The purpose of the rural utility business advisor (ruba) program grant will assist rural alaska communities in building and maintaining management and financial capacity needed to successfully run a…

The Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 awarded a $2.67 million cooperative agreement to the Alaska Department of Commerce Community and Economic Development under the Congressionally Mandated Projects program (CFDA 66.202) for the period of October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023. The funding will support the Rural Utility Business Advisor program, which provides training and technical assistance to rural Alaskan communities to build management and financial capacity for water and sanitation utilities. Specifically, the program delivers on-site job training, classroom workshops covering budgeting, revenue, and accounting software, and certification preparation for rural utility operators to ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. If evaluated successfully, the program also proposes a pilot subaward to leverage regional expertise and further expand support for local governments and utilities.

The purpose of the rural utility business advisor (ruba) program grant will assist rural alaska communities in building and maintaining management and financial capacity needed to successfully run a water or sanitation utility in order to protect human health and the environment and promote compliance with the safe drinking water act and the clean water act. The ruba training and technical assistance activities and deliverables to rural operators and communities includes; 1) on site over the shoulder job training in proper utility management for rural utility systems; 2) class room training workshops on critical skills such as budget development, revenue collecting and expenses; 3) one on one training and class room training on the software used statewide for accounting for rural utilities called quick books; 4) facilitating regional workshops for utility managers and providing classroom instruction to prepare operators for state utility management certification. The recipient's efforts will protect the environment from the discharge of untreated wastewater to ambient waters (rivers, lakes, stream and oceans), in addition, these outcomes further the delivery of safe drinking water to the public by ensuring these systems are managed and operated correctly.activities:the ruba training and technical assistance activities and deliverables to rural operators and communities includes; 1) on site over the shoulder job training in proper utility management for rural utility systems; 2) class room training workshops on critical skills such as budget development, revenue collecting and expenses; 3) one on one training and class room training on the software used statewide for accounting for rural utilities called quick books; 4) facilitating regional workshops for utility managers and providing classroom instruction to prepare operators for state utility management certification. The recipient's efforts will protect the environment from the discharge of untreated wastewater to ambient waters (rivers, lakes, stream and oceans), in addition, these outcomes further the delivery of safe drinking water to the public by ensuring these systems are managed and operated correctly.subrecipient:the program proposes a pilot program to partner with a regional or statewide stakeholder(s) to leverage regional knowledge, connections and expertise to expand support for utilities and local governments in the pilot region. The pilot program is proposed to run for two to three grant cycles and be RE-evaluated at the end of the third grant cycle.outcomes:the ruba program supports the management and continued operation of drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in rural alaskan communities. The ruba program works with communities to increase the managerial and financial capacity of the water and sanitation utilities. The objectives are in accordance with the clean water act and the safe drinking water action section 1420(c)(2) which addresses the requirements for states to develop strategies to improve the technical and managerial and financial capacity of public water systems under their jurisdiction.