EPA released a Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Sustainability Policy that ensures federal investments, policies, and actions support water infrastructure in efficient and sustainable locations. These actions help existing communities enhance economic competitiveness and promote affordable neighborhoods.

Beginning in 2010, EPA’s Office of Water and Office of Sustainable Communities (now the Office of Community Revitalization) jointly sponsored a pilot technical assistance program with three states’ Clean Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF) programs to explore potential modifications that could encourage investments that support sustainable communities and to provide models for other states. EPA selected Maryland, New York, and California for this assistance.

EPA worked with these state CWSRF programs to review their intended use plans, project priority systems, borrower application processes, and other funding guidelines. State limitations due to legislation, regulations, and policies were examined as well as potential avenues for change. The result of each pilot program is a set of options for the state to consider when evaluating CWSRF program policies and documents.

Opportunities to Advance Sustainability in California's Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program (2012) focuses primarily on ways that the California CWSRF program might attract more applicants with sustainable projects by better coordination with existing statewide sustainability initiatives, strategic outreach efforts, and incentives. Opportunities to Advance Sustainability in California's Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program: Steps Toward Implementation (2013) focuses on the second phase of the pilot project in which EPA helped the state implement two of its top five priorities among the ideas explored in the first phase of the project.

Read the Maryland Clean Water State Revolving Fund Sustainable Communities Pilot Project Report.

Read the Report on New York State’s 2010 SRF Sustainability Pilot Project (PDF) Exit (12 pp, 350 K, About PDF) 

EPA conducted this project under the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

• Opportunities to Advance Sustainability in California's Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program (PDF)(47 pp, 784 K)
• Opportunities to Advance Sustainability in California's Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program: Steps Toward Implementation (PDF)(33 pp, 568 K, 2013)