planning for drinking water and wastewater projects
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Planning for Drinking Water and Wastewater ProjectsApril 5, 2021
USDA Rural Development – New YorkBrenda L. Smith, Community Programs Director
• Assists low-income communities with initial planning and development of applications.
• USDA Rural Development has two programs providing pre-planning grants to assist communities:
• Water & Waste Disposal Predevelopment Planning Grant (PPG)
• Special Evaluation Assistance for Rural Communities (SEARCH)
• Purposes include: Predevelopment feasibility studies, engineering assistance, and technical assistance for environmental studies. Funds can be used to pay for costs associated with submitting a Rural Development application such as;
• Developing the Preliminary Engineering Reports (PER)• Conduct environmental studies/report (ER)
Pre-Development Planning Grants
Projects include the Construction, Repair, Modification, Expansion or Improvement of:
• Drinking water facilities: sourcing, treatment, storage tanks and distribution/pumping stations
• Sewer facilities: collection, transmission, treatment and disposal
• Solid waste facilities: collection, disposal and closure
• Storm water facilities: collection, transmission and disposal.
Pre-Development Planning Grants
Eligibility Requirements:
• An applicant must be:• A public body
• A Not-for-profit organization
• Native American tribe or Federal or State reservation or other Federally recognized tribes.
• Applicant must be in rural areas (Town/Village/City) with populations of 10,000 or less.
• Other credit – Applicant unable to finance the project from their own resources or through commercial credit at reasonable rates and terms.
Pre-Development Planning Grants
• PPG Program
• Eligible areas include rural towns/cities/villages with a 2010 population of 10,000 or less
• Eligible Entities must have a 2010 Median Household Income (MHI) less than ($45,506)
• Maximum grant amount is $30,000 or 75% of predevelopment planning costs - Applicant is responsible for the 25% matching contribution from their own resources
• SEARCH Program
• Eligible areas include rural towns/cities/villages with a 2010 population of 2,500 or less
• Eligible Entities must have a 2010 Median Household Income (MHI) less than ($45,506)
• Maximum grant amount is $30,000 or 100% of predevelopment planning costs
PPG & SEARCH Program Details
• Grants are limited to projects the Agency expects to fund soon after the application is submitted, and preference will be given to applicants that will be submitting an application to Rural Development.
• Applicants must demonstrate they do not have funds available in their General Fund or Enterprise Fund to pay for the cost of completing the project. If the community has funds available, they must be designated for other purposes via a board resolution or plan provided by the municipality that shows the funds are needed for other projects.
• Eligible pre-development items funded must be agreed to and accepted by Rural Development prior to disbursement of the grant funds.
• The grant funds cannot be used to pay for work already completed.
PPG & SEARCH Program Details
• All Applications submitted via RD Apply online application system
• Safe and secure - available 24/7• Faster processing with less paper• Must have Level 2 eAuth access. • Mayor or Supervisor must have the
Representative-Signature-Certify Role and they must complete the certifications and submit the application.
• Any questions on roles please contact the local office that serves your area or email me.
RD Apply
RD Apply - Documents
Items required for your online application submission:
• Letter of Intent to File an Application
• Project Narrative and Cost – executed agreement with the consultant doing the work and it must separate the costs if you are asking for funds to do both the preliminary engineering report and environmental report
• 3 years historical – this would be the most recent 2 AUDs submitted to NYS for public bodies or audits for NFP
• If financials are over 90 days old, we will need a current balance sheet submitted with the application
• If you have cash available in General or Enterprise Fund you will need to submit documentation of the uses of these funds to document, why they cannot be used for the project funding (above and beyond the required 25% match for the PPG financing).
FY 2020 Funding
Fiscal Year 2020 Funding:
Pre-Development Planning Grants PPG 5 $112,500
SEARCH Grants 5 $115,400
Total Pre-Planning Grants 10 $227,900
FY2021 allocation is up to 1% of our grant allocation which is approximately $90,000 for PPG and SEARCH grant programs
Area Office Contact InformationBatavia Service Center - Voice: (585) 343-9167, ext. 4
Bath Service Center - Voice: (607) 776-7398, ext. 4
Canandaigua Service Center - Voice: (585) 394 0525 ext. 4
Canton Service Center - Voice: (315) 386-2401, ext. 4
Cortland Service Center – Voice: (607) 753-0851 x4
Watertown Service Center - Voice: (315) 782-7289, ext. 4
Marcy Service Center - Voice: (315) 736-3316, ext. 4
Greenwich Service Center - Voice: (518) 692-9940, ext. 4
Schoharie Service Center - Voice: (518) 295-8600, ext. 4
Middletown Service Center - Voice: (845) 343-1872, ext. 4
