Water and Environmental

Objectives:

The objectives of the Technical Assistance and Training Grant Program are to:

Identify and evaluate solutions to water and waste disposal problems in rural areas.
Assist applicants in preparing applications for water and waste grants made at the State level offices.
Improve operation and maintenance of existing water and waste disposal facilities in rural areas.

NOTE: Rural areas are defined as any area, city, or town with a population at or below 10,000 inhabitants according to the latest decennial census of the United States.

Entities eligible for Technical Assistance and Training (TAT) grants are private non-profit organizations that have been granted tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States.

Applicants must have the proven ability, background, experience, legal authority, and actual capacity to provide technical assistance and/or training on a regional basis to associations. Associations are defined as an entity, including a small city or town, that is eligible for Rural Utilities Service (RUS) water and waste financial assistance in accordance with RUS Regulation 1780, part 7.

Applications will be accepted from October 1 through December 31 of each calendar year. Applications may be hand-delivered to the State Office by close of business December 31, or postmarked by midnight December 31 to be considered submitted on time. Applications received after December 31 will NOT be considered in that year’s review and will be returned to the applicant.

1. Recruit applications for the Agency’s water and waste loan and/or any loan and/or grant program.

2. Duplicate current services, replacement or substitution of support previously provided such as those performed by an association’s consultant in developing a project.

4. Pay for capital assets, the purchase of real estate or vehicles, improve and renovate office space, or repair and maintain privately owned property.

7. Pay for technical assistance which duplicates assistance provided to implement an action plan funded by the Forest Service (FS) under the National Forest-Dependent Rural Communities Economic Diversification Act (7U.S.C. 6601 note) for five continuous years from the date of grant approval by the FS. To avoid duplicate assistance, coordinate with the State Rural Development office and the Forest Service before submitting an application.

1. Identify and evaluate solutions to water problems of associations in rural areas relating to:

Source

Storage

Treatment

Distribution

2. Identify and evaluate solutions to waste problems of associations in rural areas relating to:

Collection

Treatment

Disposal

3. Assist associations that have filed a pre-application with the Agency in the preparation of
water and/or waste loan and/or grant applications.

4. Provide training to association personnel that will improve the management, operation and
maintenance of water and waste disposal facilities.

5. To pay expenses associated with providing technical assistance and/or training.

Application Requirements:

1. An original and one copy of Application for Federal Assistance (for non-construction).

a. For projects that will serve only one state, the forms will be submitted to the local
State Rural Development office.

2. Evidence of applicant’s legal existence and authority in the form of certified copies of
organizational documents and a certified list of directors and officers with their respective
terms.

     a. The need for the project/service.
     b. The proposed service(s) to be provided.
     c. The benefits of the technical assistance and/or training.
     d. Areas to be served, including population and non-metropolitan median household
          income information.
     e. Name of association(s) or type of association(s) that will be served.
     f.   Experience of the applicant to provide the proposed service, including experience of
          key staff members and person(s) providing the technical assistance and/or training.
     g. The number of months duration of the project or service, and the estimated time from
          grant approval to beginning of project or service.
     h. Method used to select the association(s) that will receive the service.
     i.   Brief description of how the service will be provided, whether through currently
          employed personnel or through contracted personnel.
     j.   Clearly defined goals and objectives and how they will be measured.
     k. Evaluation method to determine if objective(s) or the proposed activity is being
           accomplished.
      l.   Plans for increased self-sustainability for the project/service in future years.
     m Latest financial information to show the applicant’s financial capacity to carry out the
           proposed work. A current audit report is preferred. At a minimum, the information
           should include a balance sheet and an income statement.
      n. Estimated breakdown of costs including those to be funded by the applicant as well as
           from other sources.
      o. Budget and accounting system in place or proposed.

5. Provide the Dunn & Bradstreet D-U-N-S number (Data Universal Numbering System) for the organization - if you do not have a DUNS number, go to the web site www.dnb.com to apply. There is no charge for this service, and the number will be received within 30 business days, according to the information on the web site.

Required Forms:

Standard Form 424 Application for Federal Assistance for Non-construction Programs

Form AD 1047 Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension & Other Responsibility Matters – Primary Covered Transactions

Form AD 1048 Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion - Lower Tier Covered Transactions

Form RD 400-4 Assurance Agreement

Other forms may be required for approved grants and will be provided at that time by the National Office of Rural Development.

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Evaluation Procedure:

Applications will be accepted from October 1 through December 31 of each calendar year.

Evaluation will take place from January 1 through March 1 of the following year. Priority will be given to applications using the following criteria:

      a. Applicant’s demonstrated capability and past performance in providing technical
           assistance and/or training to rural associations.

      b. The extent to which the population of the associations served has low income.

      c. Service being provided is to areas with populations below 5,500 or 2,500.

      d. Applicant’s or other sources in-kind contributions that combine with the requested
           funds to maximize service performed.

      e. Technical assistance and/or training will be directly delivered to staff of the associations
           being served.

      f. Applicants proposing to serve regional, multi-state, or nationwide areas.

      g. Applicants whose timeframe for completion of service/project is 12 months or less.

      h. The extent to which the service/project will be cost effective.

      i. Applicants whose proposed service/project coincides with the given objectives of the
          program given above.

Applicants will be notified using Form AD-622 "Notice of Pre-Application Review Action" indicating the action taken on the application:

1. Ineligible – applicants will be notified and advised of their appeal rights.

             2. Eligible but not funded – applicants will be notified and advised against
                  incurring obligations that cannot be fulfilled without Agency funds. The
                  application will not be retained for future years’ consideration.

             3. Eligible and selected for funding – applicant will be notified and instructed on
                  how to complete required forms for funding. NOTE: If the applicant does not
                  submit the necessary forms within 30 days from the date on the Form AD-622,
                  the Agency may discontinue consideration of the application.

Examples:

The National Rural Water Association of Duncan, Oklahoma has operated the Wastewater Technician Program under the TAT program since 1988 when they contracted with their State-affiliate Rural Water Associations to employ full-time wastewater technicians in 15 States. The program has expanded over the years to provide full-time wastewater technical assistance and training in all of the 48 contiguous States and in Puerto Rico. These technicians provide technical assistance and training to system operators in the areas of water or wastewater treatment, facility operations and maintenance, system financial management, regulatory compliance, and conservation issues. They also provide liaison support for interactions with regulatory and funding agencies.

The Rural Community Assistance Program, Inc. (RCAP) in Washington, DC, administers two USDA/RUS grants - Technitrain (i.e., water and wastewater infrastructure training and technical assistance) and the Solid Waste Training & Technical Assistance Project. RCAP has managed these grants for more than ten years and they have grown to serve more than 1,000 rural and tribal communities annually, in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

RCAP is a national partnership of six regional organizations staffed with water, wastewater, and solid waste professionals that provide community-based managerial, technical, and financial assistance throughout rural America to communities with populations fewer than 10,000 residents. RCAP works directly with rural communities, counties, tribal governments and water, wastewater, and solid waste management districts to enable them to make decisions regarding their local public services and economic development opportunities.

The RCAP partnership is comprised of the following six affiliated organizations:

     Great Lakes RCAP - WSOS Community Action Commission (WSOS);
     Midwest RCAP - Midwest Assistance Program (MAP);
     Northeast RCAP - Rural Housing Improvement (RHI);
     Southeast RCAP - Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project (SERCAP);
     Southern RCAP - Community Resources Group (CRG); and
     Western RCAP - Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC).

For more information on how to receive RCAP services, please call the national office at 800/321-2772 or 202/408-1273, or via email at: info@rcap.org. You can also obtain additional information by visiting the RCAP website at: www.rcap.org.

Rural water or wastewater system officials may request assistance under this program by contacting their local USDA Rural Development office.

National Drinking Water Clearinghouse. Funded by the Rural Utilities Service, the National Drinking Water Clearinghouse (NDWC) assists small communities by collecting, developing, and providing timely information relevant to drinking water issues. Services provided by the NDWC include two quarterly newsletters, toll-free telephone consultation, an electronic bulletin board, educational and informational products, and a number of databases. For more information call the NDWC at (800) 624-8301, or write NDWC, P.O. Box 6064, Morgantown, WV 26506-6064.

CSDC will identify and evaluate solutions to water and wastewater problems relating to source, storage, treatment and distribution of water and treatment and disposal of wastewater, assist in application development, assist with negotiations to alleviate pending and standing consent orders, offer planning assistance in modifying, expanding, or developing new water and wastewater systems, and provide training to personnel on the management, operation, maintenance and financing of systems.

Assist associations identified in Virginia Coalfield Regional Water Study through planning and financial development of water and waste disposal projects including preparation of applications for funding.

Provide facility management training and support services to include record keeping, inventory control and customer service skills, specific tribal water systems circuit rider, assistance with business management, specialized individual training for system employees, and training on management development skills (meeting facilitation, telephone skills, etc).

Provide targeted, long-term managerial and administrative training and technical assistance to water and wastewater systems in the KVCOG region.

MERBI will identify and evaluate solutions to water and wastewater problems of local governments, associations and communities in rural areas, provide assistance in financial and planning development stages, assist with application development, and assist with inflow, infiltration, leak detection, and water sampling.

Continue the wastewater technical assistance program by providing 87 full-time, experienced Wastewater/Water Technicians to provide technical assistance and training to all eligible systems within the 48 contiguous states and Puerto Rico.

Continue and expand the Tribal program designed to help improve the capacity of tribal drinking water utilities and to provide drinking water system operators and managers with training to operate and maintain their own systems. Expand program to include Oregon, Idaho, all of California, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, North Dakota, Montana and Minnesota. Currently services Utah, Nevada, South Dakota and Owens Valley, California.

Provide Security Enhancement Training to train and assist Tribes and their staffs in addressing the security needed to ensure safe potable drinking water supplies.

Prepare a regional water plan for the service area, provide technical assistance in water and wastewater project development and funding, and collaborate with local governments and associations to potentially develop a regional water authority.

Help communities articulate engineering service needs, cast a wide net and select engineering consultants that would meet their needs, assist with capital planning, training on benefits of water meters and providing information on system revenues/rates.

Continue the Technitrain project by providing 56 full time equivalents to provide assistance to rural communities and tribal governments and/or communities in approximately 48 to 50 states and Puerto Rico.

Provide training that integrates current dilemmas of participant communities into instructional material, case studies, and simulation activities; new and/or enhanced access to technical assistance and expertise; monitor training and technical assistance provision for outcomes on a continual basis to ensure that communities are applying methods imparted to them and train local technical assistance providers and other governmental support organizations that assist these local communities on a daily basis.

Provide training through 5 separate 3 to 5-day classes for utility managers and/or water operators with 12 to 16 students per class on the operation and maintenance of existing water and wastewater systems in the Interior region of Alaska.

Continue WellCare program and expand in response to increasing requests for WSC's assistance and training workshops, and provide a clearinghouse on technical and educational materials for rural well owners and community leaders.

West Virginia University Research Corporation will continue the National Drinking Water Clearinghouse by updating and populating databases with current water related information; collect information regarding the services and resources available from other organizations and inputting into NDWC systems; continue collections of finance options and financial resources, increase NDWC contacts, and collect updated information about existing technical assistance programs such as state rural water associations, regional community assistance programs, EPA offices and financial centers, and state-managed assistance activities.

West Virginia University Research Corporation will continue with the research of legal and other issues necessary for the enabling of public and private "cluster" and onsite wastewater management entities; document the legal processes required to form wastewater management entities; furnish facilitation services, managerial assistance, and legal advice to rural communities undertaking the process of forming a wastewater management entity; provide pre-engineering and technical assistance services to wastewater management entities during startup; and offer small startup grants and/or pay for services to help communities get started on the process of establishing cluster and onsite wastewater management entities that can access financing sources to provide ongoing wastewater management.

Fund a full-time Village Operations and Maintenance Specialist under the YKHC Office of Environmental Health and Engineering, Regional Utility Cooperative Project (RUC).

Application Requirements:

Required Forms:

Evaluation Procedure:

Grantee Awards in FY 2002