NETCSC undertakes training needs analysis

What new environmental training issues will need to be addressed in the next five to 10 years? What training is presently available for small communities dealing with
environmental issues? Where are the gaps in environmental training resources? The National Environmental Training Center for Small Communities (NETCSC) is working to find answers to these pressing questions.

According to John Hoornbeek, NETCSC director, NETCSC is undertaking a training needs assessment in 2003 that will help chart the organization’s course over the next decade. “We last performed a training needs assessment 10 years ago shortly after our organization was first established,” says Hoornbeek. “This effort led to the
development of more than 40 NETCSC curriculum packages to address the needs identified in this initial training needs survey. Now it is time to look at training
needs again and assess where we are and where we should go in the future.”

NETCSC’s training needs assessment effort is likely to have several components and will result in a final report by year’s end. “One part of our needs assessment is
looking at what training is already out there,” notes Craig Mains, NETCSC training specialist who is spearheading the needs assessment effort. “We can only determine
where to focus our future efforts if we have a good sense of what is being done now.”

According to Hoornbeek, NETCSC is looking at training currently provided through a number of sources such as the Rural Water Association, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency’s 104(g) wastewater training network, the Rural Community Assistance Program network, and onsite wastewater training centers. “We want to see
what kinds of training are being offered, and identify what gaps still need to be addressed,” says Hoornbeek.

In addition to this assessment of current training, Mains has been talking with people all over the country to solicit their input and ideas on what training they feel is needed. He is interviewing local officials, regulators, and small community technical assistance providers about what they believe are the most important training needs for small communities in the areas of drinking water, wastewater, and solid waste.

“We will be asking about what is currently happening in small communities and also about what they see as the ‘big picture’ in terms of environmental training needs,”
says Mains.

Assessment efforts underway
To kick off this needs assessment effort, NETCSC sponsored a panel discussion “Small Community Needs in an Era of Change,” as part of its 2002 Environmental Training Institute for Small Communities held last August in Morgantown, West Virginia. This panel of experts shared insights about small community needs and provided a forum for environmental professionals to ask questions and discuss their opinions on the subject. (See article on page 13 for additional information about the Institute
panel discussion.)

One area each of the panelists mentioned was training needed to help small communities meet the regulations set forth by the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act. To better assess the impact of these regulations on small communities, NETCSC developed and offered the course, “Regulatory Update: Recent and Upcoming Requirements for Small Communities,” at the 2002 Institute.

“For this course, we compiled a comprehensive list of the water and wastewater regulations and policies affecting small communities now and over the next five
years,” says Hoornbeek. “To our knowledge, this is the first time that this information has been available in one place to help small communities make plans to meet these requirements,” notes Hoornbeek.

As a result of this course, NETCSC developed a list of regulations and policies that may affect small communities over then next five years. The list provides information on the kinds of communities that are affected, how they are affected, deadlines for meeting requirements, and sources and contacts for further information. (See article on page 3 for additional information about the availability of this information.)

Having this information about regulatory requirements for small systems in one place is helping NETCSC to determine the environmental training needs of small communities
that are generated in response to federal regulations. “We’ll be using this information about regulatory requirements as we go through the process of assessing
the training needs of small communities,” says Mains.