CFR - Title 7 part 1775

§ 1774.18

7 CFR Ch. XVII (1–1–13 Edition)

are financing less than 100 percent of
the project. Funds remaining may be
considered in direct proportion to the
amounts obtained from each source.
Remaining funds will be handled as follows:
(1) Remaining funds may be used for
eligible grant purposes as described in
1774.14 of this subpart, or
(2) Grant funds not expended will be
canceled. Prior to the actual cancellation, the borrower, its attorney and its
engineer will be notified of RUS’ intent
to cancel the remaining funds.
§ 1774.18 Reporting requirements, accounting methods and audits.
All Agency grantees will follow the
reporting requirements as outlined in 7
CFR 1780.47.
§ 1774.19 Applications determined ineligible.
If at any time an application is determined ineligible, the processing office
will notify the applicant in writing of
the reasons. The notification to the applicant will state that an appeal of this
decision may be made by the applicant
under 7 CFR part 11.
§ 1774.20 Conflict of Interest.
Any processing or servicing activity
conducted pursuant to this part involving authorized assistance to Rural Development employees with Water and
Environmental
Programs
responsibility, members of their families,
known close relatives, or business or
close personal associates, is subject to
the provisions of subpart D of part 1900
of this title. Applicants of this assistance are required to identify any
known relationship or association with
an RUS employee.
§§ 1774.21–1774.23

[Reserved]

§ 1774.24 Exception authority.
The Administrator may, in individual cases, make an exception to any
requirement or provision of this part
which is not inconsistent with the authorizing statute or other applicable
law and is determined to be in the Government’s interest. Requests for exceptions must be made in writing by the
State Director and supported with documentation to explain the adverse ef-

fect on the Government’s interest, propose alternative course(s) of action,
and show how the adverse affect will be
eliminated or minimized if the exception is granted. The exception decision
will be documented in writing, signed
by the Administrator, and retained in
the files.
§§ 1774.25–1774.99

[Reserved]

§ 1774.100 OMB Control Number.
The information collection requirements in this part will not be effective
until approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), subject to the
submission of a paperwork package to
OMB and assigned an OMB Control
Number.

PART 1775—TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE GRANTS
Subpart A—General Provisions
Sec.
1775.1 General.
1775.2 Definitions.
1775.3 Availability of forms and regulations.
1775.4 Allocation of funds.
1775.5 Limitations.
1775.6 Equal opportunity requirements.
1775.7 Environmental requirements.
1775.8 Other Federal Statutes.
1775.9 OMB control number.

Subpart B—Grant Application Processing
1775.10 Applications.
1775.11 Priority.
1775.12 Grant processing.
1775.13 Grant agreement.
1775.14–1775.17 [Reserved]
1775.18 Fund disbursement.
1775.19 Grant
cancellation
or
major
changes.
1775.20 Reporting.
1775.21 Audit or financial statements.
1775.22 [Reserved]
1775.23 Grant servicing.
1775.24 Delegation of authority.
1775.25–1775.30 [Reserved]

Subpart C—Technical Assistance and
Training Grants
1775.31 Authorization.
1775.32 [Reserved]
1775.33 Objectives.
1775.34 Source of funds.
1775.35 Eligibility.
1775.36 Purpose.
1775.37 Allocation of funds.
1775.38–1775.60 [Reserved]

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Rural Utilities Service, USDA

§ 1775.5

Subpart D—Solid Waste Management
Grants
1775.61 Authorization.
1775.62 [Reserved]
1775.63 Objectives.
1775.64 [Reserved]
1775.65 Eligibility.
1775.66 Purpose.
1775.67 Allocation of funds.
1775.68 Exception authority.
1775.69–1775.99 [Reserved]
AUTHORITY: 5 U.S.C. 301; 7 U.S.C. 1989; 16
U.S.C. 1005.
SOURCE: 70 FR 70878, Jan. 7, 2004, unless
otherwise noted.

Subpart A—General Provisions
§ 1775.1

General.

This subpart sets forth the general
policies and procedures for the Technical Assistance and Training and the
Solid Waste Management Grant Programs. Any processing or servicing activity conducted pursuant to this part
involving authorized assistance to
Rural Development employees with
Water and Environmental Program responsibility, members of their families,
known close relatives, or business or
close personal associates, is subject to
the provisions of subpart D of part 1900
of this title. Applicants for this assistance are required to identify any
known relationship or association with
an RUS employee.
§ 1775.2

Definitions.

The following definitions apply to
subparts A through D of this part.
Association. An entity, including a
small city or town, that is eligible for
RUS Water and Waste Disposal financial assistance in accordance with 7
CFR 1780.7 (a).
Approval official. Any individual with
administrative and legal responsibility
for Rural Development programs.
DUNS Number. Data Universal Numbering System number obtained from
Dun and Bradstreet and used when applying for Federal grants or cooperative agreements. A DUNS number may
be obtained at no cost, by calling 1–866–
705–5711.
Grant agreement. RUS Guide 1775–1.
The agreement outlines the terms and
conditions of the grant awards and es-

tablishes the guidelines for administering the grant awards.
Grantee. The entity or organization
receiving financial assistance directly
from the RUS to carry out the project
or program under these programs.
Low Income. Median household income (MHI) below 100 percent of the
statewide non-metropolitan median
household income (SNMHI).
Regional. A multi-State area or any
multi-jurisdictional area within a
State.
Rural area. Any area not in a city or
town with a population in excess of
10,000, according to the latest decennial
census of the United States.
RUS. The Rural Utilities Service, an
Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture.
Solid Waste Management. Refers to the
operations, maintenance and the recycling of materials disposed of in landfills.
State. Any of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico, the Territory of Guam,
the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, the Federated States
of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau,
and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Technical
Assistance.
Supervision,
oversight, or training by an organization for the practical solution of a
problem or need of an association as
defined in this section.
§ 1775.3 Availability of forms and regulations.
Information about the forms, instructions, regulations, bulletins, OMB
Circulars, Treasury Circulars, standards, documents and publications cited
in this part is available from any
UDSA/Rural Development Office or the
Rural Utilities Service, United States
Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250–1500.
§ 1775.4

Allocation of funds.

The National Office of the Rural Utilities Service will administer grant
funds and will allocate them on a competitive basis.
§ 1775.5

Limitations.

Grant funds may not be used to:

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§ 1775.6

7 CFR Ch. XVII (1–1–13 Edition)

(a) Duplicate current services or replace or substitute support normally
provided by other means, such as those
performed by an association’s consultant in developing a project, including
feasibility, design, and cost estimates.
(b) Fund political or lobbying activities.
(c) Purchase real estate or vehicles,
improve or renovate office space, or repair and maintain privately owned
property.
(d) Pay the costs for construction,
improvement, rehabilitation, modification, or operation and maintenance of
water, wastewater, and solid waste disposal facilities.
(e) Construct or furnish a building.
(f) Intervene in the Federal regulatory or adjudicatory proceedings.
(g) Sue the Federal Government or
any other government entities.
(h) Pay for any other costs that are
not allowable under OMB Circular A–
87, OMB Circular A–110, OMB Circular
A–102 or OMB Circular A–122.
(i) Make contributions or donations
to others.
(j) Fund projects that duplicate technical assistance given to implement action plans under the National ForestDependent Rural Communities Economic Diversification Act of 1990 (7
U.S.C. 6613). Applicants cannot receive
both grants made under this part and
grants that the Forest Service makes
to implement the action plans for five
continuous years from the date of
grant approval by the Forest Service.
(1) The Forest Service helps rural
communities that are dependent upon
national forest resources diversify existing industries and economies. It establishes rural forestry and economic
diversification action teams that prepare technical assistance plans for
these rural communities to expand
their local economies and reduce their
dependence on national forest resources. The Forest Service provides
assistance to implement the action
plans through grants, loans, cooperative agreements, or contracts.
(2) To avoid duplicate assistance, applicants must contact the Forest Service to find out if any geographical
areas or local areas in a State have received grants for technical assistance
to an economically disadvantaged com-

munity. These areas are defined as national forest-dependent communities
under 7 U.S.C. 6612. Applicants will provide documentation to the Forest Service and Rural Utilities Service that
they have contacted each agency.
(k) To pay an outstanding judgment
obtained by the United States in a Federal Court (other than in the United
States Tax Court), which has been recorded. An applicant will be ineligible
to receive a loan or grant until the
judgment is paid in full or otherwise
satisfied.
(l) Recruit applications for the RUS’s
water and waste loan or any other loan
or grant program. Grant funds cannot
be used to create new business; however, they can be used to assist with
application preparation.
§ 1775.6 Equal opportunity requirements.
The policies and regulations contained in subpart E of part 1901 of this
title apply to grants made under this
part.
§ 1775.7 Environmental requirements.
The policies and regulations contained in part 1794 of this title apply to
grants made for the purposes in
§§ 1775.36 and 1775.66.
§ 1775.8 Other Federal statutes.
Other Federal statutes and regulations are applicable to grants awarded
under this part. These include but are
not limited to:
(a) 7 CFR part 1, subpart A—USDA
implementation of Freedom of Information Act.
(b) 7 CFR part 3—USDA implementation of OMB Circular No. A–129 regarding debt collection.
(c) 7 CFR part 15, subpart A—USDA
implementation of Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, as amended.
(d) 7 CFR part 1794, RUS Implementation of the National Environmental
Policy Act.
(e) 7 CFR part 1901, subpart E—Civil
Rights Compliance Requirements.
(f) 7 CFR part 3015—Uniform Federal
Assistance Regulations.
(g) 7 CFR part 3016—USDA Implementation of OMB Circular Nos. A–102
and A–97, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative

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Rural Utilities Service, USDA

§ 1775.10

Agreements to State and Local Governments.
(h) 7 CFR part 3017, as amended—
Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Non-procurement); Government-wide Requirements for Drug-Free
Workplace (Grants), implementing Executive Order 12549 on debarment and
suspension and the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 (41 U.S.C. 701).
(i) 7 CFR part 3018—Restrictions on
Lobbying, prohibiting the use of appropriated funds to influence Congress or
a Federal agency in connection with
the making of any Federal grant and
other Federal contracting and financial transactions.
(j) 7 CFR part 3019—USDA implementation of OMB Circular A–110, Uniform
Administrative
Requirements
for
Grants and Agreements With Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals,
and Other Nonprofit Organizations.
(k) 7 CFR part 3052—USDA implementation of OMB Circular No. A–133
regarding audits of institutions of
higher education and other nonprofit
institutions.
(l) 29 U.S.C. 794, section 504—Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and 7 CFR part
15B (USDA implementation of statute),
prohibiting discrimination based upon
physical or mental handicap in Federally assisted programs.
§ 1775.9

OMB control number.

The information collection requirements contained in this part have been
approved by the Office of Management
and Budget and have been assigned
OMB control number 0572–0112.

Subpart B—Grant Application
Processing
§ 1775.10

Applications.

(a) Filing period. Applications may be
filed on or after October 1 and must be
received by close of business or postmarked by midnight December 31. If an
application is received either before
October 1 or after December 31, the receiving office will return it to the applicant.
(b) Where to file. (1) An applicant will
apply to the appropriate State Office of
Rural Development if the project will
serve a single state.

(2) An applicant will apply to the National Office if the project will serve
multiple states. The application must
be submitted to the following address:
Assistant Administrator, Water and
Environmental Programs, Rural Utilities Service, Washington, DC 20250–
1570.
(3) Electronic applications will be accepted prior to the filing deadline
through the Federal Government’s
eGrants Web site (Grants.gov) at http://
www.grants.gov. Applicants should refer
to instructions found on the Grants.gov
Web site to submit an electronic application. A DUNS number and a Central
Contractor Registry (CCR) registration
is required prior to electronic submission. The sign-up procedures, required
by Grants.gov, may take several business days to complete.
(c) Application requirements. To file an
application, an organization must provide their DUNS number. An organization may obtain a DUNS number from
Dun and Bradstreet by calling (1–866–
705–5711). To file a complete application, the following information should
be submitted:
(1) Standard Form 424, ‘‘Application
for Federal Assistance (For Non-Construction).’’
(2) Standard Form 424A & B, ‘‘Budget
Information—Non-Construction
Programs.’’
(3) Form AD–1047, ‘‘Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and
Other Responsibility Matters—Primary
Covered Transaction.’’
(4) Form AD 1049, ‘‘Certification Regarding Drug-Free Workplace Requirements (Grants) Alternative I—For
Grantees Other Than Individuals.’’
(5) Form AD 1048, ‘‘Certification Regarding Debarment.’’
(6) Attachment regarding assistance
provided to Rural Development Employees as required by RD Instruction
1900–D.
(7) Form RD 400–4, ‘‘Assurance Agreement.’’
(8) Form RD 400–1, ‘‘Equal Opportunity Agreement.’’
(9) Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if
applicable, applicant must include approved cost agreement rate schedule).
(10) Statement of Compliance for
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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§ 1775.11

7 CFR Ch. XVII (1–1–13 Edition)

(11) SF LLL, ‘‘Disclosure of Lobbying
Activities’’ (include only if grant is
over $100,000).
(12) Certification regarding Forest
Service grant.
(d) Supporting information. All applications shall be accompanied by:
(1) Evidence of applicant’s legal existence and authority in the form of:
(i) Certified copies of current authorizing and organizational documents for
new applicants or former grantees
where changes were made since the last
legal opinion was obtained in conjunction with receipt of an RUS grant, or,
certification that no changes have been
made in authorizing or organizing documents since receipt of last RUS grant
by applicant.
(ii) Current annual corporation report, Certificate of Good Standing, or
statement they are not required.
(iii) For public nonprofits, Certificate
of Continued Status from local attorney (if applicable).
(iv) Certified list of directors/officers
with their respective terms.
(2) Evidence of tax exempt status
from the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS), if applicable.
(3) Narrative of applicant’s experience in providing services similar to
those proposed. Provide brief description of successfully completed projects
including the need that was identified
and objectives accomplished.
(4) Latest financial information to
show the applicant’s financial capacity
to carry out the proposed work. A current audit report is preferred, however
applicants can submit a balance sheet
and an income statement in lieu of an
audit report.
(5) List of proposed services to be
provided.
(6) Estimated breakdown of costs (direct and indirect) including those to be
funded by grantee as well as other
sources. Sufficient detail should be
provided to permit the approval official
to determine reasonableness, applicability, and allowability.
(7) Evidence that a Financial Management System is in place or proposed.
(8) Documentation on each of the priority ranking criteria listed in § 1775.11
as follows:

(i) List of the associations to be
served and the State or States where
assistance will be provided. Identify associations by name, or other characteristics such as size, income, location,
and provide MHI and population.
(ii) Description of the type of technical assistance and/or training to be
provided and the tasks to be contracted.
(iii) Description of how the project
will be evaluated and provide clearly
stated goals and the method proposed
to measure the results that will be obtained.
(iv) Documentation of need for proposed service. Provide detailed explanation of how the proposed services differ from other similar services being
provided in the same area.
(v) Personnel on staff or to be contracted to provide the service and their
experience with similar projects.
(vi) Statement indicating the number
of months it takes to complete the
project or service.
(vii) Documentation on cost effectiveness of project. Provide the cost
per association to be served or proposed cost of personnel to provide assistance.
(viii) Other factors for consideration,
such as emergency situation, training
need identified, health or safety problems, geographic distribution, Rural
Development Office recommendations,
etc.
§ 1775.11

Priority.

The application and supporting information will be used to determine the
applicant’s priority for available funds.
All applications will be reviewed and
scored for funding priority in accordance with RUS Guide 1775–2. Points
will be given only for factors that are
well documented in the application
package and, in the opinion of the
RUS, meet the objective outlined under
each factor. The following is a listing
of the criteria that will be used to select the applications that meet the objectives of the technical assistance program.
(a) Projects proposing to give priority for available services to rural
communities having a population less
than 5,500 and/or below 2,500.

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Rural Utilities Service, USDA

§ 1775.12

(b) Projects proposing to give priority for available services to low income communities.
(c) Projects that will provide assistance in a multi-State area.
(d) Points will be awarded for work
plans that clearly describe the goals
and objectives of the project, how they
will be accomplished in targeted communities, and what measurement of accomplishment will be used.
(e) Projects containing needs assessment (i.e. actual issue or problem
being addressed) clearly defined and
supported by data.
(f) Projects containing evaluation
methods that are specific to the activity, clearly defined, measurable, and
with projected outcomes.
(g) Applicants proposing to use at
least 75 percent of the total grant
amount for their own staff, or the staff
of an affiliated organization to provide
services for a project instead of contracting with an outside organization
for the services.
(h) Projects providing technical assistance/training that accomplish the
objective within a 12-month or less
timeframe.
(i) Projects primarily providing
‘‘hands on’’ technical assistance and
training, i.e., on-site assistance as opposed to preparation and distribution
of printed material, to communities
with existing water and waste systems
which are experiencing operation and
maintenance or management problems.
(j) Cash or in kind support of project
from non-federal sources.
(k) Ability to demonstrate sustainability of project without Federal financial support.
§ 1775.12

Grant processing.

(a) Single State applications. (1) Grant
applications submitted at the State
level will receive a letter acknowledging receipt and confirmation that
all information required for a full application was included in the packet.
The State will notify the applicant of
missing information. The applicant
will have 14 business days to respond.
(2) The State Office will review applications for eligibility. Those applicants
that are deemed ineligible will be notified. Applicants deemed eligible will be

forwarded to the National Office for
funding consideration.
(3) The National Office will review all
applications received from State Offices. Applications will compete on a
priority basis and will be scored and
ranked. The applications receiving the
highest scores and subject to the availability of funds will be selected for
final processing. The National Office
will send these applications back to the
State Office for processing. The State
Office will notify the applicant(s) that
they have been selected for funding.
(4) Applicants not selected for funding due to low priority rating shall be
notified by the State Office.
(b) National and multi-State applications. (1) National and multi-State applications submitted to the National
Office will receive a letter acknowledging receipt and confirmation that
all information required for a full application was included in the packet.
The National Office shall notify the applicant of missing information. The applicant will have 14 business days to respond.
(2) The National Office will review
applications for eligibility. Those applications that are deemed ineligible
will be notified. Applications deemed
eligible will be reviewed and given a
rating score. Applications receiving
the highest scores will be grouped with
those received from State Offices for
funding consideration.
(3) The National Office will review all
applications received. Applications will
compete on a priority basis and will be
scored and ranked. The applications receiving the highest scores and subject
to the availability of funds will be notified by the National Office that they
have been selected for funding. The National Office shall conduct final processing of multi-State and national applications.
(4) Multi-State and National applicants not selected for funding due to
low priority rating will be notified by
the National Office.
(c) Low priority applications. Applications that cannot be funded in the fiscal year received will not be retained
for consideration in the following fiscal
year and will be handled as outlined in
paragraph (a)(4) or (b)(4) of this section.

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§ 1775.13
§ 1775.13

7 CFR Ch. XVII (1–1–13 Edition)
Grant agreement.

Applicants selected for funding will
complete a grant agreement, RUS
Guide 1775–1, which outlines the terms
and conditions of the grant award.
§§ 1775.14–1775.17
§ 1775.18

[Reserved]

Fund disbursement.

Grantees will be reimbursed as follows:
(a) SF–270, ‘‘Request for Advance or
Reimbursement,’’ will be completed by
the grantee and submitted to either
the State or National Office not more
frequently than monthly.
(b) Upon receipt of a properly completed SF–270, the funds will be requested through the field office terminal system. Ordinarily, payment will
be made within 30 days after receipt of
a proper request for reimbursement.
(c) Grantees are encouraged to use
women- and minority-owned banks (a
bank which is owned at least 50 percent
by women or minority group members)
for the deposit and disbursement of
funds.
§ 1775.19 Grant cancellation or major
changes.
Any change in the scope of the
project, budget adjustments of more
than 10 percent of the total budget, or
any other significant change in the
project must be reported to and approved by the approval official by written amendment to RUS Guide 1775–1.
Any change not approved may be cause
for termination of the grant.
§ 1775.20

Reporting.

(a) Grantees shall constantly monitor performance to ensure that time
schedules are being met, projected
work by time periods is being accomplished, and other performance objectives are being achieved.
(b) SF–269, ‘‘Financial Status Report
(short form),’’ and a project performance activity report will be required of
all grantees on a quarterly basis, due 30
days after the end of each calendar
quarter.
(c) A final project performance report
will be required with the last SF–269
due 90 days after the end of the last
quarter in which the project is com-

pleted. The final report may serve as
the last quarterly report.
(d) All multi-State grantees are to
submit an original of each report to
the National Office. Grantees serving
only one State are to submit an original of each report to the State Office.
The project performance reports should
detail, preferably in a narrative format, activities that have transpired for
the specific time period and shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) A comparison of actual accomplishments to the objectives established for that period (i.e. number of
meetings held, number of people contacted, results of activity);
(2) Analysis of challenges or setbacks
that occurred during the grant period;
(3) Copies of fliers, news releases,
news articles, announcements and
other information used to promote
services or projects;
(4) Problems, delays, or adverse conditions which will affect attainment of
overall project objectives, prevent
meeting time schedules or objectives,
or preclude the attainment of particular project work elements during
established time periods. This disclosure shall be accompanied by a statement of the action taken or planned to
resolve the situation; and
(5) Activities planned for the next reporting period.
§ 1775.21 Audit or financial statements.
The grantee will provide an audit report or financial statements as follows:
(a) Grantees expending $500,000 or
more Federal funds per fiscal year will
submit an audit conducted in accordance with OMB Circular A–133. The
audit will be submitted within 9
months after the grantee’s fiscal year.
Additional audits may be required if
the project period covers more than
one fiscal year.
(b) Grantees expending less than
$500,000 will provide annual financial
statements covering the grant period,
consisting of the organization’s statement of income and expense and balance sheet signed by an appropriate official of the organization. Financial
statements will be submitted within 90
days after the grantee’s fiscal year.

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Rural Utilities Service, USDA
§ 1775.22

[Reserved]

§ 1775.23

Grant servicing.

§ 1775.36

Grants will be serviced in accordance
with RUS Guide 1775–1 and subpart E of
part 1951 of this title. When grants are
terminated for cause, 7 CFR part 11
will be followed.
§ 1775.24

Delegation of authority.

The authority under this part is redelegated to the Assistant Administrator, Water and Environmental Programs, except for the discretionary authority contained in §§ 1775.34 and
1775.68. The Assistant Administrator,
Water and Environmental Programs
may re-delegate the authority in this
part.
§§ 1775.25–1775.30

[Reserved]

Subpart C—Technical Assistance
and Training Grants
§ 1775.31

Authorization.

This subpart sets forth additional
policies and procedures for making
Technical Assistance and Training
(TAT) grants authorized under Section
306(a)(14)(A) of the Consolidated Farm
and Rural Development Act (CONACT)
(7 U.S.C. 1921 et seq., as amended.
§ 1775.32

[Reserved]

§ 1775.33

Objectives.

The objectives of the program are to:
(a) Identify and evaluate solutions to
water and waste problems in rural
areas.
(b) Assist applicants in preparing applications for water and waste disposal
loans/grants.
(c) Assist associations in improving
operation and maintenance of existing
water and waste facilities in rural
areas.
§ 1775.34

Source of funds.

Grants will be made from not less
than 1 percent or not more than 3 percent of any appropriations for grants
under Section 306(a)(2) of the CONACT.
Funds not obligated by September 1 of
each fiscal year will be used for water
and waste disposal grants made in accordance with part 1780 of this chapter.

§ 1775.35 Eligibility.
(a) Entities eligible for grants must
be private nonprofit organizations with
tax exempt status, designated by the
Internal Revenue Service. A nonprofit
organization is defined as any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or
other organization that:
(1) Is operated primarily for scientific, education, service, charitable,
or similar purposes in the public interest.
(2) Is not organized primarily for
profit.
(3) Uses its net proceeds to maintain,
improve, and/or expand its operations.
(b) Entities must be legally established and located within a state as defined in § 1775.2.
(c) Organizations must be incorporated by December 31 of the year the
application period occurs to be eligible
for funds.
(d) Private businesses, Federal agencies, public bodies, and individuals are
ineligible for these grants.
(e) Applicants must also have the
proven ability, background, experience
(as evidenced by the organization’s satisfactory completion of project(s) similar to those proposed), legal authority,
and actual capacity to provide technical assistance and/or training on a
regional basis to associations as provided in § 1775.33. To meet the requirement of actual capacity, an applicant
must either:
(1) Have the necessary resources to
provide technical assistance and/or
training to associations in rural areas
through its staff, or
(2) Be assisted by an affiliate or
member organization which has such
background and experience and which
agrees, in writing, that it will provide
the assistance, or
(3) Contract with a nonaffiliated organization for not more than 49 percent
of the grant to provide the proposed assistance.
§ 1775.36 Purpose.
Grants may be made to organizations
as defined in § 1775.35 to enable such organizations to assist associations to:
(a) Identify and evaluate solutions to
water problems of associations in rural
areas relating to source, storage, treatment, and/or distribution.

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§ 1775.37

7 CFR Ch. XVII (1–1–13 Edition)

(b) Identify and evaluate solutions to
waste problems of associations in rural
areas relating to collection, treatment,
and/or disposal.
(c) Prepare water and/or waste disposal loan/grant applications.
(d) Provide technical assistance/
training to association personnel that
will improve the management, operation, and maintenance of water and
waste facilities.
(e) Pay the expenses associated with
providing the technical assistance and/
or training authorized in paragraphs
(a) through (d) of this section.

§ 1775.64

[Reserved]

(iii) Uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve, and/or expand its operations.
(2) Public bodies.
(3) Federally acknowledged or Staterecognized Native American tribe or
group.
(4) Academic institutions.
(b) Entities must be legally established and located within a state as defined in § 1775.2.
(c) Organizations must be incorporated by December 31 of the year the
application period occurs to be eligible
for funds.
(d) Private businesses, Federal agencies, and individuals are ineligible for
these grants.
(e) Applicants must also have the
proven ability; background; experience,
as evidenced by the organization’s satisfactory completion of project(s) similar to those proposed; legal authority;
and actual capacity to provide technical assistance and/or training on a
regional basis to associations as provided in § 1775.63. To meet the requirement of actual capacity, an applicant
must either:
(1) Have the necessary resources to
provide technical assistance and/or
training to associations in rural areas
through its staff, or
(2) Be assisted by an affiliate or
member organization which has such
background and experience and which
agrees, in writing, that it will provide
the assistance, or
(3) Contract with a nonaffiliated organization for not more than 49 percent
of the grant to provide the proposed assistance.

§ 1775.65

Eligibility.

§ 1775.66

§ 1775.37

Allocation of funds.

At least 10 percent of available funds
will be used for funding single State
projects based on the priority criteria.
§§ 1775.38–1775.60

[Reserved]

Subpart D—Solid Waste
Management Grants
§ 1775.61

Authorization.

This subpart sets forth the policies
and procedures for making Solid Waste
Management (SWM) grants authorized
under section 310B of the CONACT.
§ 1775.62

[Reserved]

§ 1775.63

Objectives.

The objectives of the program are to:
(a) Reduce or eliminate pollution of
water resources, and
(b) Improve planning and management of solid waste sites.

(a) Entities eligible for grants must
be either:
(1) Private nonprofit organizations
with tax exempt status designated by
the Internal Revenue Service. A nonprofit organization is defined as any
corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that:
(i) Is operated primarily for scientific, education, service, charitable,
or similar purposes in the public interest.
(ii) Is not organized primarily for
profit.

Purpose.

Grants may be made to organizations
as defined in § 1775.65 to enable such organizations to assist associations to:
(a) Provide technical assistance and/
or training to reduce the solid waste
stream through reduction, recycling,
and reuse.
(b) Provide training to enhance operator skills in maintaining and operating active landfills.
(c) Provide technical assistance and/
or training for operators of landfills
which are closed or will be closed in
the near future with the development/

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Rural Utilities Service, USDA

§ 1776.3

implementation of closure plans, future land use plans, safety and maintenance planning, and closure scheduling
within permit requirements.
(d) Evaluate current landfill conditions to determine the threats to water
resources.
(e) Pay the expenses associated with
providing the technical assistance and/
or training authorized in paragraphs
(a) through (d) of this section.
§ 1775.67 Allocation of funds.
The maximum amount for a single
applicant for a Solid Waste Management project will be 25 percent of
available grant funds.
§ 1775.68 Exception authority.
The Administrator may, in individual cases, make an exception to any
requirement or provision of this part
which is not inconsistent with the authorizing statute or other applicable
law and is determined to be in the Government’s interest.
§§ 1775.69–1775.99

[Reserved]

PART 1776—HOUSEHOLD WATER
WELL SYSTEM GRANT PROGRAM
Subpart A—General
Sec.
1776.1 Purpose.
1776.2 Uniform Federal Assistance Provisions.
1776.3 Definitions.
1776.4 [Reserved]

Subpart B—HWWS Grants
1776.5
1776.6
1776.7
1776.8
1776.9
1776.10
1776.11
1776.12
1776.13

Eligibility to receive a HWWS grant.
Notice of availability of funds.
HWWS grant application process.
Methods for submitting applications.
Scoring applications.
Grant agreement.
Revolving loan fund.
Use of HWWS grant proceeds.
Administrative expenses.

Subpart C—HWWS Loans
1776.14 Eligibility to receive a HWWS loan.
1776.15 Terms of loans.
1776.16 Loan servicing.
1776.17 Revolving loan fund maintenance.
AUTHORITY: 7 U.S.C. 1926e.
SOURCE: 70 FR 28788, May 19, 2005, unless
otherwise noted.

Subpart A—General
§ 1776.1 Purpose.
This part sets forth the policies and
procedures for making grants to private, non-profit organizations to finance the construction, refurbishing
and servicing of individually-owned
household water well systems in rural
areas for individuals with low or moderate income.
§ 1776.2 Uniform Federal Assistance
Provisions.
(a) This program is subject to the
general provisions that apply to all
grants made by USDA and that are set
forth in 7 CFR Part 3015—Uniform Federal Assistance Regulations.
(b) This program is subject to the
uniform administrative requirements
that apply to all grants made by USDA
to non-profit organizations and that
are set forth in 7 CFR Part 3019—Uniform Administrative Requirements for
Grants And Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals,
and Other Non-Profit Organizations.
(c) This program is subject to OMB
Circular No. A–122 (Revised): Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations.
§ 1776.3 Definitions.
Administrative expenses means expenses incurred by a grant recipient
that are of the type more particularly
described in Section 13 of this part.
Applicant means a private, non-profit
organization that applies for a HWWS
grant under this part.
Centralized Servicing Center (CSC)
means the centralized loan servicing
center within the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development. CSC provides nationwide services for borrowers that have received
financing from Rural Development programs.
Construction means building or assembling a water well system or portion thereof, that is not a water well
system or portion thereof being constructed in connection with a new
building.
Eligible individual means an individual who is a member of a household
the members of which have a combined
income (for the most recent 12-month
period for which the information is

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