The agreement provides funding to the national rural water association

Specifically, the recipient will implement a 12-month nationwide training and technical assistance program for municipalities, tribal governments, and publicly owned treatment works that use lagoon wastewater treatment systems. This program will support these entities with planning, developing, and acquisition of finance to improve water quality and achieve and maintain compliance. The recipient aims to execute a plan that advances equity and delivers accelerated results by using existing resources and building local technical, managerial, and financial capacity to sustainably operate wastewater lagoon systems.activities:the activities include implementing a well-defined, collaborative planning approach with state regulatory and tribal agencies to develop efficient and well-coordinated operation plans; deploying water quality action specialists (wqas) to provide t/TA to municipalities, tribal governments, and publicly owned treatment works that use lagoon wastewater treatment systems nationwide; providing a minimum of 1,000 hours of onsite technical assistance to at least 200 municipalities, tribal nations, and/or publicly owned treatment works; hosting 40 in-person CEU-approved training sessions with the option of virtual attendance for wastewater system personnel, key stakeholders, and decision-makers; and transferring the results of this project by sharing 10 case studies, 10 arcgis story maps, training materials, and a presentation at an industry conference.subrecipient:the subaward of $849,430 will go fully toward national rural water association's state offices for the cost of staff for training and technical assistance in each state in order to carry out the goals of this project. Nrwa has 50 fully staffed state offices (also called state affiliates) that service all 50 states and U.S. Territories and have ongoing multi-year relationships with regulatory agencies and local utilities in every location. This subaward will be split across 21 of these state offices at an average award of $40,449 per state. The subawards will cover the cost of salary, fringe, travel, supplies, and indirect costs at the state level. Consistent with nrwa's other grants, they plan to subaward a fixed amount to each state and the state affiliate will determine the budget breakout based on equitable salaries of the local labor market, benefits provided by the state affiliate, and travel costs based on the state's size and needs. The state affiliates will carry out the project plan that they create alongside the national program, including hosting the in-person trainings, conducting meaningful outreach in each area before training delivery, and utilizing their industry networks to invite representatives to speak about their areas expertise during onsite trainings.outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include an increased number of rural, small, and tribal communities with lagoon wastewater treatment systems accessing infrastructure funding and technical assistance sources and receiving t/TA in technical, managerial, and financial concepts, as well as an increased number of lagoon wastewater projects being listed on state intended use plans (iups). The expected outcomes include an increased number of rural, small, and tribal communities with lagoon wastewater treatment systems receiving infrastructure funding; having improved technical, managerial, and financial capacity; and being in compliance with the clean water act (CWA), resulting in a reduction in public health and environmental concerns. Additionally, an increased number of certified operators will have an improved knowledge of lagoon wastewater treatment systems. The intended beneficiaries include rural, small, and tribal communities with lagoon wastewater treatment systems nationwide. Lagoon communities often represent the lowest quintile of household income and are typically economically disad