The rural community assistance partnership incorporated (rcap), in collaboration with its six regional partners and the university of illinois (u of i), will assist small publicly owned wastewater…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Water awarded Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated (RCAP) a $1.375 million Project Grant under the Surveys, Studies, Investigations, Demonstrations, and Training Grants and Cooperative Agreements program (CFDA 66.436) for the period October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2027. RCAP, in collaboration with six regional partner organizations and the University of Illinois, will deliver comprehensive training and technical assistance (TA) to small publicly owned wastewater treatment works (POTWs) and communities served by onsite/decentralized wastewater systems. The grant supports both Tribal and non-Tribal systems with emphasis on underserved, overlooked rural communities.

Core deliverables include operator and staff training on financial sustainability, critical technical and compliance topics, disaster preparedness and resilience, water quality impacts, community engagement, and treatment/regulatory fundamentals delivered through face-to-face sessions, instructor-led online training, webinars, and web-accessible resources. RCAP will provide targeted training to homeowners, realtors, community leaders, planners, and environmental health professionals on decentralized system types, operations, costs, disaster impacts, and management options. Additional services include developing 70+ centralized and 30+ decentralized wastewater technical documents for a shared database, publishing 12 bi-monthly blog posts on decentralized wastewater topics, conducting up to seven technical, managerial, and financial assessments per regional partner, and providing direct phone and email technical assistance. Sub-awardees—including Rcap Solutions Inc., Midwest Assistance Program Inc., Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project Inc., Rural Community Assistance Corporation, Great Lakes Community Action Partnership, and Communities Unlimited Inc.—each receive $165,000, while the University of Illinois receives $36,000 to support private well owner coordination and resource sharing initiatives.

The rural community assistance partnership incorporated (rcap), in collaboration with its six regional partners and the university of illinois (u of i), will assist small publicly owned wastewater treatment works (potws) and communities and individuals served by onsite/ decentralized wastewater systems to improve operational performance with the goals of protecting human health and the environment, revitalizing communities, and improving compliance, resilience, and sustainability. Activities:rcap will provide training and technical assistance (TA) to a) owners, operators, managers, and other key staff of small potws; and b) communities/individuals served by onsite/decentralized wastewater systems. These efforts will be directed at rural communities and both tribal and non-tribal systems and will focus on underserved, overlooked rural communities that are most in need. Training for small potw wastewater staff/leaders will stress financial sustainability; critical technical/compliance topics; disaster preparedness/resiliency; the impact of wastewater discharges on water quality; community engagement; and the basics of treatment, regulations, and management responsibilities though face-to-face training, instructor-led online training, webinars, and web accessible resources to reach remote locations/personnel. Rcap will provide training to homeowners, realtors, community leaders/elected officials, planners, and environmental health professionals on issues related to onsite/decentralized wastewater system types, cost, operations, disaster impacts, and proper management, as well as assist with alternatives analysis when an interconnection or centralized solution may be required. Rcap will also work to help both potws and onsite/decentralized systems identify and access funding. Subrecipient:all six rcap regions will receive $165,000 each and university of illinois will receive $36,000. Subgrantees will use funding for typical costs associated with implementing technical assistance/training such as salaries, fringe, travel, other direct, and indirect costs.outcomes:anticipated deliverables include 12 trainings, 54 technical assistance projects, six national webinars, blog posts, maintaining resources on wateroperator.ORG and decentralizedwastewater.ORG, and operating a phone line and email address during business hours and responding to wastewater operator requests for assistance. Expected outcomes include an increased number of potw and onsite/decentralized systems aware of infrastructure funding opportunities, in the funding pipeline/in progress, and submitted applications and accessing funding, an increased number of systems with updated risk and resilience assessments, emergency response and/or mitigation plans and those participating in utility partnerships to increase resiliency, and a decrease of public and/or environmental health-related impacts because of malfunctioning systems, among additional outcomes. Intended beneficiary(IES) include owners, operators, managers, and other key staff of small potws; and communities/individuals served by onsite/decentralized wastewater systems.