This bill revises and reauthorizes through FY2028 a program that provides financial assistance for rural water systems under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.
Under the existing program, the Department of Agriculture may provide grants to nonprofit organizations that in turn must provide subgrants and loans to individuals for household water well systems or individually owned household decentralized wastewater systems in rural areas.
This bill modifies the eligibility requirements for subgrants. To be eligible for a subgrant, an individual must be a member of a household with an annual combined income that is no more than 60% of the median nonmetropolitan household income for the area served by the nonprofit (currently, the state or territory in which the individual resides).
The bill also allows a subgrant for a household decentralized wastewater system to include sufficient additional funding to cover the cost of a performance warranty with a duration of at least five years.
In addition, the bill allows loans to be awarded to an individual who is a member of a household with an annual combined income that is 60% to 100% of the median nonmetropolitan household income for the area.