News

Two EPA Water Research Funding Opportunities Available

EPA has released two research solicitations, under the Science to Achieve Results and National Priorities Program, respectively. The opportunities close the first week of January, 2021 (see solicitations for dates). The topic areas are:

1. Viral Pathogen and Surrogate Approaches for Assessing Treatment Performance in Water Reuse (EPA-G2021-STAR-A1). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications proposing to conduct research on existing and novel surrogates for the detection and monitoring of the presence of human enteric viral pathogens and surrogates in water reuse applications, where wastewater is the source water. Additionally, proposals should aim to identify quantitative reductions of infectious viral pathogens and surrogates across unit treatment processes and full treatment trains to improve viral risk assessments; viral log reduction targets; and unit process credits for water reuse applications.

This project anticipates five awards with $6,200,000 total funding. Most public and private organizations are eligible to apply. See solicitation for details.

2. National Priorities: Evaluation of Pollutants in Biosolids (EPA-G2021-ORD-F1). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking applications proposing research that will provide the best available science needed to support states, municipalities, and utilities in determining potential risk from pollutants found in biosolids and developing standards and policies for biosolids management. Research under this RFA is intended to address multiple treatment scales including large publicly owned treatment works and medium- to small-scale wastewater treatment facilities.

This project anticipates four awards with $5,992,000 total funding. Governments are not eligible to apply. See solicitation for details.

US Department of Energy Launches Technology Validation Pilot RFP to Advance the U.S. Industrial Sector and Water and Wastewater Treatment Facilities

On October 29, 2020, DOE announced the launch of the Industrial Technology Validation (ITV) pilot to validate and accelerate the adoption of cost-effective, emerging technologies with the potential to generate significant operational efficiency improvements for the U.S. industrial sector and water and wastewater treatment facilities. Through this Request for Proposals (RFP), DOE will provide technical support to Better Plants partners interested in installing emerging technology solutions that:

• Are either pre-commercial or early commercial, or demonstrate an existing commercialized technology for a new application or sector;
• Have the potential for demonstrable energy, water, or waste-to-landfill reduction; and,
• Are broadly applicable for wide-scale deployment, but are not yet widely used or accepted.

Read the RFP here.

Association Updates

New ACWA Compliance Assurance and Data Systems Workgroup

The Compliance Assurance and Data Systems Workgroup (CADSW) is a new workgroup under the Permitting & Compliance Committee that will focus on compliance and enforcement initiatives including the SNC National Compliance Initiative, NPDES eReporting Rule implementation, the new NPDES Noncompliance Report, Compliance Monitoring Strategies, violation tracking/scoring, SNC for Minors, ECHO Reports and Dashboards, and the State Review Framework. This workgroup will also assist EPA with identifying and prioritizing work associated with ICIS-NPDES data system enhancements/updates. If you or someone on your staff would be interested in joining this workgroup or offering up your services as one of two Co-Chairs, please contact Sean Rolland.

ACWA WOTUS Workgroup Kick-off Call

The kick off call for the new ACWA WOTUS/Navigable Waters Protection Rule Workgroup will be held on on December 3, 2020, from 1:30 to 3:00 PM ET. The WOTUS Workgroup will focus on the implications of the new WOTUS/ NWPR rule on state programs and will serve as a forum for state to state discussion and information sharing on how states are responding to the changes in their programs brought about by the new rule. The Workgroup will discuss the impacts of the new rule on the CWA permitting, standards development and TMDL programs. Contact Julia Anastasio if you are interested in participating in this workgroup.

Meetings and Webinars

That’s so Meta! Technical Water Data Workshop Hosted by Internet of Water

EPA Water Research Webinar Series: Property Values and Water Quality: Supporting Decisions with the Hedonic Model.

Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2020 | 2:00-3:00 PM Eastern Time

Registration: Click here

Although there is well-established body of literature examining how water quality impacts home values, it has yet to be used in analyses of regional and nationwide water quality regulations. Property value studies combine housing choices with data on water quality to estimate benefits in a statistical model. This webinar will present an overview of the hedonic property value method, synthesize the literature to estimate a set of unit values and transfer functions to support decisions affecting water quality, and identify approaches to move beyond the limitations identified in the synthesis.

After registering for the webinar, you should receive an automatic reply with a link to test your computer’s compatibility with the webinar software. Please note that for this webinar, attendees can only listen with computer audio and will not be able to call into the webinar using a phone line. This change has been made to allow more people to attend the webinar.

EPA WEBINAR: The Microbiology of Wastewater Treatment Life in the Aeration Tank: Bacteria, Protozoa and Metazoa

Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2020 | 1:00-2:30 PM Eastern Time

Registration: Click here

PURPOSE: Help attendees understand the root causes of common problems faced by wastewater treatment system operators and provide
suggestions and resources to help them fine-tune their operations and, if needed, fix their noncompliance problems.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Plant operators, municipal leaders, technical assistance providers
and compliance inspection staff from federal, state, tribal and local governments.

SUBJECT: This webinar will introduce the audience to the microorganisms that thrive in activated sludge. Changes in the environment of the aeration tank will cause different bacteria to grow. In particular, the filamentous bacteria will especially dominate when specific activated sludge environment supports their growth. Therefore, if you don’t like what has grown, change the aeration tank environment and something different will grow – hopefully settling better in the clarifier. Jon’s presentation will help attendees to identify the filamentous bacteria, describe the environment that allows them to become dominant, and change that environment to select against the filamentous bacteria and avoid solids loss due to poor settling biology. The presentation will touch on the microscope hardware and the different microorganisms and their staining reactions – all of which contribute to knowing which bacteria are present.

Job Opportunities

Environmental Protection Specialist – District of Columbia Department of Energy and the Environment

Location: Washington, D.C.
Closing Date: November 6, 2020

The incumbent will serve as an Environmental Protection Specialist, leading effort to promote environmental education in the Partnering and Environmental Conservation Branch, Watershed Protection Division, Natural Resources Administration, Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE).  The mission of the Partnering and Environmental Conservation Branch is to cultivate partnerships through engagement, education, and financial, technical and compliance assistance to achieve the District’s clean water goals and support community priorities. The incumbent will coordinate and manage resources to support environmental education in the District. 

For more information on the position and how to apply, click here – reference Job ID 11475.

Aquaculture Federal Permit Manager (Environmental Specialist 4) – Washington Department of Ecology

Location: Thurston County – Lacey, WA
Closing Date: Continuous

The Shorelands and Environmental Assistance (SEA) program within the Department of Ecology is looking to fill five (5) Aquaculture Federal Permit Manager (Environmental Specialist 4) positions. These positions will be located in the Headquarters Building in Lacey, WA. For more information on the position and how to apply, click here.