The rural community assistance partnership, INC. (RCAP), in collaboration with its six regional partners, communities unlimited (CU), great lakes community action partnership (GLCAP), midwest…

The Rural Community Assistance Partnership, Inc. (RCAP) received a $2,970,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office for Water. This award is funded through the Surveys, Studies, Investigations, Demonstrations, and Training Grants and Cooperative Agreements - Section 104(b)(3) of the Clean Water Act (CFDA 66.436) program.

Under this 24-month grant, RCAP and its six regional partners will provide training and technical assistance to owners and managers of private drinking water wells and stakeholder groups that serve private well owners or are charged with protecting public health. Key activities include in-person and remote training workshops, private well assessments and water testing, tailored webinars, self-paced eLearning courses, a national hotline, and development of outreach materials. The goal is to increase private well owner knowledge, coordination with public health agencies, and preparedness to address water quality and quantity issues, leading to improved health, environmental justice, and equity outcomes for private well owners.

The rural community assistance partnership, INC. (RCAP), in collaboration with its six regional partners, communities unlimited (CU), great lakes community action partnership (GLCAP), midwest assistance program (map), RCAP solutions (RSOL), rural community assistance corporation (RCAC), and the southeast rural community assistance project (SERCAP), collectively, 'RCAP,' will partner with the national environmental health association (NEHA), the national ground water association (NGWA), the texas aandm university cooperative extension (TAMU), and the university of illinois (U of I) to provide training and technical assistance (TA) to owners and managers of private drinking water wells and the stakeholder groups that serve private well owners and/or are charged with protecting public health.activities:this will be accomplished through a diverse set of in-person and remote TA activities, training, and outreach that blends traditional and non-traditional innovative approaches and concepts. Outputs will include face-to-face and instructor-led online workshops for private well owners, environmental health and private well professionals, and private well stakeholders; private well assessments conducted and well testing kits distributed and utilized so well owners can take action on identified areas of concern and/or potential contamination, including well assessments for tribes and in puerto rico (the well assessment is available in spanish) including testing for PFAS when merited; tailored webinars; self-paced elearning courses for well owners, environmental health professionals, and other stakeholders; current and trusted information provided through a variety of communications channels; on-demand phone assistance through a national hotline accompanied by email and social media chat assistance, and responses to online well owner questions; well owner and stakeholder newsletters and guides, professional presentations; and podcasts, among others.subrecipient:the sub-awardees will use their funding for typical costs associated with TA and training, such as salaries and fringe, travel, and regular operating expenses. During the 24-month grant period, the sub-awardees will help provide training and technical assistance (TA) to owners and managers of private drinking water wells and the stakeholder groups that serve private well owners and/or are charged with protecting public health. Outcomes:through these efforts, RCAP and its assembled partners will achieve numerous outcomes that include, but are not limited to: increased private drinking water well owner knowledge on protecting well water quality, wellhead protection, reduced contamination issues, better maintained wells, and assistance understanding and meeting state/local regulations in electronic and hard copy formats; increased coordination with public health agencies; well testing results and anytime support as needed for private well owners; increased well owner awareness about private well and water quality protection issues; increased well owner preparation and capacity to correct well and water quality problems; an improvement in the knowledge around quality and quantity of groundwater that supplies private wells; increased knowledge for well owners on how to respond to contamination/emergencies; and increased resiliency to climate impactsmdash; all of which lead to improved health, EJ, and equity outcomes for private well owners and their families.