42 U.S.C. § 4370j — Municipal Ombudsman

(a) Establishment. An Office of the Municipal Ombudsman is established within the Office of the Administrator and is headed by a Municipal Ombudsman. (b) Duties. The Ombudsman must provide (1) technical assistance to municipalities seeking to comply with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; and (2) information to the Administrator to help ensure that EPA policies are implemented by all EPA offices, including regional offices. (c) Required actions. The Ombudsman must work with appropriate headquarters and regional offices to ensure that a municipality seeking help receives information about (1) Federal financial assistance for which it qualifies; (2) flexibility available under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; and (3) the opportunity to develop an integrated plan under section 402(s) of that Act. (d) Information sharing. On EPA’s website, the Ombudsman must publish general information about (A) the technical assistance in subsection (b)(1); (B) the financial assistance in subsection (c)(1); (C) the flexibility in subsection (c)(2); and (D) Administrator-developed resources concerning integrated plans under section 402(s). The Ombudsman must also publish a copy of each permit, order, or judicial consent decree that implements or incorporates such an integrated plan.