Through
the Emergency Community Water Assistance Grant Program, the Rural
Utilities Service (RUS) is authorized to help rural residents who
have experienced a significant decline in quantity or quality of
water to obtain adequate quantities of water that meet the standards
of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
TYPES
OF ASSISTANCE:
Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES
AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
Grant funds may be used
to extend water lines on existing systems; to construct new water
lines; to repair existing systems; to perform significant maintenance
on existing systems; to construct new wells, reservoirs, transmission
lines, treatment plants, storage tanks, etc.; to replace equipment;
to provide connection and/or tap fees; to pay costs incurred within
six months of the date an application was filed with USDA to correct
an emergency situation that would have been eligible for funding
under this program; to provide funds for any other appropriate related
purposes, such as, legal fees; engineering fees; recording costs;
environmental impact analyses; archaeological surveys; possible
salvage or other mitigation measures; planning, establishing, or
acquiring rights associated with developing sources of treating,
storing, or distributing water; and to assist rural water systems
in complying with the requirements of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act or the Safe Drinking Water Act, when failure to comply
is directly related to a recent decline in quality of potable water.
Grants provided under this program shall not be used to assist a
rural area or community with a population in excess of 10,000; to
assist a rural area that has a median household income in excess
of the statewide nonmetropolitan median household income according
to the most recent decennial census of the U.S.; to finance facilities
which are not modest in size, design, and cost; to pay loan or grant
finder's fees; to pay any annual recurring costs considered to be
operational expenses; to pay rental for the use of equipment or
machinery owned by the rural community; to purchase existing systems;
to refinance existing indebtedness; and to make reimbursement for
projects developed with other grant funds. Grants made to alleviate
a significant decline in quantity or quality of water available
from the water supplies in rural areas that occurred within two
years of filing an application with USDA cannot exceed $500,000.
Grants for repairs, partial replacement, or significant maintenance
on an established system cannot exceed $75,000.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant Eligibility:
Rural Utilities Service may make grants to public bodies, private
nonprofit corporations, and political subdivisions of a State, as
well as Indian tribes.
Beneficiary Eligibility:
Public bodies, private nonprofit corporations, and political subdivisions
of a State, as well as Indian tribes.
Credentials/Documentation:
Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87
for State and local governments.
Pre-application
Coordination: This program is eligible for coverage
under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs."
An applicant should consult the office or official designated as
the single point of contact in his or her State for more information
on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for
assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. An
environmental impact assessment is required for this program. The
standard application forms as furnished by the Federal agency and
required by U.S.C. Parts 3015 and 3016 must be used for this program.
Application Procedure:
Rural Development (RD) State Director will administer the program
on the local level. This program is subject to the provisions
of U.S.C. parts 3015 and 3016. Application Form SF-424 will be
filed with the appropriate RD District office.
Award Procedure:
Applications received will be reviewed and scored for funding
priority by the RD State office. The RD State Director will request
funds from the National office. Projects must compete on a national
basis for available funds.
Deadlines:
All funding requests will be reviewed by the National office after
November 1 of each year and continue as long as funds are available.
Range of Approval/Disapproval
Time: Within 60 days of receipt of complete
application.
Appeals:
If an application is rejected, the reasons for rejection are fully
stated. The applicant may request a review of this decision at
the higher management level of RUS.
Renewals:
Not applicable.
ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula and Matching
Requirements: Not applicable.
Length and Time Phasing
of Assistance: Not applicable.
POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports:
Request for funds, as needed.
Audits:
In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A- 133 (Revised,
June 24, 1997), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit
Organizations," non federal entities that expend financial assistance
of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a
program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities
that expend less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt
from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted
in Circular No. A-133.
Records:
The grantee shall maintain adequate records and accounts to assure
that grant funds are used for authorized purposes.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION:
Account Identification:
12-0400-0-1-452.
Obligations:
(Grants) FY 01 $200,200; FY 02 est $20,000,000; and FY 03 est
$0. (Note: The one grant for FY 01 was obligated from prior year
funds.)
Range
and Average of Financial Assistance:
$200,000 to $200,200. Average: $200,200.
Regional or Local
Office: Consult your local telephone directory
under United States Government, Department of Agriculture for Rural
Development District Office number. If no listing, contact appropriate
Rural Development State office listed in Appendix IV of the Catalog.
Headquarters Office:
Assistant Administrator, Water and Environmental Programs, Rural
Utilities Service, Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250.
Telephone: (202) 690-2670. FTS is not available.
Web Site Address: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov
EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
Rural communities can
use these funds to correct drinking water problems that have been
created by a significant decline in quantity or quality of their
water supply. The communities use the funds for new systems, waterline
extensions, construction of water sources and treatment facilities,
storage tanks, and repairs or renovation of existing systems.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
The proposed projects
designed to serve a rural area with a population of 5,000 or less
that has a median household income of not more than 70 percent of
the statewide nonmetropolitan household income and had a significant
decline in quantity of water available from private individually
owned wells will be given priority. Preference also will be given
to proposed projects that will assist an established water system
or remedy an acute shortage of quality water. The Rural Development
State Director will rate applications on a point system and points
received will be considered in selecting projects for funding.
