ACHIEVING A SUSTAINABLE WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGH EPA'S MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES

Abstract

The demands for better management of onsite and clustered wastewater treatment systems areincreasing. US EPA’s Voluntary National Guidelines for Management of Onsite and Clustered(Decentralized) Wastewater Systems (US EPA, 2003) offer a framework for managing systemsat many scales and levels, and provide national benchmarks for assessing and improvingmanagement programs. The purpose of the Guidelines is to raise the level of performance ofonsite/decentralized wastewater systems through improved management programs. US EPAproposes to promote improved management through the Guidelines by providing nationalguidance that raises the quality of management programs, establishes minimum levels of activity,and institutionalizes the concept of management. The Guidelines contain a set of model programs, based on a building-block approach that relieson coordinating responsibilities and actions of the state, tribal or local regulatory authority; themanagement entity; the service provider(s); and the system owner(s). The model programsreflect an increasing need for more comprehensive management as the sensitivity of thereceiving environment, the number and density of system installations, and the degree of systemtechnological complexity increases. The five model management programs suggested in theGuidelines describe points along the overall management continuum, which ranges from simplesystem inventories and improved public awareness of maintenance needs to programs which ownand operate wastewater treatment systems in a manner similar to conventional centralized sewerservices.