress under
measures related to improvement of impaired waters
short of full restoration (see measure SP-11) and in
small watersheds where one or more waterbody is
impaired (see measures SP-12).
States and Regions have indicated that the time
frame for full restoration of impaired waters can be
long and that the significant program efforts to put
plans in place to restore waters need to be better rec-
ognized. Recognizing this issue, EPA will work with
States to report the number of impaired water seg-
ments where restoration planning will be complete in
FY 2008 (see Program Activity Measure WQ-21).
Completion of planning is an essential, intermediate
step toward full restoration of a waterbody and can be
documented more quickly than actual waterbody
improvement. In general, planning for restoration is
complete when each cause of impairment of a water-
body is covered by one or more of the following: an
EPA-approved TMDL, a watershed restoration plan
that is an acceptable substitute for a TMDL, or a mer-
cury reduction program consistent with EPA guidance.
17
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
Impaired Waters Restoration Targets By Region and Nationally (Measure SP-10]
Region
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
a
9
10
Totals
Total Impaired
Waters
(2002)
6,710
1,805
8,998
5,274
4,550
1,407
2,036
1,274
1,041
6,408
39,503**
FY 2002-2006
Waters
Restored
47
6
224
72
241
73
196
51
a
6
924
FY 2007
Commitment
(cumulative/
FY 2007
annual)
86/39
6/0
256/32
1 36/64
241/0
111/38
210/14
69/18
43/35
8/2
1,166/242
FY 2008 Target
(cumulative/
FY 2008
annual)
78/0
25/19
275/19
150/14
309/68
120/9
219/9
96/27
46/3
50/42
1,368/210
FY 201 2
Target
(cumulative)
129
101
375
496
397
240
250
133
24
100
2,250*
* Rounded from 2245; ** 39,503 updated from 39,768 to reflect corrected data.
(Note that between 2000 and 2002, States reported 1,876 waters restored or otherwise no longer considered impaired.)
For some impaired waters, the best path to restoration
is the prompt implementation of a waterbody-specific
TMDL or TMDLs. For many waters, however, the best
path to restoration will be as part of a larger, watershed
process that results in completion of TMDLs for multi-
ple waterbodies within a watershed and the develop-
ment of a single implementation plan for restoring all
the impaired waters in that watershed. EPA has identi-
fied some 4,800 small watersheds where one or more
waterbody is impaired and the watershed approach is
being applied. Our goal is to demonstrate how the
watershed approach is working by showing a measura-
ble improvement in 250 such watersheds by 2012.
Regions are encouraged to use some or all of the fol-
lowing strategies in marshaling resources to support
waterbody and watershed restoration:
• Realign water programs and resources as needed,
including proposal of reductions in allocations
among core water program implementation as
reflected in commitments to annual program
activity measure targets;
• Coordinate waterbody restoration efforts with
Section 319 funds reserved for development of
watershed plans;
• Make effective use of water quality planning
funds provided under Section 604(b) of the
Clean Water Act;
• Make effective use of Regional Geographic
Initiative Funds in the Region;
• Leverage resources available from other Federal
agencies, including the USDA; and
• Apply funds appropriated by Congress for water-
shed or related projects.
C) Grant Program Resources
Key program grants that support this Subobjective are:
• The Clean Water Act Section 106 Water Pollution
Control State Program grants;
• The Clean Water Act Section 319 State program
grant for nonpoint pollution control, including
set-aside for Tribal programs;
• Targeted Watershed Assistance grants;
• Alaska Native Village Water and Wastewater
Infrastructure grants;
• CWSRF capitalization grants, including set-
asides for planning under Section 604(b) of the
Clean Water Act and grants to Tribes for waste-
water treatment infrastructure.
For additional information on these grants, see the
grant program guidance on the Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/water/waterplan).
18
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Strategies To Protect Fresh Waters, Coastal Waters, And Wetlands
2) Protect Coastal and
Ocean Waters
A) Subobjective
Improve national coastal aquatic ecosystem health on
the "good/fair/poor" scale of the National Coastal
Condition Report (NCCR). (Rating is a system in which 1
is poor and 5 is good.)
2004 Baseline:
2008 Target:
2.3 2007 Commitment:
2.4 2011 Target:
2.3
2.5*
(NOTE: Additional measures of progress are included
in Appendices A and B. *2011 Target in the Agency
Strategic Plan developed prior to more recent esti-
mates of progress.)
B) Key National Strategies
Estuaries and coastal waters are among the most pro-
ductive ecosystems on Earth, providing numerous eco-
logical, economic, cultural, and aesthetic benefits and
services. They are also among the most threatened
ecosystems, largely as a result of rapidly increasing
growth and development. About half of the U.S. popu-
lation now lives in coastal areas, and coastal counties
are growing three times faster than counties elsewhere
in the Nation. The overuse of resources and poor land
use practices have resulted in a host of human health
and natural resource problems.
For FY 2008, EPA's national strategy for improving
the condition of coastal and ocean waters will include
the key elements identified below:
• Improve coastal monitoring and assessment;
• Support State programs for coastal protection;
• Implement the NEP; and
• Protect ocean resources.
An important objective of all of these activities is the
improvement of coastal conditions nationally by at
least 0.2 points on the scale in the NCCR series of
assessments (i.e., from 2.3 national score in the
2004 NCCR to 2.5 in 2011; see measure 2.2.2).
In addition, the NCCRs include assessments of con-
ditions in each major coastal region around the coun-
try (i.e., Northeast, Southeast, West Coast, Puerto
Rico, and the Gulf of Mexico; see measures SP-16,
17, 18, and 19 and Subobjective 4.3.5 in the
Appendices). EPA will work with States and others to
at least maintain condition ratings in each of these
major coastal regions over the next five years.
The national water quality program, as well as the
ocean and coastal programs described in this section,
contribute to addressing these goals nationally and
regionally. EPA is also working with diverse partners
to implement region-specific restoration and protec-
tion programs. The NEP, described below, establishes
such partnerships in 28 estuaries nationwide. In
addition, EPA is working with the States and other
partners in the Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay, New
England, and the West Coast. Some of these efforts
are described in more detail in Part III of this
Guidance.
1) Coastal Monitoring and Assessment
EPA has made improved monitoring of water condi-
tions a top priority for coastal as well as inland
waters. In FY 2008, the National Water Program will
work with the EPA Office of Research and
Development to develop the third NCCR describing
the health of the major marine eco-regions around
the United States. This report will build on past
reports issued in 2001 and 2004 and will allow for
valid trend assessment. These assessments are the
basis for the environmental measures of progress
used in the EPA Strategic Plan.
Starting in FY 2007 and continuing in FY 2008, EPA
will monitor changes in the condition of coastal
waters that States have identified as not meeting
State water quality standards under the Clean Water
Act (see Program Activity Measure CO-1). States have
identified over 8,000 impaired waterbodies (i.e.,
waters not meeting State water quality standards)
within coastal watersheds. Just over 4,000 of these
impaired waters are located within the 28 estuaries
covered by the NEP. EPA will work with NEPs and
with State TMDL programs to track efforts to restore
these impaired waters.
EPA's new Ocean Survey Vessel (OSV), the OSV Bold,
is larger and more versatile than its predecessor the
OSV Peter W. Anderson, and has greatly increased
the diversity of monitoring and assessment activities
that EPA will undertake.
2) State Coastal Programs
States play a critical role in protection of coastal
waters through the implementation of core Clean
Water Act programs, ranging from permit programs to
financing of wastewater treatment plants. States also
lead the implementation of efforts to assure the high
quality of the Nation's swimming beaches, including
implementation of the BEACH Act (see the Water
Safe for Swimming Subobjective).
19
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
In addition, States work with both EPA and NOAA in
the implementation of programs to reduce nonpoint
pollution in coastal areas. In FY 2008, EPA will con-
tinue work with States to assist in the full approval of
coastal nonpoint control programs in all coastal
States.
In FY 2008, EPA will continue efforts to work with
States to identify coastal areas which might benefit
from the adoption of "no discharge zones" to control
sewage discharges from vessels and will track the
number of miles of shoreline protected by "no dis-
charge zones" (see Program Activity Measure CO-2).
3) the
The NEP provides inclusive, community-based plan-
ning and action at the watershed level, through a col-
laborative system of 28 nationally significant
estuaries. The NEP is a highly visible program that
plays a critical role in conserving the Nation's most
valuable coastal and ocean resources.
During FY 2008, EPA will continue supporting the
efforts of all 28 NEP estuaries to implement their
Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plans
(CCMPs). One measure of NEP success is the num-
ber of priority actions in these plans that have been
completed. EPA tracks the number of these priority
actions completed (see Program Activity Measure
CO-3) and will work with NEPs to support continued
progress in completion of these key efforts. EPA also
tracks the cumulative dollar amount of the resources
leveraged by EPA grant funds (see Program Activity
Measure CO-4).
The health of the Nation's estuarine ecosystems also
depends on the maintenance of high-quality habitat.
As a result, one of the environmental outcome meas-
ures under the Ocean/Coastal Subobjective (see
Section A on page 19) is protecting or restoring addi-
tional habitat acres within the NEP study areas. For
FY 2008, EPA has set a goal of protecting or restor-
ing an additional 50,000 acres of habitat within the
NEP areas.
4)
Several hundred million cubic yards of sediment are
dredged from waterways, ports, and harbors every
year to maintain the Nation's navigation system. All
of this sediment must be disposed of without causing
adverse effects to the marine environment. EPA and
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USAGE) share
responsibility for regulating how and where the dis-
posal of sediment occurs.
EPA and USAGE will focus on improving how disposal
of dredged material is managed, including designat-
ing and monitoring disposal sites and involving local
stakeholders in planning to reduce the need for
dredging (see Program Activity Measure CO-5). EPA
will use the capability provided by the OSV Bold to
monitor compliance with environmental requirements
at ocean disposal sites (see Program Activity Measure
CO-6). In addition, the Strategic Plan includes a
measure of the percent of active dredged material
disposal sites that have achieved environmentally
acceptable conditions (see SP-20).
One of the greatest threats to U.S. ocean waters and
ecosystems is the uncontrolled spread of invasive
Albemarle-Pamlico Sounds, NC
Barataria-Terrebonne, LA
Barnegat Bay, NJ
Buzzards Bay, MA
Casco Bay, ME
Charlotte Harbor, FL
Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries, TX
Lower Columbia River, OR/WA
Delaware Estuary, DE/NJ
Delaware Inland Bays, DE
Galveston Bay, TX
Estuaries in the National Estuary Program
Indian River Lagoon, FL San Francisco Bay, CA
San Juan Bay, PR
Santa Monica Bay, CA
Sarasota Bay, FL
Tampa Bay, FL
Tillamook Bay, OR
Long Island Sound, NY/CT
Maryland Coastal Bays, MD
Massachusetts Bay, MA
Mobile Bay, AL
Morro Bay, CA
Narragansett Bay, Rl
New Hampshire Estuaries, NH
New York/New Jersey Harbor, NY/NJ
Peconic Bay, NY
Puget Sound, WA
20
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Strategies To Protect Fresh Waters, Coastal Waters, And Wetlands
species. Invasive species commonly enter U.S. waters
through the discharge of ballast water from ships. In
FY 2008, EPA will continue to participate in the
Aquatic Invasive Species Council, work with other
agencies on ballast water discharge standards or con-
trols, and work with other nations for effective inter-
national management of ballast.
C) Grant Program Resources
Grant resources directly supporting this work include
the NEP grants and coastal nonpoint pollution control
grants under the Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control
Program administered jointly by EPA and NOAA
(Section 6217 grant program). In addition, clean water
program grants identified under the watershed subob-
jective support this work. For additional information on
these grants, see the grant program guidance on the
Web site (http://www.epa.gov/water/waterplan).
3) Protect Wetlands
A) Subobjective
Working with partners, achieve a net
increase of acres of wetlands per year with additional
focus on biological and functional measures.
2002 Baseline: annual net loss of an estimated 58,500
acres per year
2004 Actual: 32,000 acres annual net gain
2006 Commitment: 200,000 (cumulative)
2007 Target: 100,000 per year (300,000 cumulative)
2008 Target: 100,000 per year (400,000 cumulative)
(Note: Additional measures of progress are identified
in Appendices A and B.)
B) Key National Strategies
Wetlands are among the Nation's most critical and
productive natural resources. They provide a variety
of benefits, such as water quality improvements,
flood protection, shoreline erosion control, and
ground water exchange. Wetlands are the primary
habitat for fish, waterfowl, and wildlife, and as such,
provide numerous opportunities for education, recre-
ation, and research. EPA recognizes that the chal-
lenges the Nation faces to conserve our wetland
heritage are daunting and that many partners must
work together for this effort to succeed.
Over the years, the United States has lost more than
115 million acres of wetlands to development, agri-
culture, and other uses. Today, the Nation may be
entering a period of annual net gain of wetlands
acres for some wetlands classes. Still, many wetlands
in the United States are in less than pristine condi-
tion and many created wetlands, while beneficial, fail
to replace the diverse plant and animal communities
of wetlands lost.
The 2006 National Wetlands Inventory Status and
Trends Report, released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS), reports the quantity and type of wet-
lands in the conterminous United States. Although
the report shows that overall gains in wetlands acres
exceeded overall losses from 1998 through 2004,
this gain is primarily attributable to an increase in
un-vegetated freshwater ponds, some of which (such
as aquaculture ponds) may not function as wetlands,
and others of which may have varying functional
value. The report notes the following trends in other
wetland categories: freshwater vegetated wetlands
declined by 0.5%, a smaller rate of loss than in pre-
ceding years, and estuarine vegetated wetlands
declined by 0.7%, an increased rate of loss from the
preceding years. The report does not assess the qual-
ity or condition of wetlands. EPA will work with FWS
and other Federal agencies to refine the methodology
used in preparing future reports to assess the status
and trends of both the quantity and quality of the
Nation's wetlands.
The President's Earth Day 2004 Wetlands Initiative
announced a performance-based goal to restore,
enhance, and protect at least three million wetland
acres over the next five years. In support of this goal,
EPA and other Federal agencies will continue to work
closely with Federal, State, Tribal, local, and private
entities to implement a coordinated program to pro-
tect wetlands.
EPA's Wetlands Program combines technical and
financial assistance to State, Tribal, and local partners
with outreach and education and wetlands regulation
under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act for the pur-
pose of restoring, improving, and protecting wetlands
in the United States. Objectives of EPA's strategy
include helping states and tribes build wetlands pro-
tection program capacity and integrating wetlands and
watershed protection. EPA's Wetlands Program is cur-
rently undertaking a national collaborative program
planning effort to devise national strategies in the
areas of monitoring, state and tribal capacity, regula-
tory program, jurisdictional determinations, and
restoration partnerships. This planning effort will
move forward within the context of the strategic goals
and program measures outlined in this Guidance.
21
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
,3
EPA contributes to achieving no overall net loss of
wetlands through the wetlands regulatory program
established under Section 404 of the Clean Water
Act. The USAGE and EPA jointly administer the
Section 404 program, which regulates the discharge
of dredged or fill material into waters of the United
States, including wetlands.
EPA will continue to work with USAGE to ensure
application of the 404(b)(l) guidelines which require
that discharges of dredged or fill material into waters
of the United States be avoided and minimized to the
extent practicable and unavoidable impacts are com-
pensated. Starting in FY 2008, EPA will track the
effectiveness of EPA's environmental review of
Section 404 permits and have added a new Program
Activity Measure described below (WT-3). Each
Region will also identify opportunities to partner with
the Corps in meeting performance measures for com-
pliance with 404(b)(l) guidelines. At a minimum,
these include:
• Environmental review of Section 404 permits
to ensure wetlands impacts are avoided and
minimized;
• Ensure when wetlands impacts cannot be avoid-
ed under Section 404 permits, that the unavoid-
able impacts are compensated for;
• Participation in joint impact and mitigation site
inspections and Mitigation Bank Review Team
activities;
• Assistance on development of mitigation site per-
formance standards and monitoring protocols;
and
• Enhanced coordination on resolution of enforce-
ment cases.
2)
Meeting the "net gain" element of the wetlands goal
is primarily accomplished by other Federal programs
(Farm Bill agriculture incentive programs and wet-
lands acquisition and restoration programs, including
those administered by FWS) and non-Federal pro-
grams. EPA will work to improve levels of wetlands
protection by States and other Federal programs
through actions that include:
• Working with and integrating wetlands protection
into other EPA programs such as Clean Water Act
Section 319, SRF, NEP, and Brownfields;
• Providing grants and technical assistance to
State, Tribal, or local organizations;
• Developing information, education, and outreach
tools; and
• Collaboration with USDA, DOI, NOAA, and other
Federal agencies with wetlands restoration pro-
grams to ensure the greatest environmental out-
comes.
For FY 2008, EPA expects to track the following key
activities for accomplishing its wetlands goals:
President's Initiative: Among the several Federal agen-
cies working to meet the President's wetlands goal,
EPA's commitment is to achieve an increase of at
least 6,000 acres of restored wetlands and 6,000
acres of enhanced wetlands over the five-year period
(1,200 acres per year in each category). EPA will
track this commitment as a sub-set of the overall net
gain goal and will track and report the results sepa-
rately under Program Activity Measure WT-1. These
acres may include those supported by the Five-Star
Restoration Grants, NEP, Section 319 nonpoint
source grants, Brownfields grants, Great Waterbody
Programs, and other EPA programs. This does not
include enforcement or mitigation acres. EPA greatly
exceeded its target for this Program Activity Measure
in 2005 and 2006, mainly due to unexpected
accomplishments from NEP enhancement projects.
However, because EPA cannot assume such signifi-
cant results each year, the target will remain the
same for 2008.
State/Tribal Programs: A key activity is building the
capacity of States and Tribes in wetlands monitoring,
regulation, restoration, water quality standards, miti-
gation compliance, and partnership building. Program
Activity Measure WT-2 is meant to reflect EPA's goal
of increasing State and Tribal capacity in wetlands
protection. In reporting progress under the measure,
EPA will be looking for substantial progress toward
the State or Tribe's wetlands program development in
three of the six elements of the measure (i.e., moni-
toring, regulation, restoration, water quality stan-
dards, mitigation compliance, and partnership
building) during the last three years.
The Wetland Demonstration Pilot is a three-year (FY
2005 to FY 2007) trial to assess the programmatic
and environmental outcomes States/Tribes can
achieve when wetlands grants are targeted at program
implementation. Special dispensation was given for
this three-year demonstration for Clean Water Act
104(b)(3) funds to support implementation activities.
Programmatic and environmental outcomes from the
23 projects in the pilot will be evaluated in FY 2008.
22
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I. Strategies To Protect Fresh Waters, Coastal Waters, And Wetlands
Regulatory Program Performance: In 2006 and 2007,
EPA and USAGE partnered to develop and refine a
Clean Water Act Section 404 permit database (ORM
2.0) that enables more insightful data collection on
the performance of the Section 404 regulatory pro-
gram. Using ORM 2.0 as a data source, this FY 2008
Guidance introduces a new measure detailed below
(WT-3). This measure documents the annual percent-
age of Section 404 standard permits where EPA coor-
dinated with the permitting authority and that
coordination resulted in an environmental improve-
ment in the final permit decision. This measure will
remain an indicator until enough data are collected
to define a meaningful target.
Wetlands Monitoring: In March 2003, EPA released
guidance to States outlining the Elements of a State
Water Monitoring and Assessment Program. The guid-
ance recommended including wetlands as part of that
program. This was followed in April of 2006 by release
of an "Elements" document specific to wetlands to
help EPA and State program managers plan and imple-
ment a wetlands monitoring and assessment program
within their water monitoring and assessment pro-
grams. Also, in 2006 EPA re-initiated the National
Wetlands Monitoring and Assessment Work Group to
provide national leadership in implementing State and
Tribal wetlands monitoring strategies. The Work Group
will also play a prominent role in informing the design
of the National Wetland Condition Assessment, sched-
uled for f ieldwork in 2011.
EPA will continue to work with States and Tribes to
build the capability to monitor trends in wetlands
condition as defined through biological metrics and
assessments and has the goal of at least 14 states
using these methods by the end of 2008. Program
Activity Measure WT-4 tracks state progress toward
this goal and the target is that by 2008 at least 14
States will have measured and reported on the trend
in wetlands condition in their state using biological
metrics and assessments. States are counted as
meeting this measure where they have generated
baseline wetlands condition, ideally for at least 20%
of the state, and are on track to resurvey and report
any change in that condition by 2008. Baseline con-
dition may be established using landscape assess-
ment (Tier I), rapid assessment (Tier 2), or intensive
site assessment (Tier 3).
C) Grant Program Resources
Examples of grant resources supporting this work
include the Wetland Program Development Grants, Five
Star Restoration Grants, Clean Water Act Section 319
Grants, Brownfields grants, and NEP Grants. For addi-
tional information concerning these grants, see the
grant guidance Web site at
-------
IV. Strategies To Protect Large
Aquatic Ecosystems
The core programs of the Clean Water Act and Safe
Drinking Water Act are essential for the protection of
the Nation's drinking water and fresh waters, coastal
waters, and wetlands. At the same time, additional,
intergovernmental efforts are sometimes needed to
protect and restore large aquatic ecosystems around
the country. For many years, EPA has worked with
State and local governments and others to implement
supplemental programs to restore and protect the
Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, the Gulf of Mexico,
and the waters along the Mexico Border. More recent-
ly, EPA has developed new, cooperative initiatives
addressing Long Island Sound, South Florida, Puget
Sound, the Columbia River, and the waters of the
Pacific Islands.
1) Protect Mexico Border
Water Quality
A) Subobjective
Sustain and restore the environmental health along the
U.S.-Mexico Border through the implementation of the
Border 2012 Plan.
(Note: Additional measures of progress are identified
in Appendices A and B.)
B) Key Strategies
The United States and Mexico have a long-standing
commitment to protect the environment and public
health in the U.S.-Mexico Border Region. The basic
approach to improving the environment and public
health in the U.S.-Mexico Border Region is the
Border 2012 Plan. Under this Plan, EPA expects to
take the following key actions to improve water quali-
ty and protect public health.
1) Core Program Implementation: EPA will continue to
implement core programs under the Clean Water
Act and related authorities, ranging from dis-
charge permit issuance, to watershed restoration,
to nonpoint pollution control.
2) Wastewater Treatment Financing: Federal, State,
and local institutions participate in border area
efforts to improve water quality through the
construction of infrastructure and development
of pretreatment programs. Specifically, Mexico's
National Water Commission and EPA provide
funding and technical assistance for project
planning and construction of infrastructure.
Congress has provided $883 million for Border
infrastructure from 1994 to 2006. For FY 2008,
EPA expects to be able to provide approximately
$10 million for these projects. EPA will continue
working with all its partners to leverage available
resources to meet priority needs. The FY 2008
target will be achieved through the completion of
prioritized Border Environment Infrastructure
Fund (BEIF) wastewater infrastructure projects.
Future progress in meeting this subobjective will
be achieved through other Border wastewater
infrastructure projects as well as through the col-
laborative efforts established through the Border
2012 Water Task Forces.
3) Build Partnerships: Partnerships are critical to the
success of efforts to improve the environment
and public health in the Border Region. Since
1995, institutions created under the North
American Free Trade Agreement, the Border
Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC)
and the North American Development Bank
(NADB), have had the primary role in working
with communities to develop and construct infra-
structure projects. BECC and NADB support
efforts to evaluate, plan, and implement finan-
cially and operationally sustainable water and
wastewater projects. EPA will continue to support
these institutions.
4) Improve Measures of Progress: During FY 2008,
EPA will work with Mexico, States, Tribes, and
other institutions to improve measures of
progress toward water quality and public health
goals.
C) Grant Program Resources
A range of program grants are used by States to
implement core programs in the U.S.-Mexico Border
Region. Allocations of the funding available for infra-
structure projects are not provided through guidance,
but through a collaborative and public prioritization
process.
24
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IV. Strategies To Protect Large Aquatic Ecosystems
2) Protect Pacific Islands
Waters
A) Subobjective
Sustain and restore the environmental health of the U.S.
Pacific Island Territories of American Samoa, Guam, and
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
(Note: Additional measures of progress are identified
in Appendices A and B.)
B) Key Program Strategies
The U.S. island territories of Guam, American
Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands struggle to provide adequate drinking
water and sanitation service. For example, the island
of Saipan in the Northern Marianas, with a popula-
tion of about 70,000, may be the only municipality
of its size in the United States without 24-hour
drinking water. When residents of Saipan do get
water (many receive only one or two hours per day of
water service), it is too salty to drink. In the Pacific
Island territories, poor wastewater conveyance and
treatment systems threaten to contaminate drinking
water wells and surface waters. Island beaches, with
important recreational, economic, and cultural signif-
icance, are frequently polluted and placed under
advisories.
One of the root causes of water and sanitation prob-
lems in the U.S. Pacific Island territories is inade-
quate and crumbling infrastructure. A recent study
estimated it would take over $600 million in capital
investments to bring the Pacific Island territories'
water and wastewater systems up to U.S. standards.
EPA is targeting innovative infrastructure financing,
enforcement, and technical assistance to improve the
water and wastewater situation in the Pacific Islands.
In pursuing these actions, EPA will continue to use
the available resources and to work with partners at
both the Federal and local levels to seek improve-
ments.
• Innovative Financing: EPA is working in partner-
ship with DOI to create a U.S. Territories bond
bank for the Pacific Island territories and the
U.S. Virgin Islands. The bond bank would make
it easier and less expensive for the territories to
secure bonds that could address large-scale
infrastructure needs.
• Enforcement: EPA will continue to oversee imple-
mentation of judicial and administrative orders to
improve water and wastewater systems. For
example, as a result of implementation of a
2003 Stipulated Order under the federal district
court in Guam, wastewater spills in Guam in
2006 were down by 90% compared to 2002;
and no island-wide boil water notices were
issued in 2005 or 2006 compared to nearly
every month in 2002. EPA will continue to
assess judicial and administrative enforcement
as a tool to improve water and wastewater
service.
• Technical Assistance: EPA will continue to use
technical assistance to improve the operation of
water and wastewater systems in the Pacific
Islands. In addition to periodic on-site training,
EPA will continue to use the Intergovernmental
Personnel Act (IPA) to build capacity in the
Islands to protect public health and the environ-
ment. For example, in 2006 and 2007, EPA
placed U.S. Public Health Service drinking
water engineers in key positions within Pacific
Island water utilities and within local regulatory
agencies.
C) Grant Program Resources
A range of grants funds and set-asides from the
national SRF appropriation are available to implement
projects to improve water infrastructure in the Pacific
Islands. EPA currently provides about $5 million total
to the Pacific Island territories in drinking water and
wastewater grants annually through the SRF programs.
3) Protect the Great
Lakes
A) Subobjective
Prevent water pollution and improve the overall aquatic
ecosystem health of the Great Lakes using the Great
Lakes 40-point scale.
2002 Baseline: 20 points
2005 Result 21.9
2006 Result: 21
2007 Commitment: 21
2008 Target: 22
2011 Target: 23
(Note: Additional measures of progress are identified
in Appendices A and B.)
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
B) Key Strategies
As the largest surface freshwater system on the face
of the earth, the Great Lakes ecosystem holds the key
to the quality of life and economic prosperity for tens
of millions of people. While significant progress has
been made to restore the environmental health of the
Great Lakes, much work remains to be done.
In May 2004, President Bush signed a Presidential
Executive Order recognizing the Great Lakes as a
national treasure, calling for the creation of a
"Regional Collaboration of National Significance" and
a cabinet-level Interagency Task Force. The
President's May 2004 Executive Order established
the EPA Administrator as the chair of a 10-member
Great Lakes Interagency Task Force, one purpose of
which is to ensure that their programs are funding
effective, coordinated, and environmentally sound
activities in the Great Lakes system.
More than 1,500 people representing Federal, State,
local, and Tribal governments; non-governmental enti-
ties; and private citizens participated in the Great
Lakes Regional Collaboration (GLRC) on eight issue-
specific Strategy Teams to develop a Great Lakes
Regional Collaboration Strategy to Restore and
Protect the Great Lakes, presented in December
2005. Teams focused on:
• Aquatic Invasive Species
• Habitat/Species
• Coastal Health
• Areas of Concern/Sediments
• Nonpoint Source
• Toxic Pollutants
• Indicators and Information
• Sustainable Development
EPA and the Interagency Task Force are using the
Strategy as a guide for Great Lakes protection and
restoration. The Administration has committed to
begin implementing 48 near-term activities that
address issues in all eight of the priority areas identi-
fied in the Strategy (see Program Activity Measure
GL-5). Highlights from among those activities
include:
• Fully implementing the Great Lakes Legacy Act
to remediate contaminated sediments in Great
Lakes Areas of Concern;
• Establishing a communication network among
Federal agencies to coordinate response to newly
identified aquatic invasive species in response to
requests for assistance from State or local
authorities, including rapid assessment of need-
ed actions and prompt determination of who has
the resources and expertise to assist in taking
action;
• Developing a system to track and report on the
GLRC wetlands goal to enhance and protect
200,000 acres of wetlands in the Great Lakes
Basin (including activities such as developing an
inventory of potential restoration sites, develop-
ing performance measures for prioritizing
actions, applying the performance measures to
the actions in an inventory, and identifying exist-
ing programs that could potentially implement
the actions);
• Developing a standardized sanitary survey form
for use by State and local governments, includ-
ing support for implementation pilots using the
new survey form in FY 2007;
• Surveillance for emerging chemicals of concern;
and
• Working with the USAGE to expedite the process-
ing and review of permits for projects to restore
wetlands and other aquatic habitat.
Progress under the Great Lakes Strategy is dependent
on continued work to implement core Clean Water
Act programs. These programs provide a foundation
of water pollution control that is critical to the suc-
cess of efforts to restore and protect the Great Lakes.
While the Great Lakes face a range of unique pollu-
tion problems (extensive sediment contamination and
atmospheric deposition), they also face problems
common to most other waterbodies around the coun-
try. Effective implementation of core programs such
as discharge permits, nonpoint pollution controls,
wastewater treatment, wetlands protection, and
appropriate designation of uses and criteria must be
fully and effectively implemented throughout the
Great Lakes Basin.
In addition, for the Great Lakes Basin, EPA will
focus on two key measures of core program
implementation: improving the quality of major
discharge permits and implementing the national
CSO Policy. In the case of discharge permits, EPA
has a goal of assuring that by 2008, 96% of the
major, permitted discharges to the Lakes or major
tributaries have permits that reflect water quality
standards to implement the Great Lakes Guidance.
This is a significant increase from the 2002 baseline
of 61.6%. In the case of the CSO Policy, EPA has a
long-term goal of 100% of permits with schedules in
place in permits or other enforceable mechanisms to
implement approved LTCPs. In 2007, the measure
for this goal was re-defined to be consistent among
26
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IV. Strategies To Protect Large Aquatic Ecosystems
the Great Lakes Regions and States. The FY 2008
target is 75% of permits consistent with the CSO
Policy (see Program Activity Measure GL-2).
Making recreational waters of the Great Lakes safe
for swimming is a common goal of the EPA Strategic
Plan and other EPA Regional and Great Lakes plans.
In FY 2007, EPA will work with States to both
improve the State water quality standards for bacteria
in recreational waters and to implement the BEACH
Act (see Section 3 of this Guidance). EPA has a goal
of assuring that 100% of high-priority beaches
around the Great Lakes continue to be served by
water quality monitoring and public notification pro-
grams consistent with the BEACH Act guidance (see
Program Activity Measure GL-3). EPA's Great Lakes
National Program Office will continue to work with
Regions and States to make and track progress
toward a goal of 90% of monitored, high-priority
Great Lakes beaches meeting bacteria standards
more than 95% of the swimming season.
C) Grant Program Resources
The Great Lakes National Program Office negotiates
grant resources with States and Tribes, focusing on
joint priorities for Lakewide Management Plans and
Remedial Action Plans. The Great Lakes National
Program Office issues awards for monitoring the envi-
ronmental condition of the Great Lakes, and also
issues solicitations for projects furthering protection
and clean up of the Great Lakes ecosystem. Priorities
are expected to include Contaminated Sediments;
Pollution Prevention and Toxics Reduction; Habitat
(Ecological) Protection and Restoration; Invasive
Species; Strategic or Emerging Issues, such as the
disappearance of Diporeia at the base of the food
web; and specific Lakewide Management Plan or
Remedial Action Plan Priorities (http://www.epa.gov/
glnpo/fund). Additional information concerning these
resources is provided in the grant program guidance
Web site at .
4) Protect and Restore
Chesapeake Bay
A) Subobjective
Prevent water pollution and protect aquatic systems so
that the overall aquatic system health of the Chesapeake
Bay is improved.
(Note: Additional measures of progress are identified
in Appendices A and B.)
B) Key Strategies
EPA's Chesapeake Bay work is based on a unique
regional partnership formed to direct and conduct
restoration of the Bay and its tidal tributaries.
Partners include Delaware; the District of Columbia;
Maryland; New York; Pennsylvania; Virginia; West
Virginia; the Chesapeake Bay Commission, a tri-state
legislative body; EPA, which represents the Federal
government; and participating citizen advisory
groups. Chesapeake 2000, a comprehensive and far-
reaching agreement, guides restoration and protec-
tion efforts through 2010, and focuses on improving
water quality. The challenge is to reduce pollution
and restore aquatic habitat to the extent that the
Bay's waters can be removed from the Clean Water
Act "impaired waters" list.
The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) has shown how
Federal agencies and States can work together col-
laboratively. The greatest success in the last five
years has been the water quality initiative, which has
resulted in:
• New water quality standards for the Bay and its
tidal tributaries that protect living resources and
are both more attainable and more valid scientifi-
cally, incorporating innovative features such as
habitat zoning and adoption of area-specific
submerged aquatic vegetation acreage targets;
• Adoption of nutrient and sediment allocations for
all parts of the watershed to meet the new stan-
dards, which reflect a consensus of all six basin
States, the District of Columbia, and EPA;
• Tributary-specific pollution reduction and habitat
restoration plans ("tributary strategies") which
spell out the treatment technologies, best man-
agement practices (BMPs), and restoration goals
for riparian forest buffers and wetlands that must
be employed to achieve the allocations; and
• A common NPDES permitting approach for all
significant wastewater treatment facilities that
unites both upstream and downstream States in
the enforcement of the new water quality stan-
dards and allocations, including implementation
of watershed permitting and nutrient trading.
Progress on Bay restoration must be accelerated sub-
stantially as the restoration goal of 2010 approaches.
EPA remains firmly committed to the 2010 goal and
will continue working with other Bay Program part-
ners to identify additional opportunities to accelerate
progress and ensure that water quality objectives are
achieved as soon as possible. The water quality stan-
dards and permitting approach, which applies to over
450 facilities basin-wide, will speed up nutrient
27
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
reductions from wastewater facilities. The cost of
implementing pollution control and habitat restora-
tion strategies necessary to achieve water quality
standards is an estimated $28 billion, with only a
fraction of the funds being currently available from
all partners combined. This lack of adequate funding
places a premium on improving access to available
assistance programs and targeting them to measures
that yield the greatest water quality benefit for the
expenditure as well as using innovative approaches
such as nutrient trading and watershed permitting
programs.
CBP partners are emphasizing implementation of the
most cost-effective BMPs, using the Program's ana-
lytical capability. Priorities for funding restoration
efforts were established by CBP leaders in 2005 to
help focus available resources. EPA and its partners
are also funding watershed projects to test the effec-
tiveness of key nonpoint source BMPs and spur inno-
vations such as better technology and market
incentives. In order to accelerate the pace of water
quality and aquatic habitat restoration, EPA and Bay
area States are taking a number of steps to make the
most cost-effective use of available regulatory, incen-
tive, and partnership tools, including the following
key actions for FY 2008:
• Fully implement base clean water programs in
the Bay;
• Support implementation of watershed permitting
and nutrient trading programs;
• Accelerate Bay cleanup by focusing on the most
cost-effective nutrient-sediment control and key
habitat restoration strategies;
• Enhance use of monitoring, modeling, and
demonstration projects to target and assess the
effectiveness of restoration actions;
• Strengthen accountability for implementation of
restoration measures; and
• Use the CBP federal partnership for cooperative
conservation to improve access to available finan-
cial and technical assistance programs, and link
federal programs to CBP's strategic priorities.
Core Clean Water Act programs provide a foundation
of water pollution control and wetlands protection
that is critical to protecting and restoring Chesapeake
Bay tidal waters. Clean Air Act regulations controlling
emissions of nitrogen compounds also contribute
substantially to Bay restoration.
A 2005 study identified ways to use EPA's regulatory
authorities more effectively to advance Bay restora-
tion, and these recommendations are being imple-
mented. EPA and watershed States will set stronger
nutrient limits for wastewater facilities under the
Chesapeake Bay permitting approach, increasing the
use of SRF low-interest loans for financing municipal
wastewater treatment improvements. New NPDES
CAFO permit requirements will be put in place. To
curb urban/suburban storm water loads and damage
to the watershed's carrying capacity from rapidly-
increasing impervious surface acreage and loss of
riparian buffers, EPA will cooperate with partners to
strengthen implementation of NPDES MS4 and con-
struction permit requirements.
te
Wastewater Treatment: CBP partners have already
taken steps to increase the cost-effectiveness of
nutrient controls in wastewater treatment by support-
ing demonstrations of biological nitrogen removal and
justifying use of annual load limits in NPDES per-
mits. States will accelerate new NPDES requirements
by watershed permits (and nutrient trading) in at
least two jurisdictions.
Agriculture: The States' pollution control and habitat
restoration strategies (tributary strategies) define spe-
cific, localized approaches for reducing nutrient and
sediment loads from agricultural operations, the
largest category of sources. They emphasize agricul-
tural BMPs such as nutrient management, low/no-till
cultivation, cover crops, and forest buffer restoration,
which are among the most cost-effective of all meas-
ures for controlling nutrient-sediment pollution loads.
EPA and State partners will integrate tributary strate-
gy implementation with Farm Bill programs.
CBP's animal manure management strategy empha-
sizes innovative measures such as animal feed
adjustment, and encourages markets for manure-
based products, such as soil amendment on Federal
and State lands. Watershed projects, such as the
Corsica River, will be supported to demonstrate effec-
tiveness of combined BMPs. Streamside forest
buffers (see Program Activity Measure CB-2) will be
expanded to achieve 60% of the forest buffer plant-
ing goal in FY 2008. Additional information concern-
ing this measure is available on the Internet at
(http://chesapeakebay.net/status. cfm?sid=83).
28
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IV. Strategies To Protect Large Aquatic Ecosystems
Urban/Suburban Lands: The 2004 CBP Blue Ribbon
Finance Panel stressed that storm water pollution
prevention, coupled with preservation of riparian for-
est buffers and wetlands, was by far the most cost-
effective approach to controlling pollution from
urban/suburban development, and the CEC agreed
that EPA and State partners should strengthen these
efforts. The 2007-2008 goal is to establish and
implement a basin-wide consensus on fully protective
principles and standards for regulating new develop-
ment and redevelopment, linking Federal, State, and
local programs and emphasizing "low-impact devel-
opment," preservation of natural streamside buffers,
increased urban tree canopy and wetlands restora-
tion, with watershed approaches including trading
and restoration banking.
3) Better Assessment and Targeting
EPA is upgrading its watershed modeling capability,
to improve tributary strategy planning and assess-
ment. In FY 2008, the Chesapeake Bay Phase 5
Watershed Model will be calibrated and verified for
management application. EPA and USAGE are
upgrading the Chesapeake Bay water quality model
and are cooperating with the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS), NOAA, and USDA to organize an assessment
of regional sediment management. In 2004, EPA,
USGS, and the Bay States adopted a basin-wide non-
tidal monitoring network, integrated with USGS gages
and State Clean Water monitoring, but tailored to
monitoring results of measures to reduce nutrient-
sediment loads to tidal Bay waters. In 2007-2008,
the network will be expanded under an interagency
initiative to improve assessment and geographic tar-
geting of BMPs. EPA and its partners will also
increase collaborative assessment of watershed proj-
ects, including several new projects funded with tar-
geted watershed funds.
4) Strengthened Accountability and Reporting
In 2006 and 2007, the CBP substantially revised its
indicators and reporting for Chesapeake Bay health
and restoration, both to improve accountability and to
respond to recommendations from the GAO. Working
with the scientific community through CBP's
Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee, the new
indicators will be evaluated and expanded in 2008 to
include tributary health and restoration reporting. In
2008, EPA, NOAA, and the States will collaborate on
improved integration of water quality and fisheries
monitoring and reporting under the CEC's precedent-
setting agreement in 2005 to establish ecosystem-
based fisheries management for the Chesapeake Bay.
5) Federal Partnership Agreement for
Chesapeake Bay Restoration
EPA and the Bay States need to strengthen partner-
ships with complementary Federal agency programs
that fund agricultural conservation and ecosystem
restoration, manage lands and fisheries, and con-
tribute to Bay scientific understanding. A key step
was taken in October 2005, when CBP goals and
tributary strategy funding priorities were presented to
the first high-level Federal meeting on Chesapeake
Bay restoration since 1998. EPA and 16 other
Federal agencies agreed to strengthen shared pro-
grams to achieve the 10 "keystone commitments" of
Chesapeake 2000, to hold an annual high-level
meeting to review progress and renew cooperation,
and to improve access to Federal financial and tech-
nical assistance for Bay restoration measures through
cooperation with the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Assistance Network. In FY 2008, this Federal
partnership agreement will be in its third year of
implementation.
C) Grant Program Resources
Grant resources supporting this goal include the
Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grants under
Section 117 of the Clean Water Act, Chesapeake Bay
Small Watershed Grants, and a range of program
grants to States. A Web site provides information
about grants progress toward meeting environmental
results (http://www.epa.gov/region3/chesapeake/
grants/progress.htm).
5) Protect the Gulf of
Mexico
A) Subobjective
Prevent water pollution and improve the overall aquatic
ecosystem health of coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico
by 0.2 on the "good/fair/poor" scale of the NCCR, a
5-point system in which 1 is poor and 5 is good:
2005 Actual: 2.4
2006 Actual: 2.4
2007 Commitment: 2.4
2008 Target: 2.5
2011 Target: 2.6
(Note: Additional measures of progress are identified
in Appendices A and B.)
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
BJ Key Strategies
The Gulf of Mexico basin has been called "America's
Watershed." Its U.S. coastline is 1,630 miles; it is
fed by 33 major rivers, and it receives drainage from
31 States in addition to a similar drainage area from
Mexico. One sixth of the U.S. population now lives in
Gulf Coast States, and the Region is experiencing
remarkably rapid population growth. In addition, the
Gulf yields approximately 40% of the Nation's com-
mercial fishery landings, and Gulf Coast wetlands
comprise about half the national total and provide
critical habitat for 75% of the migratory waterfowl
traversing the United States.
For FY 2008, EPA is working with States and other
partners to define key activities to support attainment
of environmental and health goals that align with the
Gulf of Mexico Governors' Action Plan developed by
the Gulf States Alliance, a partnership of the five Gulf
states, (see Program Activity Indicator GM-3.) The
Alliance has identified issues that are regionally signif-
icant and can be effectively addressed through
increased collaboration at the local, State, and Federal
levels. These activities fall into five categories:
manage HABs and for notifying public health man-
agers (see Program Activity Measure GM-1) and
expects to expand the system in 2008.
Another priority for the Gulf of Mexico Program Office
is to work with States and other Federal agencies to
reduce the rate of shellfish-borne Vibrio vulnificus ill-
nesses caused by consumption of commercially har-
vested oysters (see Program Activity Measure GM-2).
Over a recent 10-year period, the Centers for Disease
Control identified over 200 serious illnesses from
Vibrio resulting in 105 deaths. EPA will support
efforts to improve education about proper cooking of
oysters and the dangers of eating raw oysters. EPA
will also support work to identify economically viable
post-harvest treatment technologies. EPA has a goal
of reducing the rate of illness from .303 per million
consumers to 0.08 per million by 2008.
The Gulf of Mexico Program Office has a long-
standing commitment to develop effective partnerships
with other programs within EPA, in other Federal agen-
cies, and with other organizations. For example, the
Program Office is working with EPA's Office of
Research and Development and other Federal agencies
to develop and implement a coastal monitoring pro-
gram to better assess the condition of Gulf waters.
The Clean Water Act provides authority and resources
that are essential to protecting water quality in the
Gulf of Mexico and in the larger Mississippi River
Basin that contributes pollution, especially oxygen-
demanding nutrients, to the Gulf. EPA Regions and
the Gulf of Mexico Program Office will work with
States to assure the continued effective implementa-
tion of core clean water programs, ranging from dis-
charge permits, to nonpoint pollution controls, to
wastewater treatment, to protection of wetlands.
A central pillar of the strategy to restore the health of
the Gulf is restoration of water quality and habitat in
13 priority coastal watersheds. These 13 watersheds
include 812 of the impaired segments identified by
States around the Gulf and will receive targeted tech-
nical and financial assistance to restore impaired
waters. The 2008 goal is to fully attain water quality
standards in at least 8% of these segments (see
Program Activity Measure SP-38).
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) cause public health
advisories, halt commercial and recreational shellfish
harvesting, limit recreation, exacerbate human respi-
ratory problems, and cause fish kills. EPA is working
with Mexico and the Gulf States to implement an
advanced detection forecasting capability system to
Another key element of the strategy for improving the
water quality in the Gulf is to restore, enhance, or
protect a significant number of acres of coastal and
marine habitat. The overall wetlands loss in the Gulf
area is on the order of 50%, and protection of the
critical habitat that remains is essential to the health
of the Gulf aquatic system. EPA has a goal of restor-
ing 20,000 acres of habitat by 2008 (see Program
Activity Measure SP-39). EPA is working with NOAA,
environmental organizations, the Gulf of Mexico
Foundation, and area universities to identify and
restore critical habitat. The Gulf Alliance will
enhance cooperative planning and programs across
the Gulf States and Federal agencies to protect wet-
lands and estuarine habitat.
The Gulf Coast supports a diverse array of coastal,
estuarine, nearshore, and offshore ecosystems,
including seagrass beds, wetlands and marshes, man-
groves, barrier islands, sand dunes, coral reefs, mar-
itime forests, bayous, streams, and rivers. These
30
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IV. Strategies To Protect Large Aquatic Ecosystems
ecosystems provide numerous ecological and eco-
nomic benefits, including water quality, nurseries for
fish, wildlife habitat, hurricane and flood buffers,
erosion prevention, stabilized shorelines, tourism,
jobs and recreation. The Gulf of Mexico contributes
U.S. commercial fish landings estimated annually at
more than $1 billion and as much as 30 percent of
U.S. saltwater recreation fishing trips. The ability to
evaluate the extent and quality of these habitats is
critical to successfully managing them for sustain-
ability, as well as better determining threats from
hurricanes and storm surge. The long-term partner-
ship goal for the Alliance is to identify, inventory, and
assess the current state of and trends in priority
coastal, estuarine, near-shore, and offshore Gulf of
Mexico habitats to inform resource management deci-
sions. The Gulf of Mexico Program is working with
NOAA, USAGE, and the USGS in support of this goal.
4)
la
Healthy estuaries and coastal wetlands depend on a
balanced level of nutrients. Excessive nutrient levels
can have negative impacts such as reducing the
abundance of recreationally and commercially impor-
tant fishery species. Over the next several years, the
Gulf States will be establishing criteria for nutrients
in coastal ecosystems that will guide regulatory, land
use, and water quality protection decisions. Because
the five Gulf States face similar nutrient management
challenges at both the estuary level and as the
receiving water for the entire Mississippi River water-
shed, the Gulf of Mexico Alliance is an important
venue to build and test management tools to reduce
nutrients in Gulf waters and achieve healthy and
resilient coastal ecosystems.
Any strategy to improve the overall health of the
entire Gulf of Mexico must include a focused effort to
reduce the size of the zone of hypoxic conditions
(i.e., low oxygen in the water) in the northern Gulf.
Actions to address this problem must focus on both
localized pollutant addition throughout the Basin and
on nutrient loadings from the Mississippi River.
EPA, in cooperation with States and other Federal
Agencies, developed an Action Plan for Reducing,
Mitigating and Controlling Hypoxia in the Northern
Gulf of Mexico (2001). This Action Plan includes as
a goal the long-term target to reduce the size of the
hypoxic zone from about 14,000 square kilometers
(km) to less than 5,000 square km, measured as a
five-year running average (see Program Activity
Measure SP-40). In working to accomplish this goal,
EPA, States, and other Federal agencies such as
USDA will continue implementation of core clean
water programs and partnerships and efforts to coor-
dinate allocation of technical assistance and funding
to priority areas around the Gulf.
Specifically, in FY 2008, EPA will support implemen-
tation of nutrient-focused hypoxia reduction measures
through multi-year funding strategies; support collab-
orative monitoring and assessment frameworks to
measure and calibrate the performance of nitrogen
reduction efforts and track progress; support the
update of information on flow, nutrient concentra-
tions, and loadings at the mouths of each major sub-
basin in partnership with USGS and Sub-Basin
Committees; support evaluation of modeling of the
hypoxic zone; support cooperative implementation of
industry-led nonpoint source nutrient reduction
strategies through effective sub-basin team partner-
ships; and support EPA's partnership component of
the five-year science and management reassessment
of nutrient load reductions achieved and the response
of the hypoxic zone, water quality throughout the
Basin, and economic and social effects of Gulf of
Mexico hypoxia.
5)
Education and outreach are essential to accomplish
the Gulf of Mexico Alliance's overall goals and are
integral to the other four Alliance priority issues. It is
critical that Gulf residents and decision-makers
understand and appreciate the connection between
the ecological health of the Gulf of Mexico and its
watersheds and coasts, their own health, the econom-
ic vitality of their communities, and their overall
quality of life. There is a nationwide need for a better
understanding of the link between the health of the
Gulf of Mexico and the U.S. economy. The long-term
Alliance partnership goal is to increase awareness
and stewardship of Gulf coastal resources.
C) Grant Program Resources
The Gulf of Mexico Program issues an annual com-
petitive Funding Announcement for Gulf of Mexico
Alliance Regional Partnership projects that improve
the health of the Gulf of Mexico by addressing
improved water quality and public health, priority
coastal habitat protection/recovery, more effective
coastal environmental education, improved habitat
identification/characterization data and decision sup-
port systems, and strategic nutrient reductions.
Projects must actively involve stakeholders and focus
31
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
on support and implementation of the Gulf of Mexico
Alliance Governors' Action Plan for Healthy and
Resilient Coasts.
For additional information on these grants, see the
grant program guidance on the Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/water/waterplan).
6) Protect Long Island
Sound
A) Subobjective
Prevent water pollution, improve water quality, protect
aquatic ecosystems, and restore habitat of Long Island
Sound.
(Note: Additional measures of progress are identified
in Appendices A and B.)
B) Key Program Strategies
More that 20 million people live within 50 miles of
the Long Island Sound's shores, and more than one
billion gallons per day of treated effluent enter the
Sound from 104 treatment plants. The Sound gener-
ates more than $8.25 billion to the regional economy
from clean water-related activities alone—recreational
and commercial fishing and shellfishing, beach-
going, and swimming. The Sound also generates
uncounted billions through transportation, ports, har-
bors, real estate, and other cultural and aesthetic val-
ues. The Sound is a breeding ground, nursery,
feeding ground, and habitat to more than 170
species of fish and 1,200 invertebrate species that
are under increasing stress from development and
competing human uses.
The key environmental and ecological outcomes for
Long Island Sound include:
• Marine waters that meet prescribed water quality
standards;
• Diverse habitats that support healthy, abundant,
and sustainable populations of diverse aquatic
and marine-dependent species; and
• An ambient environment that is free of substances
that are potentially harmful to human health or
otherwise may adversely affect the food chain.
EPA continues to work with New York and Connec-
ticut and other Federal, State, and local Long Island
Sound Management Conference partners to imple-
ment the CCMP to restore and protect the Sound.
Because levels of dissolved oxygen are critical to the
health of aquatic life and viable public use of the
Sound, the CCMP focuses on controlling nitrogen dis-
charges to meet water quality standards.
1) Reduce Nitrogen Loads
The Long Island Sound bi-state nitrogen TMDL relies
on flexible and innovative approaches, notably "bub-
ble" TMDL management zones and exchange ratios
that allow sewage treatment plant operators to trade
nitrogen reduction obligations with each other. This
approach meets water quality improvement goals,
while allowing communities to save an estimated
$800 million by allocating reductions to those plants
where they can be achieved most economically.
New York and Connecticut will continue to allocate
resources toward Scalable Test Platform (STP)
upgrades to control nitrogen discharges as required in
their revised NPDES (SPDES) permits. The States
will monitor and report discharges through the Permit
Compliance System. Revisions to the TMDL conduct-
ed under the initial 5-year review process will incor-
porate any revised marine water quality standards for
dissolved oxygen adopted by the States of
Connecticut and New York.
Connecticut will continue its innovative Nitrogen
Credit Exchange program, which was instituted in
2002. Increased reductions in nitrogen discharges at
plants that went beyond TMDL requirements create
the State's system of market credits, which will con-
tinue to assist in reducing construction costs and
more effectively address nitrogen reductions to the
Sound. New York City will continue its STP nitrogen
upgrades under the Consent Order and will minimize
the impact of nitrogen discharges to the Sound as
construction proceeds through 2014.
EPA will continue to work with the upper Long Island
Sound watershed states of Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, and Vermont to develop state plans to
identify and control nitrogen discharges to the
Connecticut River, the primary fresh water riverine
input to the Sound. As sources are identified and
control strategies developed, permits will need to be
modified to incorporate appropriate load allocations.
2) Reduce the Area and Duration of Hypoxia
As nitrogen loads to the Sound decrease, reductions
in the size and duration of the hypoxic area may be
anticipated. While other factors also affect and effect
the timing, duration, and severity of hypoxia, such as
32
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IV, Strategies To Protect Large Aquatic Ecosystems
weather, rainfall, solar radiation and light, tempera-
ture, winds, and the natural hydrogeology of the
Sound that favors stratification, continued reductions
in nitrogen loads will help to mitigate these other
uncontrollable factors. As States continue imple-
menting STP upgrades, the new applied technologies
will reduce nitrogen inputs, limiting algal response
and interfering with the cycles that promote algal
growth, death, decay, and loss of dissolved oxygen.
EPA will continue to work with Management
Conference partners to restore degraded habitats and
reopen rivers and streams to diandromous fish pas-
sage. The States and EPA will direct efforts at the
most vulnerable coastal habitats and key areas for
productivity. The States, using a variety of public and
private funding sources, and in cooperation with
landowners, will construct fishways, remove dams, or
otherwise remove impediments to diandromous fish
passage. Where feasible and as funding allows, fish
counting devices will provide valuable data on actual
numbers of fish entering breeding grounds.
Restoration of the diandromous fishery and increas-
ing the higher trophic levels in the Sound are longer-
term goals of Federal and State managers.
To continue CCMP implementation, New York,
Connecticut, and EPA will convene to review and
develop a successor Long Island Sound Agreement
for 2008. The Agreement will build upon CCMP goals
and targets, which were refined and documented in
the Long Island Sound 2003 Agreement. The 2008
Agreement will be submitted for endorsement by the
Long Island Sound Policy Committee and for signa-
ture by the governors of New York and Connecticut in
2008.
EPA and States will continue to participate in the
Long Island Sound Management Conference under
Clean Water Act Section 320, as implemented
through the Long Island Sound Restoration Act of
2000 as amended, Clean Water Act Section 119.
The States and EPA will continue to address the
highest-priority environmental and ecological prob-
lems identified in the CCMP—the impact of hypoxia
on the ecosystem; effects of reducing toxic sub-
stances, pathogens, and floatable debris; identifica-
tion, restoration and protection of critical habitats;
and management of the populations of living marine
and marine-dependent resources that rely on the
Sound as their primary habitat. The Management
Conference will work to improve riparian buffers in
key river reaches and restore submerged aquatic veg-
etation in key embayments; reduce the impact of
toxic substances, pathogens, and floatable debris on
the ecology; and improve the stewardship of these
critical areas.
EPA and the States will continue to support the
Citizens Advisory Committee and the Science and
Technical Advisory Committee, which provide techni-
cal expertise and public participation and advice to
the Management Conference partners in the imple-
mentation of the CCMP. An educated and informed
public will more readily recognize problems and
understand their role in environmental stewardship.
The Long Island Sound Study supports and is sup-
ported by EPA core environmental management and
regulatory control programs. The CCMP, established
under Clean Water Act Section 320, envisioned a
partnership of Federal, State, and local governments;
private industry; academia and the public; to clean
up and restore the Sound. This cooperative environ-
mental partnership relies on existing Federal, State
and local regulatory frameworks (and funding) to
achieve targets for restoration and protection and
apply limited resources to highest-priority areas.
EPA and the States use authorities under Clean
Water Act Section 319 to manage watersheds that
are critical to the health of Long Island Sound. State
and local TMDLs for harmful substances support the
work of the Management Conference in ensuring a
clean and safe Long Island Sound.
The Sound is an Estuary of National Significance, as
so recognized under Clean Water Act Section 320,
and those funds help support implementation of the
CCMP. State Revolving Funds under Section 601 are
used to upgrade STPs for nitrogen control, and
NPDES permits issued under Section 402 provide
enforceable targets to monitor progress in reducing
nitrogen and other harmful pollutants to waters enter-
ing the Sound.
33
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
C) Grant Program Resources
EPA grant resources supporting this goal include the
Long Island Sound CCMP implementation grants
authorized under Section 119(d) of the Clean Water
Act as amended. These include the Long Island
Sound Futures Fund Large and Small grant programs
administered by the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation, the Long Island Sound CCMP
Enhancements Grant program administered by the
New England Interstate Water Pollution Control
Commission, and the Long Island Sound Research
Grant program administered by EPA. A new Web site
page provides grant information and progress toward
meeting environmental results at
.
7) Protect the South
Florida Ecosystem
A) Subobjective
Protect and restore the South Florida ecosystem, includ-
ing the Everglades and coral reef ecosystems.
(Note: Additional measures of progress are identified
in Appendices A and B.)
B) Key Program Strategies
The South Florida ecosystem encompasses three
national parks, more than 10 national wildlife refuges,
a national preserve, and a national marine sanctuary.
It is home to two Native American nations, and it sup-
ports the largest wilderness area east of the
Mississippi River, the only living coral barrier reef
adjacent to the United States, and the largest com-
mercial and sport fisheries in Florida. But rapid popu-
lation growth is threatening the health of this vital
ecosystem. South Florida is home to about 8 million
people, more than the populations of 39 individual
states. Another 2 million people are expected to settle
in the area over the next 10 to 20 years. In addition,
50% of the region's wetlands have been lost to subur-
ban and agricultural development, and the altered
hydrology and water management throughout the
region have had a major impact on the ecosystem.
EPA is working in partnership with numerous local,
Regional, State, and Federal agencies to ensure the
long-term sustainability of the region's varied natural
resources while providing for extensive agricultural
operations and a continually expanding population.
EPA's South Florida Geographic Initiative (SFGI) is
designed to protect and restore communities and
ecosystems affected by environmental problems.
SFGI efforts include activities related to the Section
404 wetlands protection program; the Comprehensive
Everglades Restoration Program (CERP); the Water
Quality Protection Program (WQPP) for the Florida
Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS); the
Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative (SEFCRI),
directed by the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force; the
Brownfields Program; and a number of other waste
management programs.
1) Accelerate Watershed Protection
Strong execution of core clean water programs is
essential but not adequate for accelerating progress
toward maintaining and restoring water quality and
the associated biological resources in South Florida.
Water quality degradation is often caused by many
different and diffuse sources. To address the complex
causes of water quality impairment, an approach
grounded in science, innovation, stakeholder involve-
ment, and adaptive management is being used—the
watershed approach. In addition to implementing core
clean water programs, work will continue to:
• Support and expand local watershed protection
efforts through innovative approaches to build
local capacity; and
• Initiate or strengthen through direct support
watershed protection and restoration for critical
watersheds and water bodies.
2) Conduct Congressionally-mandated
Responsibilities
FKNMS and Protection Act of 1990 directed EPA
and the State of Florida, in consultation with NOAA,
to develop a WQPP for the Sanctuary. The purpose of
the WQPP is to recommend priority corrective actions
and compliance schedules addressing point and non-
point sources of pollution in the Florida Keys ecosys-
tem. In addition, the Act also required development
of a comprehensive water quality monitoring program
and provision of opportunities for public participa-
tion. Work will continue to implement the WQPP for
the FKNMS, including the comprehensive monitoring
projects (coral reef, seagrass, and water quality), spe-
cial studies, data management, and public education
and outreach activities. Implementation of waste-
water and storm water master plans for the Florida
Keys will also continue, which will upgrade inade-
quate wastewater and storm water infrastructure. In
addition, implementation will continue on the com-
prehensive plan for eliminating sewage discharges
from boats and other vessels.
34
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IV. Strategies To Protect Large Aquatic Ecosystems
3) of
In October 2002, the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force
passed a resolution to improve implementation of the
National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs. Among
other things, the resolution recommended develop-
ment of local action strategies (LAS) to improve coor-
dinated implementation of coral reef conservation. In
2004 and 2005, EPA Region 4 staff worked with
SEFCRI to develop a LAS for southeast Florida call-
ing for reducing "land-based sources of pollution"
and increasing the awareness and appreciation of
coral habitat. Key goals of the LAS are:
• Characterize the existing condition of the coral
reef ecosystem;
• Quantify, characterize, and prioritize the land-
based sources of pollution that need to be
addressed based on identified impacts to the
reefs;
• Identify how pollution affects the southeast
Florida coral reef habitat;
• Reduce the impacts of land-based sources of
pollution; and
• Work in close cooperation with the awareness
and appreciation focus team.
Detailed action strategies or projects for each goal
have been developed. For example, one priority
action strategy/project is to assimilate existing data to
quantify and characterize the sources of pollution
and identify the relative contributions of point and
nonpoint sources.
4) for FY
• Support development of TMDLs for the Lake
Okeechobee watershed, the primary or secondary
source of drinking water for large portions of
south Florida.
• Assist the State of Florida and South Florida
Water Management District in evaluating the
appropriateness of aquifer storage and recovery
(ASR) technology as a key element of the overall
restoration strategy for South Florida. In FY
2008, Region 4 will work with USAGE to evalu-
ate two ASR pilot projects that are scheduled to
come online in FY 2007.
• Continue implementation of the South Florida
Wetlands Conservation Strategy, including pro-
tecting and restoring critical wetland habitats in
the face of tremendous growth and development.
• Continue to work closely with the Jacksonville
District USAGE and the State of Florida to facili-
tate expedited review of National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) and regulatory permit actions
associated with the ongoing implementation of
CERP. Several large water storage impoundments
will be under construction during FY 2008.
• Continue to implement the Everglades Ecosystem
Assessment Program, an EMAP-based monitoring
program to assess the health of the Everglades
and the effectiveness of ongoing restoration and
regulatory strategies. A project report on the
extensive 2005 sampling effort will be complet-
ed in FY 2007.
• Continue to work with the State of Florida and
Federal agencies to implement appropriate phos-
phorus control programs that will attain water
quality standards within the Everglades.
C) Grant Program Resources
The South Florida Program Office uses available
resources to fund priority programs and projects that
support the restoration and maintenance of the South
Florida ecosystem, including the Everglades and coral
reef habitat. These programs and projects include
monitoring (water quality, seagrass, and coral reef),
special studies, and public education and outreach
activities. Federal assistance agreements for projects
supporting the activities of the SFGI are awarded
under the authority of Section 104(b)(3) of the Clean
Water Act. Region 4 issues announcements of oppor-
tunity for Federal funding and "requests for propos-
als" in accordance with EPA Order 5700.5 (Policy for
Competition in Assistance Agreements).
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
8) Protect the Puget
Sound Basin
A) Subobjective
Improve water quality, improve air quality, and mini-
mize adverse impacts of rapid development in the
Puget Sound Basin.
(Note: Additional measures of progress are identified
in Appendices A and B.)
B) Key Program Strategies
The Puget Sound Basin is the largest population and
commercial center in the Pacific Northwest, support-
ing a vital system of international ports, transporta-
tion systems, and defense installations. The
ecosystem encompasses roughly 20 rivers and 2,800
square miles of sheltered inland waters that provide
habitat to hundreds of species of marine mammals,
fish, and sea birds. Puget Sound salmon landings
average more than 19 million pounds per year and
support an average of 578,000 sport-fishing trips
each year.
Although Puget Sound currently leads U.S. waterways
in shellfish production, 30,000 acres of shellfish
beds have been closed to harvest since 1980. These
closures affect local economies and cultural and sub-
sistence needs for these traditional resources. In
addition, excess nutrients have created hypoxic zones
that further impair shellfish and finfish populations.
Recent monitoring assessments indicate that marine
species in the Puget Sound have high levels of toxic
contamination. Almost 5,700 acres of submerged
land (about nine square miles) are currently classi-
fied as contaminated with toxics and another 24,000
as at least partially contaminated. Additional pollu-
tants are still being released: approximately 1 million
pounds of toxics are released into the water and
5 million pounds into the air each year, with many
pollutants finding their way into Puget Sound.
There is growing recognition that protecting the Puget
Sound ecosystem would require increased capacity
and sharper focus. In 2006, a broad partnership of
civic leaders, scientists, business and environmental
representatives, representative agency directors and
Tribal leadership developed an agenda to ensure sus-
tainability of the basin ecosystem by 2020. This
challenge has invigorated both estuary and
watershed-based restoration and protection efforts at
all levels. By mid 2008, this partnership to protect
Puget Sound will have established an updated and
more integrated comprehensive management plan for
protecting and restoring the Puget Sound ecosystem
and its component habitats and species.
Key program strategies for FY 2008 include:
Improving Local Water Quality and Restoring
Shellfish Beds
• EPA will work with State and local agencies and
the Tribes to help focus and maintain coordinat-
ed corrective actions to improve water quality in
areas where shellfish bed closures or harvest area
downgrades are occurring.
Addressing Stormwater Issues through Local
Watershed Protection Plans
• EPA will work with State and local agencies and
the Tribes using local watershed protection
approaches to reduce stormwater impacts to
local aquatic resources, such as salmon and
shellfish, in urbanizing areas currently outside of
NPDES Phase I and II permit authority. Of par-
ticular concern are the sensitive and high-value
estuarine waters such as Hood Canal, the north-
ern Straits, and South Puget Sound.
• EPA will work with the State to increase support
to local and Tribal governments and the develop-
ment community to promote smart growth and
low-impact development approaches in the Puget
Sound region.
• Water quality and habitat improvements will be
quantified, documented, and evaluated as local
watershed protection and restoration plans are
implemented.
• EPA will help support development of a compre-
hensive storm water monitoring program for the
Puget Sound Basin so that information is gath-
ered that can be used to adaptively manage the
next round of permits and implementation
actions.
Reducing Sources of Toxics and Nutrients
• Priority toxic contaminants from terrestrial,
atmospheric, and marine discharge sources will
be quantified and source control actions priori-
tized and initiated.
• A mass balance model of nutrient sources, reser-
voirs, pathways—and risk to local ecosystems in
Puget Sound will be undertaken—and specific
nutrient reduction strategies will be established
within priority areas, including both Hood Canal
and South Puget Sound.
36
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IV. Strategies To Protect Large Aquatic Ecosystems
Restoring and Protecting Nearshore Aquatic
Habitats
• Through the Puget Sound Nearshore Restoration
Partnership, high-profile habitat restoration proj-
ects will be initiated or others completed in pri-
ority estuaries—including the Skagit, Nisqually,
Hood Canal, South Puget Sound—and areas
along the northern straits.
• Protection programs, restoration strategies, proj-
ect lists, and outcomes will be evaluated against
current conditions and ongoing habitat loss to
determine net changes in extent and function of
estuary habitats.
• A Puget Sound Chapter of the Corporate
Wetlands Restoration Program will be established
to help fund local habitat protection and restora-
tion projects.
Improving Ecosystem Monitoring and the
Application of Science
• A new Integrated Science Plan for Puget Sound
will be developed—including enhanced monitor-
ing, modeling, assessment—and research capaci-
ty. The emerging science agenda will be focused
on improving the effectiveness of both local man-
agement activities and broader policy initiatives.
• A comprehensive watershed monitoring program
will be implemented to better understand the
impacts of stormwater runoff on aquatic
resources and the effectiveness of different man-
agement practices and policies.
• EPA will work with other science communication
initiatives and programs to ensure that data and
information are more available and relevant to
citizens, local jurisdictions, watershed manage-
ment forums, and resource managers.
C) Grant Program Resources
EPA grant resources directly supporting this goal are
limited to the NEP Grants under Section 320 of the
Clean Water Act (approximately $500K annually in
recent years). A range of other water program grants
also support many activities that assist in the achieve-
ment of this subobjective. These include grants sup-
porting Washington State and Tribal water quality
programs, infrastructure loan programs, and competi-
tive grants such as the Regional Geographic Initiative
grants.
9) Protect the
Columbia River Basin
A) Subobjective
Prevent water pollution and improve and protect water
quality and ecosystems in the Columbia River Basin to
reduce risks to human health and the environment.
(Note: Additional measures of progress are identified
in Appendices A and B.)
B) Key Program Strategies
More than 1,200 miles long, the Columbia River
spans portions of Oregon, Washington, Idaho,
Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Montana, and a substantial
portion of British Columbia. The 260,000 square
mile Columbia River Basin comprises ecosystems
that are home to a variety of biologically significant
plants and animals and supports industries vital to
the Pacific Northwest, including sport and commer-
cial fisheries, agriculture, transportation, recreation,
and electrical power generation.
Many Columbia River tributaries, the mainstem, and
the estuary are declared 'impaired' under Section
303(d) of the Clean Water Act. EPA has a long his-
torical commitment to restoring the water quality
and ecosystems in the Columbia River Basin, focus-
ing on public health and salmon restoration. EPA
studies, and other Federal and State monitoring pro-
grams, have found significant levels of toxins in fish
and the waters they inhabit, including dichloro-
diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT), polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs), and dieldrin. Approximately 13
years ago, EPA funded the Columbia River Inter-
Tribal Fish Commission to survey Tribal members'
fish consumption rates. This survey found Columbia
River Tribal people eat significantly greater amounts
of fish than the general population. A follow-up
2002 EPA fish contaminant study found significant
levels of toxins in fish that Tribal people eat.
EPA Region 10 is working closely with the States of
Oregon, Washington, and Idaho; Columbia Basin
Tribal governments; the Lower Columbia River
Estuary Partnership (LCREP); local governments; citi-
zen groups; industry, and other Federal agencies to
develop and implement a coordinated strategy to
reduce toxics in fish and water in the Columbia River
Basin and to restore and protect habitat.
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
LCREP, one of EPA's NEPs, also plays a key role in
addressing toxics and restoration of critical wetlands
in the Lower Columbia River estuary. Since 1996,
EPA has provided significant financial support to
LCREP. LCREP developed a management plan in
1999 that has served as a blueprint for estuary
recovery efforts. The Lower Columbia River and estu-
ary monitoring program, developed and overseen by
LCREP, is critical for better understanding the lower
river and estuary, including toxics and habitat charac-
terization, information that is essential for Columbia
River salmon restoration. EPA has also provided sup-
plemental funding to the LCREP program through
EPA's Targeted Watershed Grant program.
Working with State and local governments, EPA has
established several goals for improving environmental
conditions in the Columbia River basin by 2011:
• Protect, enhance, or restore 13,000 acres of
wetlands habitat and 3,000 acres of upland
habitat in the Lower Columbia River watershed;
• Clean up 150 acres of known highly contaminat-
ed sediments; and
• Demonstrate a 10% reduction in mean concen-
tration of contaminants of concern found in
water and fish tissue.
Key activities in FY 2008 to accomplish these goals
include:
• Continue contaminated sediment removals under
Superfund and State Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) activities, including
Portland Harbor and Bradford Island sites.
• Implement existing and legacy pesticide reduc-
tions, including pesticide stewardship partner-
ships; targeted pesticide/toxics collections; and
precision agriculture.
• Implement TMDLs is addressing sediment load-
ing reduction, including Washington State TMDL
implementation in the Okanogan, Yakima, Walla
Walla, Wenatchee, Spokane, and Similkameen
tributaries.
• Other key activities will include ongoing
Superfund investigation work at the Hanford
Nuclear Reservation and Lake Roosevelt.
• Continue restoration of wetland and upland habi-
tat areas through LCREP.
• Systematically expand key monitoring activities
in fish, water, and sediment.
• Through the Lower Columbia NEP, identify con-
taminants of concern; identify data bases that
can provide baseline data; establish new moni-
toring efforts to fill data gaps; and identify and
implement management practices to reduce con-
taminants of concern.
• Build on the monitoring work done in the Lower
Columbia River and develop and implement, col-
laboratively with other partners, a long-term mon-
itoring effort above Bonneville Dam for fish,
water, and sediment to further understand and
characterize toxics in the river.
• A State of the Columbia River Report is sched-
uled to be released in the Fall of 2008 to assess
and characterize toxics in the Columbia River.
C) Grant Program Resources
EPA grant resources directly supporting this goal are
limited to the NEP Grants under Section 320 of the
Clean Water Act (approximately $500K annually in
recent years). A range of other water program grants
also support many activities that assist in the
achievement of this subobjective. These include
grants supporting Oregon and Washington State and
Tribal water quality programs, nonpoint source pro-
grams, infrastructure loan programs, and competitive
grants such as the Regional Geographic Initiative
grants.
38
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V. Water Program And Grant
Management System
This National Program Guidance document describes
the general approaches that EPA, in consultation with
States and Tribes, expects to be most effective in
attaining the environmental and public health
improvements identified in the new EPA Strategic
Plan. This Guidance, however, is part of a larger,
three-part management process.
• Part 1: Complete National Water Program
Guidance: During the Fall of 2006, EPA
reviewed program measures and reduced the
number of measures. Draft Guidance was pub-
lished in February of 2007 and comments were
due to EPA in early April. EPA reviewed the com-
ments and made changes and clarifications to
the measures and the text of the Guidance. A
summary of comments and a brief explanation of
how the comments were addressed are provided
on the Office of Water Strategic Plan Web site at
. EPA
Regions also provided Regional targets and, after
discussions among HQ and Regions, national tar-
gets for FY 2008 were revised to reflect Regional
input.
• Part 2: EPA Region/State/Tribe Consultation/
Planning: EPA Regions will work with States and
Tribes to develop FY 2008 Performance
Partnership Agreements or other grant workplans,
including commitments to reporting key activities
and, in some cases, commitments to specific FY
2008 program accomplishments (April through
October of 2007).
• Part 3: Program Evaluation and Adaptive
Management: The National Water Program will
evaluate program progress in 2008 and adapt
water program management and priorities based
on this assessment information (FY 2008).
Parts 2 and 3 of this program management system
are discussed below. Key aspects of water program
grant management are also addressed.
A) EPA Region/State/Tribe
Consultation/Planning (Step 2)
EPA Regions will work with States and Tribes begin-
ning in April of 2007 to develop agreements concern-
ing program priorities and commitments for FY 2008
in the form of Performance Partnership Agreements
or individual grant workplans. The National Water
Program Guidance for FY 2008, including program
strategies and FY 2008 targets, forms a foundation
for this effort.
The National Water Program Guidance for FY 2008
includes a minimum number of measures that
address the critical program activities that are
expected to contribute to attainment of long-term
goals. Between FY 2007 and FY 2008, the total
number of water measures has been reduced, and
EPA has focused reporting on existing data systems
where possible. Some of these Program Activity
Measures track activities carried out by EPA while
others address activities carried out by States and
Tribes (see Appendices A/B). In addition, some of
these measures include annual national "targets"
while others are intended to simply indicate change
over time.
During the Spring/Summer of 2007, EPA Regions
will work with States and Tribes to agree on reporting
for all the measures in the FY2008 Guidance,
including both target and indicator measures. For the
target measures, Regions will develop FY 2008
Regional "commitments" based on their discussions
with States and Tribes and using the "targets" in the
FY 2008 Guidance as a point of reference. Draft
Regional "commitments" are due July 1 and, after
review and comment by National Program Managers,
Regions are to finalize regional commitments by
September 1. These final Regional "commitments"
are then summed to make the national commitments
and both the regional and national commitments are
entered into the Agency's Annual Commitment
System prior to the October 1 start of FY 2008.
A key part of this process is discussion among EPA
Regions and States and Tribes of Regional "commit-
ments" and the development of binding performance
partnership agreements or other grant workplan docu-
ments that establish reporting and performance
agreements. The goal of this joint effort is to allocate
available resources to those program activities that
39
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
are likely to result in the best progress toward accom-
plishing water quality and public health goals for that
State/Tribe (e.g., improved compliance with drinking
water standards and improved water quality on a
watershed basis). This process is intended to provide
the flexibility for Regions to adjust their commit-
ments based on relative needs, priorities, and
resources of States and Tribes in the Region. The tai-
lored program "commitments" that result from this
process define, in an operational sense, the "strategy"
for the National Water Program for FY 2008.
As Regions work with States and Tribes to develop
FY 2008 commitments, there should also be discus-
sion of initial expectations for progress under key
measures in FY 2009. The Agency begins developing
the FY 2009 budget in the Spring of 2007 and is
required to provide initial estimates of FY 2009
progress for measures included in the budget in
August of 2007. These estimates can be adjusted
during the Fall before they go into the final FY 2009
President's budget in January 2008. The Office of
Water will consult with Regions in developing the ini-
tial FY 2009 targets in August, and Regions will be
better able to comment on proposed initial targets if
they have had preliminary discussions of FY 2009
progress with States and Tribes. Regions should
assume stable funding for the purposes of these dis-
cussions.
For a subset of the measures for which FY 2008 tar-
gets and commitments are established, EPA is asking
that States and Regions provide National Program
Managers with State-specific results data at the end
of FY 2008. These measures, referred to as "State
Grant Template" measures are associated with some
of the larger water program grants. EPA has been
directed by OMB to identify key measures related to
key State grant programs. The grant programs and
the FY 2008 "State Grant Template" measures sup-
porting the grant are:
1) Water Pollution Control State and Interstate
Program Support (106 Grants): FY 2008 Measures:
SP-10, WQ-la/b, WQ-3a, WQ-5, WQ-8b, WQ-
12a, WQ-13a/b/c/d, WQ-14a, WQ-15a, WQ-19a,
WQ-20, and SS-1;
2) Public Water System Supervision (PWSS Grants): FY
2008 Measures: 2.1.1, SP-1, SP-4a/b, SDW-la;
3) State Underground Water Source Protection (UIC
Grants); FY 2008 Measures: 2.1.1, SDW-6, SDW-
7a/b/c;
4) Beach Monitoring and Notification Program
Implementation Grants; FY 2008 Measures: SP-9,
SS-2; and
5) Nonpoint Source Grants (319 Grants): FY 2008
Measure: WQ-10.
For these grants, States will need to provide end of
year results data for FY 2008 on a State-specific
basis for identified measures. States will not be
asked to provide FY 2008 "commitments" as part of
this "State Grant Template" process. In addition, in
FY 2008, the Office of Environmental Information
(OEI) is initiating an effort to leverage the Exchange
Network (see ) for
environmental reporting and data exchange under
grant programs to States, Tribes, and Territories.
Additional information concerning "State Grant
Template" reporting and the OEI initiative will be
provided at a later date.
In addition to this National Program Guidance, sup-
porting technical guidance is available in grant-
specific guidance documents. The grant guidance
documents will be available by April 2007 in most
cases. For most grants, guidance for FY 2007 is
being carried forward unchanged to FY 2008. Grant
guidance documents can be found on the Internet at
. More informa-
tion about grant management and reporting require-
ments is provided at the end of this section.
B) Program Evaluation and Adaptive
Management (Step 3)
As the strategies and programs described in this
Guidance are implemented during FY 2008, EPA,
States, and Tribes will evaluate progress toward water
goals and work to improve program performance by
refining strategic approaches or adjusting program
emphases.
The National Water Program will evaluate progress
using three key tools:
1)
Each year, the Office of Water will visit three to four
EPA Regional Offices and Great Waterbody Offices to
conduct dialogues on program management and per-
formance. These visits will include assessment of
performance in the Region against the:
• Objectives and subobjectives in the Strategic
Plan;
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V. Water Program And Grant Management System
• Regional water issues identified in the
Regional Plan; and
• Annual State/Tribal Program Activity Measure
commitments.
In addition, a key topic for the HQ/Regional dialogues
will be identification of program innovations or "best
practices" developed by the Regions, States, Tribes,
watershed organizations, and others. By highlighting
best practices identified in HQ/Regional dialogues,
these practices can be described in water program
performance reports and more widely adopted
throughout the country.
2)
In addition to looking at the performance of the
National Water Program at the national level and the
performance in each EPA Region, individual water
programs will be evaluated periodically by EPA and
by external parties.
EPA program evaluations include projects undertaken
by the evaluation staff in the Office of Water and the
continuing oversight and evaluation of State/Tribal
program implementation in key program areas (e.g.,
NPDES program). Major program evaluation projects
planned by the Office of Water in FY 2007 and
FY 2008 include:
• Assessment of the Public Water System logic
model (FY 2007);
• Evaluation of water quality trading; improving
opportunities for innovation (FY 2007);
• Assessment of wetlands program development
grants to States (FY 2007);
• Evaluation of Targeted Watershed Action grants
(FY 2007);
• Evaluation of the NEP (FY 2007-2008);
• Review of State on-site/decentralized sewage
treatment programs (FY 2008);
• Assessment of the Tribal Section 106 program
grant guidance (FY 2008);
• Evaluation of Section 319 nonpoint pollution
grants to States (FY 2008); and
• Review of BEACHES grants to States (FY 2008).
In addition, the Office of Water expects that external
parties will evaluate water programs, including proj-
ects conducted by the EPA IG, the Congressional
GAO, the National Academy of Public Administrators
(NAPS), and projects by the National Academy of
Sciences (NAS).
One of the most important external program-specific
evaluations of the National Water Program over the
past five years has been the PART reviews conducted
by OMB. The Water Program has received an ade-
quate (11) or moderately effective (2) rating for the
13 PART reviews completed to date. As in the past,
water program managers will continue to incorporate
the findings and follow-up actions from the PART
reviews in their programmatic and resource decisions.
In 2007, OMB plans to conduct an assessment of
the Great Lakes National Program and a reassess-
ment of the Tribal Grant Assistance Program.
3)
The Office of Water will prepare a performance report
for the National Water Program at the mid-point in
each fiscal year and the end of each fiscal year
based on data provided by EPA HQ program offices,
EPA Regions, States, and Tribes. These reports will
give program managers an integrated analysis of:
• Progress at the national level with respect to pro-
gram activities and expected environmental and
public health goals identified in the Strategic
Plan and Regional plans;
• Progress in each EPA Region with respect to the
EPA Strategic Plan, Program Activity Measures,
and the Regional Plan (including State/Region-
specific data);
• Insights from recent HQ/Regional dialogues,
including "best practices" identified from the
work of the Regions, States, or Tribes; and
• Insights from recent program-specific evaluations,
including internal and external evaluations.
The reports will include conclusions and recommend-
ed actions to improve program performance. In addi-
tion, the Office of Water will maintain program
performance records and identify long-term trends in
program performance.
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
Finally, improved program performance requires a
commitment to both sustained program evaluation
and to using program performance information to
revise program management approaches. Some of the
approaches the Office of Water will take to improve
the linkage between program assessment and pro-
gram management include:
1) Communicate Performance Information to Program
Managers: The Office of Water will use perform-
ance information to provide mid-year and annual
program briefings to the Deputy Administrator
and senior HQ water program managers.
2) Communicate Performance Information to Congress
and the Public: The Office of Water will use per-
formance assessment reports and findings to
communicate program progress to other Federal
agencies, OMB, the Congress, and the public.
3) Link to Budget and Workforce Plans: The Office of
Water will use performance assessment informa-
tion in formulation of the annual budget and in
development of workforce plans.
4) Promote Wide Dissemination of Best Practices: The
Office of Water will actively promote the wide
application of best practices and related program
management innovations identified as part of
program assessments.
5) Expand Regional Office Participation in Program
Assessment: The Office of Water will promote
expanded involvement of Regional offices in pro-
gram assessments and implementation of the
assessment process. This effort will include
expanded participation of the Lead Region in
program assessment processes.
6) Strengthen Program Performance Assessment in
Personnel Evaluations: The Office of Water will
include in EPA staff performance standards spe-
cific references that link the evaluation of staff,
especially the Senior Executive Service corps, to
success in improving program performance.
7) Recognize Successes: In cases where program
performance assessments have contributed to
improved performance in environmental or pro-
gram activity terms, the Office of Water will rec-
ognize these successes. By explaining and
promoting cases of improved program perform-
ance, the organization builds confidence in the
assessment process and reinforces the concept
that improvements are attainable.
8) Strengthen Development of Future Strategic Plans:
The Office of Water will use program assess-
ments to improve future strategic plans and pro-
gram measures.
9) Promote Effective Grants Management: The Office
of Water will continue to actively promote effec-
tive grants management to improve program per-
formance. The Agency has issued directives,
policies, and guidance to help improve grants
management. It is the policy of the Office of
Water that all grants are to comply with applica-
ble grants requirements (described in greater
detail in the "National Water Program Grants
Management for FY 2008" section below),
regardless of whether the program-specific guid-
ance document addresses the requirement.
National Water Program Grants
Management for FY 2008
The Office of Water places a high priority on effective
grants management. The key areas to be emphasized
as grant programs are implemented are:
• Promoting competition to the maximum extent
practicable;
• Monitoring assistance agreements and ensuring
compliance with post-award management stan-
dards;
• Assuring that project officers and their supervi-
sors adequately address grants management
responsibilities; and
• Linking grants performance to the achievement
of environmental results as laid out in the
Agency's Strategic Plan and this National Water
Program Guidance.
1) Policy for Competition of Assistance
Agreements
The Office of Water strongly supports the Agency
policy to promote competition to the maximum
extent practicable in the award of assistance agree-
ments. Project officers must comply with Agency
policy concerning competition in the award of grants
and cooperative agreements and ensure that the
competitive process is fair and impartial, that all
applicants are evaluated only on the criteria stated
in the announcement, and that no applicant receives
an unfair advantage.
The Policy for Competition of Assistance Agreements,
EPA Order 5700.5A1, effective January 15, 2005,
applies to competitive announcements issued,
released, or posted after January 14, 2005; assistance
agreement competitions, awards, and disputes based
on competitive announcements issued, released, or
posted after January 14, 2005; non-competitive
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awards resulting from non-competitive funding recom-
mendations submitted to a Grants Management Office
after January 14, 2005; and assistance agreement
amendments issued after January 14, 2005.
If program offices and Regions choose to conduct
competitions for awards under programs that are
exempt from the Competition Order, they must com-
ply with the Order and any applicable guidance
issued by the Grants Competition Advocate (GCA).
This includes complying with OMB standard format-
ting requirements for Federal agency announcements
of funding opportunities.
As of October 1, 2006, per OMB Directive, all
Federal agency funding opportunity announcements
for open competitions must provide applicants with
the opportunity to submit applications electronically
through: . It is the official
Federal government Web site where applicants can
find and apply to funding opportunities from all 26
Federal grant-making agencies.
On December 1, 2006, the Office of Grants and
Debarment issued a memorandum describing the
approval process for using State and Tribal Assistance
Grants (STAG) funds to make non-competitive awards
to State co-regulator organizations using the co-
regulator exception in the Competition Order. The
memorandum states that it is EPA policy to ensure
that the head of the affected State agency or depart-
ment (e.g., the State Environmental Commissioner or
the head of the State public health or agricultural
agency) is involved in this approval process.
Accordingly, effective December 1, 2006, before redi-
recting STAG funds from a State Continuing
Environmental Program (CEP) grant allotment for a
non-competitive award to a State co-regulator organi-
zation, EPA must request and obtain the consent of
the head of the affected State agency or department.
Agency's financial assistance programs. From the
programmatic standpoint, this monitoring should
ensure satisfaction of five core areas:
• Compliance with all programmatic terms and
conditions;
• Correlation of the recipient's work plan/applica-
tion and actual progress under the award;
• Availability of funds to complete the project;
• Proper management of and accounting for equip-
ment purchased under the award; and
• Compliance with all statutory and regulatory
requirements of the program.
If during monitoring it is determined that there is
reason to believe that the grantee has committed or
commits fraud, waste, and/or abuse, then the project
officer must contact the Office of IG. Advanced mon-
itoring activities must be documented in the official
grant file and the Grantee Compliance Database.
3) Performance Standards for Grants
Management
Project officers of assistance agreements participate
in a wide range of pre-and post-award activities. OGD
issued Guidance Assessing Grants Management
Performance under the 2007 Performance Appraisal
and Recognition System (PARS) on January 17,
2007, to be used for 2007 PARS performance agree-
ments/appraisals of project officers who are managing
at least one active grant during the rating period and
their supervisors/managers.
The Office of Water supports the requirement that
project officers and their supervisors/managers
address grants management responsibilities through
the Agency's PARS process.
2) Policy on Compliance Review and
Monitoring
The Office of Water is required to develop and carry
out a post-award monitoring plan and conduct basic
monitoring for every award. EPA Order 5700.6A1,
revised on January 8, 2004, streamlines post-award
management of assistance agreements and helps
ensure effective oversight of recipient performance
and management. The Order encompasses both the
administrative and programmatic aspects of the
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National Water Program: Fiscal Year 2008 Guidance
4) Environmental Results Under EPA
Assistance Agreements
EPA Order 5700.7, which went into effect in 2005,
states that it is EPA policy to:
• Link proposed assistance agreements to the
Agency's Strategic Plan;
• Ensure that outputs and outcomes are appropri-
ately addressed in assistance agreement compet-
itive funding announcements, work plans, and
performance reports; and
• Consider how the results from completed assis-
tance agreement projects contribute to the
Agency's programmatic goals and responsibilities.
The Order applies to all non-competitive funding
packages/funding recommendations submitted to
Grants Management Offices after January 1, 2005,
all competitive assistance agreements resulting from
competitive funding announcements issued after
January 1, 2005, and competitive funding announce-
ments issued after January 1, 2005. Project officers
must include in the Funding Recommendation a
description of how the project fits within the Agency's
Strategic Plan. The description must identify all
applicable EPA strategic goal(s), objectives, and
where available, subobjective(s), consistent with the
appropriate Program Results Code(s).
In addition, project officers must:
• Consider how the results from completed assis-
tance agreement projects contribute to the
Agency's programmatic goals and objectives;
• Ensure that well-defined outputs and outcomes
are appropriately addressed in assistance agree-
ment work plans, solicitations, and performance
reports; and
• Certify/assure that they have reviewed the assis-
tance agreement work plan and that the work
plan contains outputs and outcomes.
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