RCAC Rural Community Development (RCD) Training and Technical Assistance - Rural Community Assistance Corporation's (RCAC) technical staff, in conjunction with its regional loan officers, will use RCD funds to provide technical assistance (TA) and training for community water and wastewater systems that serve rural residents with low incomes. The project will serve rural areas of 11 western states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Project activities will focus on 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; and 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 grant period. Activities 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.
