Michael S. Regan, EPA Administrator | https://en.wikipedia.org/
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $49 million in new technical assistance funding to support rural, small, and Tribal communities in addressing wastewater and water quality challenges.
This funding will be awarded to technical assistance providers who will help these communities identify their water infrastructure needs and guide them toward appropriate funding options. This initiative is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to environmental justice.
“Our nation’s water infrastructure delivers clean drinking water to homes, schools, and businesses and safely returns wastewater to the environment. But there are far too many people in this country dealing with broken, old or simply non-existent water infrastructure,” said EPA’s Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water Bruno Pigott. “This $49 million will help more rural, small, and Tribal communities address pressing water challenges while advancing the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to close the water equity gap in our country.”
Rural, small, and Tribal systems face unique financial and operational challenges such as aging infrastructure, workforce shortages, increasing costs, and declining rate bases. The grant funding from EPA will be used to assess the most pressing water challenges in these communities, provide training on best practices for water infrastructure management, help navigate federal funding applications, and invest strategically in reliable infrastructure solutions.
Technical assistance providers play a crucial role in helping these communities access resources needed for infrastructure improvements. They offer direct support to build technical, managerial, and financial capacity for operating centralized and decentralized wastewater management systems.
EPA’s notice of funding availability outlines four priorities:
1. Acquisition of Financing and Funding: Helping rural, small, and Tribal communities plan for and access funding from sources like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
2. Protection of Water Quality and Compliance Assistance: Improving technical, managerial, financial capacity while maintaining compliance.
3. Tribal Wastewater Systems: Providing training and technical assistance across all areas of Clean Water Infrastructure for tribes.
4. Decentralized Wastewater Systems: Offering assistance to communities relying on septic systems or other decentralized systems.
Applications are being accepted until November 25, 2024. Information about how to apply is available on EPA's Training and Technical Assistance Program webpage.
The Rural, Small and Tribal Clean Water Technical Assistance Grant Program was established by America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. It aims to provide technical assistance and training to improve operations of rural, small, tribal wastewater systems making them more sustainable while supporting EPA's mission to protect public health.
For more information about tools, training resources for small rural Tribal wastewater systems or requesting assistance visit EPA’s Water Technical Assistance webpage.
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