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Note: This information is provided for reference purposes only. Although
the information provided here was accurate and current when first created,
it is now outdated.
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Rural Community
Assistance Program (RCAP) Help for Small Community Wastewater
Projects
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EPA's Small
Community
Wastewater Project |
This project is a training and technical assistance program focused
on addressing wastewater treatment and disposal issues in small,
rural and tribal communities which have difficulties complying
with Clean Water Act (CWA) requirements. These communities
often lack adequate financing, management skills and training to
construct, operate, manage, and maintain wastewater treatment
facilities or systems. Institutional capacity to implement facility
improvements or to address watershed pollution threats is often
nonexistent. In a partnership agreement with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), the Rural Community Assistance
Program, Inc. (RCAP), provides the appropriate financial
management, operations and maintenance, and other community-specific technical assistance through the Small Community
Wastewater Project. RCAP receives a grant from the EPA to
support small community wastewater system needs.
RCAP's technical assistance activities are coordinated and selected
with state and local governments or tribal pollution control
agencies, EPA's outreach coordinators and other appropriate
organizations to address small community wastewater treatment
problems. RCAP's activities will be targeted to:
- include or increase efforts in training and technical assistance
for minority and/or tribal communities;
- assist in the maintenance and/or development of decentralized
wastewater treatment systems;
- link the wastewater treatment needs of small, disadvantaged
rural communities with fewer than 3,000 people to the EPA's
State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) program;
- unsewered communities under administrative orders;
- small systems with operations and maintenance problems;
- small, rural communities with individual permits and flows
less than one million gallons per day (<1MGD) that are in
violation of their discharge permits, or are in danger of
noncompliance of discharge permit requirements;
- small, rural communities that need to upgrade their wastewater
collection, treatment, and/or disposal facilities to meet CWA
requirements; and
- small, rural communities with other management, financing,
construction, operations, and technical needs, including
difficulties accessing public financing, a history of
noncompliance, the absence of institutional capacity to
implement facility improvements, (whether central or non-central solutions), an insufficient financial base to construct,
operate, manage and maintain facilities, and, watershed
pollution threats.
The Project is a component of the Small Communities team in the Municipal
Support Division's Municipal Assistance Branch. The team's goal is to
administer programs through which small communities can access information,
financial resources, and technical assistance to achieve adequate and
cost-effective wastewater systems. Visit EPA's webpage at
www.epa.gov/owm/mab/smcomm/ to
access highlights of RCAP's selected small community wastewater projects and
to obtain information for the team's other small community programs.
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What is RCAP? |
RCAP is a national network of
nonprofit organizations that provides on-site technical
assistance to rural communities to help them attain and/or
maintain adequate wastewater treatment services. RCAP
is also a resource for community leaders seeking technical
assistance services for other community-specific needs.
Technical assistance is carried out through RCAP's experienced
community development and leadership specialists at six
regional organizations and their service areas. Assistance
is provided at no cost to the participating communities.
Most of RCAP's work is done in small, rural areas with
populations of 3,000 or less and with a high percentage
of low-income individuals who display a commitment to
addressing their wastewater problems.
For the FY 2001 project year, EPA is targeting $995,716 to the Small
Community Wastewater Project. Additionally, RCAP will provide $49,800
of in-kind contributions for the Project. RCAP is proposing to
continue to provide technical assistance efforts initiated through
previous years' Congressional add-ons to address small community
wastewater treatment and disposal needs. RCAP will provide on-site
assistance for approximately 90 projects in 30 states and Puerto Rico.
Projects are selected in response to requests from state or tribal
pollution control agencies, rural wastewater treatment facility owners
and operators, and rural community residents. Additionally, RCAP will
provide 13 training sessions or workshops for owners and operators.
Session topics will include affordable wastewater treatment technology,
appropriate collection, treatment and disposal systems, operations of
lagoon systems or anaerobic digesters, and training on CWA laws or
regulations, including wastewater treatment technology and financing.
At least one workshop will be for EPA's guidelines for voluntary
management programs for onsite/decentralized systems to provide training
and material to address onsite/decentralized wastewater disposal needs
in small, rural communities.
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Funding for the Small Community
Wastewater Project |
For the FY 2002 project year,
EPA is targeting $1,128,300, to the Small Community Wastewater
Project. Additionally, RCAP is providing $56,000 of in-kind
contributions for the Project. RCAP will continue to provide
technical assistance efforts initiated through previous
years' Congressional add-ons to address small community
wastewater treatment and disposal needs. RCAP will provide
on-site assistance for approximately 115 projects in 33
states and Puerto Rico. Projects are selected in response
to requests from state or tribal pollution control agencies,
rural wastewater treatment facility owners and operators,
and rural community residents. Additionally, RCAP will
provide 17 training sessions or workshops for system owners
and operators. Topics will include affordable wastewater
treatment technology, system operation and management
issues, operator training, requirements of the CWA and
the management of decentralized wastewater systems.
In FY 2001, funding for the Project totaled $1,045,516, including
an EPA grant of $995,716 and $49,800 of RCAP's in-kind
contributions. RCAP provided technical assistance efforts in 131
small, rural communities in 27 states and Puerto Rico: Alaska,
Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana,
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New
Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia,
Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Also, RCAP
conducted a total of 13 training sessions for owners and operators
of small wastewater treatment systems.
During FY 2000, RCAP provided on-site technical assistance to 78
small, rural communities in 22 states. RCAP managed 48
facilities development projects, 11management and finance
projects, 11 operations and maintenance projects, 6 planning and
development projects, one capacity building project, and one
source protection project. Six training workshops were conducted
in five project states. A total of 70,152 people directly benefitted
from RCAP's assistance during the project year.
For More Information Contact:
Municipal Assistance Branch
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Maria E. Campbell
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
ICC Building (Mail Code 4204-M)
Washington, D.C. 20460
(202) 564-0628
e-mail: campbell.maria@epa.gov
Rural Community Assistance Program, Inc. (RCAP)
1522 K. Street, NW, Suite 400
Washinton D.C 20005
1-888-321-7227
Internet: http://www.rcap.org
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