The pacific northwest pollution prevention resource center (pprc) will provide general technical assistance to help small, rural communities abate fats, oils, and grease (FOG), per- and…

This Project Grant award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Technical Assistance for Treatment Works (Clean Water Act [CWA] Section 104(b)(8)) program (CFDA 66.446) provides $1,506,074 to the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center (PPRC), a nonprofit organization, to deliver technical assistance and training to rural, small, and tribal communities on managing fats, oils, and grease (FOG), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and other emerging contaminants in wastewater treatment systems. Key activities include identifying 36 high-need communities, providing data management software, delivering on-site assessments and virtual roundtables, and training system managers on cost-effective FOG and emerging pollutant prevention strategies. The project aims to increase the technical, managerial, and financial capacity of these communities, enhance infrastructure resiliency, and achieve reductions in FOG discharges and public health impacts.

The pacific northwest pollution prevention resource center (pprc) will provide general technical assistance to help small, rural communities abate fats, oils, and grease (FOG), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and other emerging contaminants in their publicly-owned treatment works or decentralized wastewater treatment systems.activities:using funds from this assistance agreement, the recipient will perform the following activities: 1) identify communities that are rural, small, or tribal with publicly owned treatment works or decentralized wastewater treatment systems that are most in need of FOG, PFAS and emerging pollutant abatement training and technical assistance; 2) provide commercial data management software for 36 jurisdictions that receive training; 3) secure locations and schedule FOG training for at least 36 communities that meet the criteria; 4) refine training curriculum and develop asynchronous training modules. This includes training on using commercial data management software and cost calculations; 5) deliver FOG training to at least 36 targeted small, rural, or tribal wastewater system managers or operators over a 3-year period. Deliver on-site assessments to nine of these jurisdictions; and, 6) conduct virtual roundtable technical assistance sessions. Subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include: 1) identification of rural, small, or tribal communities/jurisdictions, including at-risk environmental justice communities; 2) identify data from commercially available FOG data management software that can be used with EPA's storage and retrieval (storet) data warehouse; 3) train 36 system managers and/or operators in the total cost of FOG and its effective management and prevention; 4) document benchmark data for the costs of FOG treatment and maintenance in the sewer conveyance system; 5) train 36 system managers and/or operators in emerging pollutants of concern: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and pesticides from pet shampoos; 6) provide 36 assessments, 'GAP analyses' of compliance with npdes permits; 7) publish data of FOG program implementation and savings; and, 8) promote FOG abatement program development for small, rural, and tribal jurisdictions. The expected outcomes of this project include: 1) an increase in the knowledge and capacity of 36 rural, small, and tribal publicly-owned treatment works and decentralized wastewater treatment system operators in the areas of technical and managerial capacity; 2) an increase in the resiliency of infrastructure for 36 rural, small, and tribal publicly-owned treatment works and decentralized wastewater treatment systems due to effectively increasing the capacity of the existing infrastructure by reducing or eliminating blockages and flow restrictions due to FOG; 3) fewer public health-related events; and, 4) reductions in FOG discharged into the sewer lines which result in significant monetary savings. The intended beneficiaries include various small, rural communities in the states of TX, MA, VA, SD, AL, MN, AZ, CA, AK, MO, LA, me, MD, MS, ID, FL, CO, NV, WY, OH, TN, OK, NE, IL, PA, GA, MI, WI, UT, WA, NM, WV, and KY.