Although not required to certify completion of a Risk and Resilience Assessment (RRA) or Emergency Response Plan (ERP) to EPA, community drinking water systems that serve less than 3,301 people, non-community water systems, and wastewater systems are encouraged to plan for disasters that could disrupt system operations by conducting RRAs and developing ERPs.
EPA and the National Rural Water Association, NRWA, will provide signed certificates of completion to community drinking water systems that serve less than 3,301 people, non-community water systems, and wastewater systems who create RRAs and ERPs under the guidance of a NRWA technical assistance provider. Water and wastewater system operators could then receive CEU credit hours for the hours they spent developing the RRAs and ERPs, if allowed by their state operator certification program. Click here to learn more about the Very Small Drinking Water and Wastewater System Resilience Continuing Education Unit Program.
Water or wastewater system personnel who assist in the development of the RRA and ERP reports may receive no more than 10 training hours total. The NRWA technical assistance provider who is working with the system will be responsible for determining the appropriate number of CEU hours to award to the author(s) and will include the number of hours, up to a maximum of 10 hours per individual, on the signed certificate of completion. The technical assistance provider will also verify which individuals contributed and how much they contributed. No more than three co-authors on the RRA and ERP will be allowed to receive a certificate of completion per utility.
Once the training is complete, the participating technical assistance provider should email dwresilience@epa.gov for assistance completing the Certificate of Completion, including the required signature of an EPA representative, prior to submitting the certificate to the state operator certification program
Water and wastewater systems must use the methodology of EPA's AWIA Small System Risk and Resilience Assessment Checklist (a wastewater version is in development and will be published soon; wastewater systems may use the drinking water version except for Table 2a and 2b [Source Water] since that table is not relevant in a wastewater context) and Emergency Response Plan Template and Guidance or another EPA approved RRA/EPA template in order to be eligible to receive a certificate of completion. The West Virginia Rural Water Association's Risk and Resilience Assessment and Emergency Response Plan Spreadsheet is an EPA approved template.
