to the web pages of the Small Public Water Systems Technology Assistance Center located at the Environmental Training Center at Penn State Harrisburg. This center has been developed in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection .

The 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments focus attention on enhancing the technical, financial, and managerial capacity of public water systems to consistently comply with the national primary drinking water regulations. The Act, as amended, requires states to develop and implement programs to ensure that new systems demonstrate adequate capacity prior to start-up and to assist existing systems in acquiring and maintaining capacity. The act provides a variety of resources available to states for public water systems, especially small systems, to meet capacity development objectives. The amended SDWA authorized US EPA to make grants to institutions of higher learning to establish and operate small public water system technology assistance centers. The responsibility of these centers include conducting training opportunities for small public water systems operators and the trainers who instruct them. The technical assistance centers also serve as a source of technical information related to the performance and operational needs of small public water systems.

The activities of the national SPWSTAC at Penn State Harrisburg fall into two broad categories. The first is to provide cutting edge training for persons involved with instruction and training of small public water system operators. This training will include adult education techniques, effective presentation techniques, small system compliance technologies, source and wellhead protection, corrosion control and disinfection. The second involves operators directly by providing workshops/training in: computer skills, laboratory skills, corrosion control and disinfection. The courses will take place at numerous locations throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The training content and scheduling is closely coordinated with the PA DEP. SPWSTAC will also serve as an outreach/resource center.