Experts discuss challenges facing small communitites

Several experts in environmental and small community issues shared their perspectives during the panel discussion, “Small Community Needs in an Era of Change,” which was held as part of the 2002 Environmental
Training Institute for Small Communities. This event was sponsored by the National Environmental Training Center for Small Communities (NETCSC) last August in Morgantown, West Virginia.

A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official, a senior technical assistance provider, and an experienced small community public works official each shared their
personal views on the biggest water and wastewater challenges facing small communities now and in the future.

National perspective
Gary W. Hudiburgh, Jr., oversees many of the EPA-funded technical assistance programs that deal with water and wastewater in his role as chief of the Municipal
Assistance Branch in EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management. He sees three major challenges facing small communities: “dealing with the law, resources or
a lack thereof, and homeland security.”

The role of the federal government is to provide funding, guidance, and leadership for communities, according to Hudiburgh. “EPA recognizes that new regulations and
those just starting to be implemented pose challenges for the nation’s smaller communities,” he says.

Although federal funding for water and wastewater infrastructure has been stable, Hudiburgh notes that small communities must face competing public health and safety
demands with limited resources. “We do have to be realistic and understand that we are in a society with many viable, competing demands for limited funding,” he says.

Hudiburgh recommends that small communities carefully manage their environmental infrastructure: “pay attention to what you have and what it costs to replace it and
take action to deal with it.” He expects that communities will be hearing more about asset management and Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) 34 in the coming years.

Hudiburgh also talked about the current and continuing focus on homeland security and noted that small drinking water systems need help in dealing with the new
requirements for vulnerability assessments and that wastewater systems also need assistance in dealing with security issues.

Hudiburgh concluded his remarks by expressing his confidence in the ability of small communities to deal with their environmental management issues. “Although many
challenges will exist in the next 10 years, I know that small communities and assistance providers will step up to the plate and deal with them,” he says.

Panel members Gary Hudiburgh, Jr., John Hoornbeek (panel moderator), Mark Richardson, and William Urbigkit discuss challenges facing small communities during the 2002 Environmental Training Institute for Small Communities. Photo by Randy Levelle.

Technical assistance perspective
Mark Richardson, a technical assistance provider with the Rural Community Assistance Corporation, shared his perspective that is based on 25 years of experience working with the management, administration, and operations of small communities.

A big challenge Richardson sees for small communities is having qualified people making decisions about environmental infrastructure. “Are the managers and the
decision makers looking at the system as a business? On the technical side, is the staff qualified and certified?” he asks.

Richardson agrees that it is a challenge for small communities to understand the complexities of the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act. “The laws have gotten more complex,” he says. “Do communities have the ability to grasp the law?”

Another important issue for small communities is learning how to plan, emphasizes Richardson. Communities need to know what they have in terms of environmental
infrastructure and be able to look into the future. “What do you have now? What will you need in the future in terms of people, facilities, and money?” he asks.“Communities need to have the ability to plan for that.”

According to Richardson, part of being able to plan is having a vision. “Communities need to have a vision—a concept—of what their responsibilities for environmental
services are. They need the ability to see the bigger picture in order to create a balance between competing interests,” he says.

Finally, Richardson echoed Hudiburgh’s emphasis on the need for helping communities deal with security issues and being able to protect their environmental infrastructure and the public’s health.

Small community perspective
William Urbigkit supervises water, wastewater, and sanitation services for the city of Riverton, Wyoming, in his role as public works director for this community of
9,310.

Urbigkit had no difficulty identifying the number one challenge facing small communities: money. “For a small community, even if you know what to do, if you don’t have the resources to do it, it is very difficult to accomplish,” he says.“Small communities need to have the financial wherewithal to manage their resources.”

Secondly, Urbigkit emphasized the difficulties that small communities face in dealing with the lack of continuity and vision in leadership caused by the high turnover rate of local officials. “City council members and board members have to make some really hard decisions that affect everyone, including their family members,” he says. “Because most officials serve three to five years at a maximum, it is very difficult to do a long-term plan and to have a vision.”

According to Urbigkit, capacity development training efforts are making a difference and need to continue. “Long-term planning is invaluable, but so little of it is done on the small community level,” he says. “What’s been done with capacity development training is absolutely great.
It makes people think about five years or more into the future, sit down and create a written plan, and develop some continuity—a blueprint—for the future. We have to
continue getting this message out to the elected officials who are making the financial and management decisions that will last for years to come.”

Finally, Urbigkit agreed that small communities need help in dealing with security issues. “It is hard from an internal perspective to think about security, but water is a valuable resource and it is a place where we’re extremely vulnerable. The training community can be a great asset to small communities by giving them a fresh perspective.”