Provide training and technical assistance to low-come rural communities to develop and manage affordable and safe drinking water and wastewater treatment services - The Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) will use RCD funds to provide training and technical assistance through its Funding Navigator Initiative (FNI) to rural, low-income communities throughout the United States. The FNI program helps rural communities access low cost capital to finance infrastructure improvements that support safe, reliable, and affordable drinking water, wastewater treatment, and stormwater management. Under the FNI program, Funding Navigator staff will provide technical assistance and essentially serve as another employee for the rural utility or community, thereby increasing local capacity to find and apply for relevant funding opportunities. Once funding is obtained, Funding Navigator staff help communities procure services and manage contracts to ensure that the infrastructure improvement work is completed. These contracted services include activities such as infrastructure asset inspections, preliminary engineering reports, environmental permitting, alternative analyses, community engagement, lead service line inventories and replacement plans, and data and technology integration into utility operations. Through the RCD project, EPIC aims to help rural communities unlock over $15 million of low cost capital to support water and wastewater infrastructure projects that will in turn improve public and environmental health, economic opportunity, and wellbeing in rural communities with low income throughout the nation.
