EPA Press Office:

EPA Announces $30 Million to Help Small and Rural Communities Protect Public Health, Drinking Water, and Local Waterways

WASHINGTON (October 4, 2024) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of up to $30.7 million in grant funding for technical assistance and training to support small drinking water and wastewater systems, many serving rural communities, and to help private well owners improve water quality.

In the United States, more than 90 percent of drinking water systems serve fewer than 10,000 people. While many of these small systems consistently provide safe drinking water to their customers, they can also face challenges including high operator turnover, aging infrastructure, and lack of financial resources. Wastewater systems serving small communities face similar challenges. This EPA grant program provides funding to organizations that work side-by-side with these systems, providing tools and training to ensure that drinking water is safe and that wastewater is treated responsibly.

“Dedicated water champions, working at thousands of small drinking water and wastewater systems across the country, ensure that their communities can rely on clean and safe water. Accomplishing this vital mission day-in and day-out with limited resources is challenging,” said Bruno Pigott, EPA’s Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water. “With $30 million in new EPA funding, technical assistance providers will help achieve public health and safe water goals for small communities.”

EPA is seeking applications to fund grant projects that will benefit small and often rural communities. Eligible applicants for this competitive agreement are nonprofit organizations, nonprofit private universities and colleges, and public institutions of higher education. EPA expects to award four to five cooperative agreements totaling up to $30.7 million in federal funds. The purpose of the agreements is to provide training and technical assistance to:

• Small public water systems to achieve and maintain compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
• Small public water systems on a wide range of managerial and/or financial topics to achieve and maintain compliance with the SDWA.
• Small publicly owned wastewater systems, communities served by onsite-decentralized wastewater systems to help improve water quality.
• Private well owners to help improve water quality.

Congress has funded this program annually, enabling EPA to provide more than $170 million in funding to technical assistance and training providers since 2012. This program advances President Biden's Justice40 Initiative, which sets a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.

This grant is part of the EPA’s larger commitment through the Water Technical Assistance program (WaterTA), which aims to provide a range of assistance for communities to identify water challenges, identify solutions, and build capacity. Since 2022, approximately 5,000 communities have received technical assistance, ensuring they maintain or achieve Safe Drinking Water Act compliance and treat wastewater responsibly.

The application period for these competitive grants is now open. Questions about applying for EPA funding for training and technical assistance must be received by November 11, 2024, and applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. EST on November 25, 2024. EPA expects to award these cooperative agreements by summer of 2025.

This grant will be competed through a Notice of Funding Opportunity process. The funding opportunity will remain open for 60 days on Grants.gov. To learn more about the grant visit: Training and Technical Assistance for Small Systems Funding.

This notice of funding availability furthers EPA’s commitment to rural communities. Last week, EPA also announced $49 million in technical assistance to help rural, small, and tribal communities address wastewater challenges. Additionally, the agency released new tools to help small, rural, and tribal communities with lagoons manage wastewater and protect waterbodies.

For further information: Contact: EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)