EPA Aims To Ease Local Financing Challenges

After two years of deliberations, the EPA took a step toward updating policies designed to overcome local affordability challenges in the fight against water pollution.

The EPA released the "Financial Capability Assessment Framework for Municipal Clean Water Act Requirements" on November 24, after receiving input from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), among other groups.

The FCA Framework arrives after stakeholders had argued that the EPA has been addressing affordability issues with antiquated policies. This document is meant to begin addressing those criticisms.

"For the past decade, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has relied on an outdated approach to assessing the financial capability of communities to pay for Clean Water Act investments," Chris Hornback, the senior director of regulatory affairs at NACWA, wrote in 2012.

The FCA Framework is of particular importance to stakeholders operating under National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, which are authorized by the Clean Water Act.

"NPDES permit program controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States," according to the EPA.

The goal of FCA Framework: "[It] identifies the key elements EPA uses in working with permittees to evaluate how their financial capability should influence schedules. In addition, the FCA Framework provides examples of additional information that may help some communities provide a 'more accurate and complete picture' of their financial capability as is envisioned in the FCA guidance."

According to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the document is a "good first step [toward] bringing national water quality goals and local resource constraints in better balance."

Tom Cochran, the CEO of the mayoral conference, said, "We appreciate EPA engaging local governments in this critical discussion of how to meet water and wastewater goals without placing an undue burden on the poor. To be successful, we need to reestablish the federal-local government partnership if we are to move forward on improving public health and the environment but to do so in a cost effective manner."

National League of Cities CEO Clarence Anthony also praised the effort.

"The financial capability framework outlines new socio-economic factors that will paint a better picture of what is affordable for residents and communities. We must find a new approach to determining affordability because the current framework has been shown to have disproportionate impact on our most vulnerable populations," he said.