RCAC regionalization, facilities development and support to rural communities - Rural Community Development Program (RCD) - <p>Under this project, RCAC’s technical staff, in conjunction with RCAC’s regional loan officers, will provide technical assistance (TA) and training for community water and wastewater systems that serve low-income rural residents. RCAC, the western partner of the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP), will deploy its highly trained staff in rural areas of 11 western states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. While small, low-income, rural communities throughout the 11 states will receive assistance with selected activities, RCAC will prioritize OCS grant-funded work to communities with the most persistent poverty, lowest income and highest need for basic water and wastewater infrastructure services. RCAC will leverage OCS funds with its existing state, federal and private funding resources with the overarching goal to enhance the overall health of small low-income rural communities and the well-being of their residents. Communities served will have populations of less than 2,500, with at least 20 percent living below the poverty line, or a median family income that does not exceed 80 percent of statewide median family income as outlined in HHS Poverty Guidelines. States in RCAC’s service area with the highest persistent poverty, or Tribal areas with unmet needs, include Alaska, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. RCAC’s RCD activities will focus in three areas: • Water and wastewater technical assistance with an emphasis on Regionalization projects • Training workshops to ensure utilities are run by knowledgeable management and staff • Activities to support the goals of the RCD program RCAC will provide technical assistance to at least 70 communities and deliver 10 workshops during each year of the five-year grant period. Activities that support the goals of the RCD program will include trainings
for water and wastewater system operators, such as those pertaining to required certifications, remedial and regulatory issues, compliance, and construction management among others; managerial and operational training for decision makers to develop their operational capacity; on-site TA to identify, address, and resolve system safety and security issues; capacity building for small, rural water and wastewater systems; and facilitation of Regionalization agreements between entities to share assets, build capacity, develop economies of scale, and create sustainability.</p>
