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Home My WebLink About08-13-25 Correspondence - EPA - Water Division Program Updates - August 2025From:EPA Region 8To:Bozeman Public CommentSubject:[EXTERNAL]Water Division Program Updates - August 2025Date:Tuesday, August 12, 2025 2:56:02 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. View as a webpage / Share Header WD We are back! This is our first eblast since January and we are excited to restart our monthly eblasts to you. You may notice that our eblast is slightly different as we move to GovDelivery to send out this and future eblasts. If you wish to unsubscribe from this eblast or subscribe to other topics in EPA Region 8 then please utilize the manage subscription buttons at the bottom of this email. What is in this Month's newsletter? Grant Opportunities WIFIA and SRF - Office Hours Integrated Watershed Management Planning Microplastics!? - Informational Webinar Green Infrastructure for Small Water Systems CyberSecurity Webinars Proposed Rule: Reconsideration of 2009 Endangerment Finding Brownfields Job Training Grants Disaster Supplemental Grant Program Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience Grant Wildfire, Drought, Flooding, Extreme weather events and Cybersecurity attacks pose significant challenges to drinking water systems within Region 8. Climate change will make some of these events even more challenging. The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish the Midsize and Large Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Program. This grant program assists medium and large size public water systems with protecting drinking water sources from natural hazards, extreme weather events, and cybersecurity threats. The FY 25 competition is now open. Approximately $9.5M in competitive funding is available under this opportunity for eligible applicants seeking funding for eligible project activities identified in the NOFO. The application period is open until October 6, 2025, and can be found on www.grants.gov under opportunity number EPA-OW-OGWDW-25-01, assistance listing number 66.488. Funding through this grant program must be used for the planning, design, construction, implementation, operation, or maintenance of a program or project that increases resilience of public water systems to natural hazards. Examples of projects include: Conservation of water or the enhancement of water use efficiency Modification or relocation of existing drinking water system infrastructure significantly impaired by natural hazards Design or construction of desalination facilities to serve existing communities Enhancement of water supply though watershed management and source water protection Enhancement of energy efficiency or the use and generation of renewable energy in the conveyance or treatment of drinking water Click Here for More Information Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) - Office Hours The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 (WIFIA) established the WIFIA program, a federal credit program administered by EPA for eligible water and wastewater infrastructure projects. WIFIA Office Hours are an opportunity for prospective borrowers to meet WIFIA program staff and ask questions about the WIFIA program and the process for submitting a Letter of Interest. Upcoming Office hours are noted below. WIFIA Office Hours: Wednesday, August 13, 2025, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Mountain time) WIFIA Office Hours: Wednesday, September 10, 2025, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Mountain time) State Revolving Fund (SRF) - Office Hours Ask Me Anything SRF Office Hours will expand your knowledge and enhance your ability to navigate the SRFs. These sessions are tailored for state agencies, utility operators, and stakeholders who support water infrastructure projects. Each session will open with a specific theme, providing clarity, strategies, and practical insights for preparing and managing an SRF-funded project. The remainder of the session will be devoted to ‘Ask Me Anything’. Participants can attend all sessions or select those that best meet their needs. Submit your questions in advance or bring them to the session for real-time support from our experts. Sessions will take place twice a month through Nov. 2025. Upcoming office hours are noted below: Creative Uses of SRF Funds August 18, 2025 / 12:00- 2:00 pm Mountain Time https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYqf-mqqD0uE90aJpG1eHJnZ6F368EuD8BV Water Protection and the SRFs September 3, 2025 / 9:00-11:00 am Mountain Time https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZArf-qqpjkiGNLNgsu0ayqgDUfTa_83obR8 Click Here for More Information Integrated Watershed Management Planning In-Person Workshop The National Association of Wetland Managers in Partnership with the Association of State Floodplain Managers is offering a 3 day workshop in Denver, CO. The focus of the training is on integrating programs to improve interagency planning and implementation of co- beneficial projects that reduce flood risk and improve water quality, among other benefits. To embed this focus on program integration, states, local community, and Tribal participants will be asked to attend in pairs. Each pair should consist of one individual who works on programs related to Clean Water Act requirements and one individual who works on programs related to natural hazard mitigation. States will participate in the training to deepen their relationship with any communities or Tribes in attendance from their state. Following the two-day workshop, NAWM and ASFPM will continue to work with each cohort to facilitate integration efforts via quarterly calls and webinars. The 2025 training will focus on states, Tribes, and local communities specifically in Western states (AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY). The workshop will run from September 16 to September 18. Click Here to Register Microplastics!? This webinar will provide an overview of microplastics, the challenges of microplastic science, and the research conducted at EPA helping to fill the data gaps, including understanding fate and transport, identifying toxicity, and advancing sampling and analytical methods. The webinar will also cover the Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council (ITRC) microplastics resources, including the Microplastics Outreach Toolkit. The ubiquity of microplastics in the environment is an emerging concern. These small plastics (<5 mm) along with associated contaminants may be consumed by organisms including humans and have been found in every environment on Earth. There are numerous data gaps about the potential effects of microplastics on human health and ecological systems. This webinar is scheduled to start Wednesday, August 20th at 1 pm Mountain time. Click Here to Register Green Infrastructure for Small Water Systems: Approaches and Assistance Green infrastructure can be a tool to help rural wastewater and stormwater providers go beyond investments in conventional infrastructure approaches. This presentation will address the role that Green Infrastructure can play in supplementing wastewater and stormwater systems by helping reduce inflow and infiltration, mitigating sewer overflows, augmenting wastewater treatment processes, and improving quality. We will also outline the funding and financing pathways to implementing these projects for small, rural systems, and orient participants to the forms of technical assistance which can support small systems in implementing these projects. This webinar will be August 28, 2025 from 11 am to 12 pm Mountain time. Click Here to Register Cybersecurity Webinars Cyber-attacks against public water systems are increasing. Implementing basic cyber hygiene practices can help your utility prevent, detect, respond, and recover from cyber incidents. EPA offers a number of helpful webinars, highlighted below are upcoming webinars. Many states have approved these training for Continuing Education Units. The list of approved states can be found on the registration page. Cybersecurity Refresher Thursday, August 21, 2025 11:00 AM - 12:00pm MT Meet your annual cybersecurity training requirement and gain critical knowledge on the foundational understandings of cybersecurity and how it applies to the Water Sector. Many states have approved this training for Continuing Education Units. The list of approved states can be found on the registration page. Register Here Water Cybersecurity Assessment Tool Information Session Thursday, August 28, 2025 11:00 AM - 1:30pm MT Join us to learn more about how to use the Water Cybersecurity Assessment tool. This tool can be utilized to conduct cybersecurity assessments at water and wastewater systems. Many states have approved this training for Continuing Education Units. The list of approved states can be found on the registration page. Register Here Click Here for More Information Proposed Rule: Reconsideration of 2009 Endangerment Finding On July 29, 2025, EPA proposed to rescind the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding. The Endangerment Finding is a prerequisite for regulating emissions from new motor vehicles and new motor vehicle engines. Absent this finding, EPA lacks statutory authority under Section 202 of the Clean Air Act to prescribe standards for GHG emissions. Therefore, EPA also proposed to remove GHG regulations for light-, medium-, and heavy- duty on-highway vehicles. To view documents supporting this proposed rulemaking as well as comments submitted, please visit regulations.gov and access the rule under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194. Written comments on the proposal may be submitted to the docket for this rule through September 15, 2025. There are several ways to provide written comments on the proposal, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194: Federal eRulemaking Portal for this proposal: click on the “Comment” box under the proposed rule document, which is the first document listed under the “browse comments” tab. Email: a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov. Include Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194 in the subject line of the message. Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, OAR, Docket EPA- HQ-OAR-2025-0194, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460. Hand Delivery or Courier (by scheduled appointment only): EPA Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket Center’s hours of operations are 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Monday–Friday (except federal holidays). In written comments submitted to the docket, do not include any information you consider to be sensitive information, including but not limited to Confidential Business Information/Proprietary Business Information, medical information about someone other than yourself, or any information whose disclosure is restricted by an applicable authority. Please visit Commenting on EPA Dockets for more information on submitting comments, including information about how to submit sensitive information such as CBI/PBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments. Click Here for More Information Brownfields Job Training Grants This notice announced the availability of funds and solicited applications from eligible entities, including nonprofit organizations, to deliver Brownfields Job Training .Training programs funded by Brownfields Job Training Grants enable program graduates to obtain skills to secure full-time, sustainable employment in various aspects of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, and petroleum products within the larger environmental field, including sustainable cleanup and reuse, and chemical safety. Training programs prioritize unemployed and under-employed residents of communities impacted by a variety of waste facilities, blighted properties, and contaminated sites. Applications are due by September 26, 2025 Click Here for More Information Disaster Supplemental Grant Program The Economic Development Administration (EDA) Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Disaster Supplemental Grant Program makes approximately $1.45 billion available to support economic recovery activities in areas that received major disaster declarations because of hurricanes, wildfires, severe storms and flooding, tornadoes, and other natural disasters occurring in calendar years 2023 and 2024. The EDA FY 2025 Disaster Supplemental NOFO is available on grants.gov and eda.gov. EDA funding can support both construction and non-construction projects. EDA’s Disaster NOFO provides funding through three funding pathways: Readiness Path – Capacity building and strategic planning projects that set the stage for future investment. Implementation Path – Standalone construction and non-construction projects that help communities recover from natural disasters and advance recovery and growth. Industry Transformation Path – Coalition-led, multi-project portfolios that transform regional economies through targeted industry development. Click Here for More Information Additional Resources For questions on Technical Assistance (TA) and funding opportunities for clean water and drinking water infrastructure, contact Tamara Barbakova at Barbakova.Tamara@epa.gov. This email was sent to comments@bozeman.net using govDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: EPA -Region 8 · Denver Federal Center, Building 25 · Lakewood, CO 80225 EPA Region 8 Mountains and Plains Serving Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and 28 Tribal Nations Website | Contact us Manage Subscriptions | Unsubscribe All | Help