The Final Guidelines for Federal Enforcement in CSO/SSO Cases memorandum signed on April 10, 2005 by Tom Skinner and Bob King presents guidelines developed by an U.S. EPA-State workgroup to assist the federal government and states in addressing combined sewer overflow(CSO) and sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) violations.

The guidelines, which are based on the 1986 Revised Policy Framework for State/U.S. EPA Enforcement Agreements (the Barnes Memorandum), are not mandatory criteria, but are intended to assist U.S. EPA regions and states as they work to address CSO/SSO violations. The guidelines do not introduce any new standards for federal CSO/SSO enforcement; rather, they reflect U.S. EPA's existing policies, including the Barnes Memorandum. The goal is to set the stage for early, open, and ongoing communication between U.S. EPA and States on CSO/SSO issues.