EPA Wastewater Training and Technical Assistance Program

Overview of the Wastewater Training and Technical Assistance Program

The EPA Wastewater Training and Technical Assistance Program is established under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The objective of this program is to provide training and technical assistance (T/TA) for rural, small, and tribal publicly owned treatment works and decentralized wastewater treatment systems. The program’s goal is to make these essential services available nationally, in rural and small communities and to their system’s personnel, including tribally-owned and -operated systems. Assistance under this program will be provided to those systems that treat up to 1 million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater or serve a population less than 10,000 and may also serve operations such as, but not limited to, hospitals, schools, and restaurants.

The Clean Water Act (CWA)

The Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters. The basis of the CWA was enacted in 1948 and was called the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, but the Act was significantly reorganized and expanded in 1972. “Clean Water Act” became the Act’s common name with amendments in 1972.

Under the CWA, EPA has implemented pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for the industry. EPA has also developed national water quality criteria recommendations for pollutants in surface waters. Information courtesy of the U.S. EPA. For more information on the Clean Water Act, visit the U.S. EPA’s website.