IAPMO has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and 17 partner organizations to work collaboratively to improve the overall performance and management of decentralized wastewater treatment systems.  

The MOU reaffirms commitments made under previous MOUs signed in 2005, 2008, and 2011, with IAPMO joining the National Rural Water Association (NRWA) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) as the newest signatories. 

More than 20 percent of U.S. households and 22 percent of new housing units are served by individual septic systems, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Housing Survey, with approximately four billion gallons of wastewater treated and discharged daily by these systems. 

Objectives of the MOU renewal include:  

• Improve accountability, control, and oversight through enhanced state, tribal, and local program implementation 
• Improve local decision making through improved public awareness, education programs, and information materials 
• Support the principals outlined in the Voluntary Management Guidelines and Management Handbook for Decentralized Systems developed by EPA's Office of Wastewater Management   

"IAPMO is honored to add our name and dedication to this critically important partnership as it seeks to build upon the significant progress it has made since the EPA took up in earnest the issue of decentralized wastewater treatment systems in 1996," said IAPMO CEO GP Russ Chaney. "Improving sanitation systems has been at the core of IAPMO's mission since the association's founding nearly 90 years ago. We hope our involvement brings an added dimension to the partnership's work."  

The MOU will remain in effect for three years.