Notice of Public Hearing and Solicitation of Public Comment
Clean Water Construction Project Priority Rating System
DOEE invites the public to comment on proposed revisions to the Project Priority Rating System (PPRS) used in the District of Columbia (District) Clean Water Construction (CWC) program. The PPRS describes the process through which DOEE chooses water quality improvement projects for inclusion in applications to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program. Revisions to the PPRS are intended to ensure that funded projects address the District’s current needs, obligations, and priorities for cleaning and protecting District waters.
Annually, the EPA CWSRF program allocates approximately six million dollars to the District for water quality improvement projects. DOEE solicits new projects each year, evaluates project applications for their contribution to protecting and enhancing water quality, and adds them to a ranked list, called the Project Priority List (PPL). DOEE uses the PPL to identify the most highly-ranked water quality improvement projects that are ready to proceed, and includes those projects in the application to EPA for CWSRF funding. District CWC projects are funded at 55% Federal grant share and 45% local match share.
The District’s CWC program funds three categories of wastewater treatment works: Sewage Infrastructure Projects, Stormwater Grey Infrastructure Projects, and Stormwater Green Infrastructure Projects, define as follows:
- Sewage Infrastructure Projects include work on devices or systems that collect liquid municipal wastes, including sanitary sewage, and combined stormwater and sanitary sewage, convey waste waters to a central location, process such wastes to reduce the pollutant potential of those wastes, and provide for disposal of residues or byproducts, which result from treatment of those wastes.
- Stormwater Grey Infrastructure Projects include work related to stormwater pollution prevention, including the collection and treatment of municipal wastes prior to the discharge of those wastes into a storm sewer, combined sewer, or District waterbody. Municipal waste can include storm water runoff and wastewater that is produced as a byproduct of industrial activities; and
- Stormwater Green Infrastructure Projects Green Projects are projects to retain stormwater via infiltration, evapotranspiration, or harvesting for reuse or projects to protect, restore, or construct stream and wetland ecosystems.
The draft PPRS document is attached below and can be downloaded. To obtain a hard copy, please email [email protected] with a subject line of “REQUEST FOR DRAFT PPRS” to arrange for pick-up.
Public Comment Period: Friday, February 3 – Monday, March 6
Comments may be hand delivered or posted to the DOEE offices at the address listed below, or emailed to the attention of Suzy Wald at [email protected]. Please clearly mark comments submitted in hard copy or by email with the identifier “DRAFT PPRS PUBLIC COMMENTS.” All comments should be received no later than the conclusion of the public hearing on Monday, March 6, 2017.
Public Hearing
DATE: Monday, March 6, 2017
TIME: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
PLACE:
Department of Energy and Environment
1200 First Street, NE, 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20002
NOMA Gallaudet (Red Line) Metro Stop
Persons who wish to testify are requested to mail or email their name, email address, telephone numbers, and the organization they represent, if any, to the attention of Suzy Wald, by Monday, February 27, 2017. All presentations shall be limited to five minutes, and all testimony should pertain to the revised PPRS. Presenters are urged to submit written statements. DOEE will consider all comments received in the final draft of the revised PPRS.
