The Rural Utilities Service (RUS or the Agency), an agency of the Rural Development (RD) mission area of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the acceptance of applications under the Rural Water and Wastewater Technical Assistance and Training (TAT) Program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, subject to the availability of funding.
Donor Name: Rural Utilities Service
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 12/31/2024
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
The TAT Program is designed to help qualified, private nonprofit organizations provide technical assistance and training to identify and evaluate solutions to water and wastewater problems, help communities prepare applications for water and waste disposal loans and grants, assist with improving the management, operation, maintenance and sustainability of water and waste facilities in eligible rural areas, address contamination of drinking and surface water supplies by emerging contaminants, such as Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and pay certain expenses associated with the provision of such services. The preceding includes project proposals that support lead remediation, cybersecurity, disaster resilience, water reuse, and decentralized infrastructure.
Funding Information
Funding is anticipated to be approximately $35,000,000.
Grant Period
October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026.
Eligible Uses
Funds may be used to pay expenses associated with providing technical assistance and/or training (TAT) to: Identify and evaluate solutions to water problems relating to source, storage, treatment, or distribution; identify and evaluate solutions to waste problems relating to collection, treatment, or disposal: assist applicants, that have filed a pre-application with RUS, in the preparation of water and/or waste loan and/or grant applications; and/or provide technical assistance and/or training to water/wastewater system personnel that will improve the management, operation and maintenance of water and waste disposal facilities. Grant funds may not be used to duplicate current services, such as those performed by an association’s consultant in developing a project; fund political or lobbying activities; pay for capital assets; purchase real estate or vehicles; improve or renovate office space, or repair and maintain privately owned property; pay the costs for construction, improvement, rehabilitation, modification or operation and maintenance of water, wastewater, and solid waste disposal facilities; and pay costs incurred prior to effective date of grant.
Eligibility Criteria
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.
- Entities eligible for grants must be private nonprofit organizations with tax exempt status, designated by the Internal Revenue Service. Tribally owned nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply. A nonprofit organization is defined as any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that:
- Is operated primarily for scientific, education, service, charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest.
- Is not organized primarily for profit.
- Uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve, and/or expand its operations.
- Entities must be legally established and located within a state as defined in § 1775.2.
- Organizations must be incorporated by December 31 of the year the application period occurs to be eligible for funds.
- Private businesses, Federal agencies, public bodies, and individuals are ineligible for these grants.
- Applicants must also have the proven ability, background, experience (as evidenced by the organization’s satisfactory completion of project(s) similar to those proposed), legal authority, and actual capacity to provide technical assistance and/or training on a regional basis to associations as provided in § 1775.33. To meet the requirement of actual capacity, an applicant must either:
- Have the necessary resources to provide technical assistance and/or training to associations in rural areas through its staff, or
- Be assisted by an affiliate or member organization which has such background and experience and which agrees, in writing, that it will provide the assistance, or
- Contract with a nonaffiliated organization for not more than 49 percent of the grant to provide the proposed assistance.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
