Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants

The objective of the ECWAG program is to assist the residents of rural areas that have experienced a significant decline in quantity or quality of water, or in which such a decline is considered imminent, to obtain or maintain adequate quantities of

Eligible applicants include (1) Public bodies or governmental entities such as municipalities, counties, districts, authorities, and other political subdivisions of a State, (2) nonprofit organizations such as associations, cooperatives, and private nonprofit corporations, (3) Native American Indian tribes on Federal and State reservations and other federally recognized Indian tribes. Projects must serve rural areas, excluding any city or town having a population greater than 10,000.

Users of the applicant systems, which are previously described as public bodies, private nonprofit corporations, and federally-recognized Indian tribes.

Evidence of legal and organizational capacity, and economic feasibility.

Grants may be used for existing systems which have experienced an emergency event (such as drought, earthquake, hurricane or tornado): (1) to alleviate a significant decline in the available quantity or quality of water by constructing new wells, reservoirs, transmission lines, treatment plants, and other sources of water; (2) To extend or repair distribution waterlines, repair breaks, and pay for operation and maintenance items that remedy an acute shortage or significant decline in the quality or quantity of potable water; and, (3) To assist rural water systems comply with the requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or the Safe Drinking Water Act when noncompliance is related directly to a recent decline in quality of potable water. Grants made to alleviate a significant decline in quantity or quality of water available from the water supplies in rural areas that occurred within two years of filing an application with USDA cannot exceed $1,000,000. Grants for repairs, partial replacement, or significant maintenance on an established system cannot exceed $150,000.

An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review.

Rural Development (RD) State Director will administer the program on the local level. Applications include the criteria specified within 7 CFR 1778. This includes, but is not limited to, the requirement of applicants to file an application Form SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance, with the appropriate Rural Development (RD) Office.

The proposed projects designed to serve a rural area with a population of 10,000 or less that has a median household income of not more than 100 percent of the statewide nonmetropolitan household income and had a significant decline in quantity of water available from private individually owned wells will be given priority. Preference also will be given to proposed projects that will assist an established water system or remedy an acute shortage of quality water. The Rural Development State Director will rate applications on a point system and points received will be considered in selecting projects for funding.

Applications received will be reviewed and scored for funding priority by the RD State office. Applications must compete on a national basis for available funds.

Dependent upon funding and whether the application is considered complete. A determination on a complete application will be made within 15 federal working days. If complete, an eligibility and funding determination will be issued within 45 working days.

An application determined ineligible may request a review of this decision with the National Appeals Division of USDA in accordance with USDA regulations at 7 CFR 11.