(AGENPARL) – mar 13 febbraio 2024 Issued: Feb 13, 2024 (4:05pm EST)
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EPA expands program to bring wastewater sanitation services to 150 more
underserved communities across Rural America as part of Investing in America
Agenda
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 – 11201 Renner Blvd., Lenexa,
KS 66219
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations
LENEXA, KAN. (FEB. 13, 2024) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) announced the expansion of its successful Closing America’s Wastewater
Access Gap Community Initiative to 150 additional communities as part of
President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. Originally launched in
partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the initiative
partners with underserved communities to provide technical assistance on
accessing federal wastewater funding. The pilot initiative has been assisting
11 communities since 2022. This program, along with historic funding through
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will advance President Biden’s historic
environmental justice agenda and help thousands of Americans access the
wastewater infrastructure they need to thrive.
“Many rural and low-income communities in the U.S. lack basic running water
and indoor plumbing. Our Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap Program has
been instrumental in helping communities from White Hall, Alabama, to McDowell
County, West Virginia, to San Carlos Apache Tribe, Arizona, access Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law funding to address this critical need,” said EPA
Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “In expanding the program to
150 additional communities, we are working to restore dignity and opportunity
to underserved communities nationwide.”
Interested communities can request assistance by completing the Water
Technical Assistance request form.  
Communities will be selected on a rolling basis; there is no deadline to
Background
An estimated 2 million people in the U.S. live without adequate wastewater
infrastructure and safe and reliable drinking water in their homes. Many more
live with wastewater infrastructure that is ineffective and puts people’s
health at risk.
To date, the Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap initiative has helped
provide communities with no-cost technical assistance that helps identify
affordable options for accessing wastewater infrastructure. For example,
technical assistance providers help the community conduct assessments of the
community’s specific needs and submit applications for wastewater funding.
So far, progress for the 11 pilot communities includes seven funding awards
and 10 additional funding applications submissions. All 11 communities have
drafted community solution plans, which are in the process of being finalized,
and will be posted to EPA’s Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap webpage
in the early spring. 
In Lowndes County, Alabama, children and families are exposed to raw sewage at
the place that should be safest – their own homes. Yards regularly flood
with sewage from straight pipes or from broken pipes that clog when it rains.
However, with the help of EPA’s technical assistance, known as
“WaterTA,” the community of White Hall successfully applied for federal
funding and received $450,000 to help accelerate their wastewater
infrastructure goals.
The San Carlos Apache Tribe is another one of the 11 communities from the
initial pilot. Nearly two-thirds of the homes on the San Carlos Apache Indian
Reservation do not have access to centralized wastewater systems and rely on
inadequate onsite systems, like septic tanks. Through the Closing America’s
Wastewater Access Gap pilot, the Tribe has secured funding to pump septic
tanks in need of servicing and is working with technical assistance providers
to develop educational campaigns on wastewater management and septic system
maintenance.
Learn more about EPA’s WaterTA services and the Bipartisan Infrastructure
Law’s historic $50 billion investment in America.
# # #
Learn more about EPA Region 7
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