The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have announced the Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap Community Initiative, a partnership to provide wastewater sanitation to underserved communities.
The new initiative will be piloted in 11 communities across the country where residents lack basic wastewater management. EPA and USDA will jointly leverage technical assistance resources to help historically underserved communities identify and pursue federal funding opportunities to address their wastewater needs and eliminate harmful exposure to backyard sewage.
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan added, “The America that we all believe in is a land of opportunity. But, for historically marginalized communities from Alabama to Alaska, that opportunity is stolen when basic sanitation doesn’t work—exposing adults and children to backyard sewage and disease. By partnering with USDA and leveraging funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA is working to restore dignity and opportunity to rural communities here in Alabama and across the country.”
An estimated 2.2 million people in the United States lack basic running water and indoor plumbing. Many more live with wastewater infrastructure that is ineffective and puts people’s health at risk. The Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap Community Initiative aims to help these communities access financing and technical assistance to improve wastewater infrastructure.
EPA and USDA — in partnership with state, Tribal, and local partners — are launching the initiative in the following counties:
- Bolivar County, Mississippi;
- Doña Ana County and Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico;
- Duplin County, North Carolina;
- Greene County, Alabama;
- Halifax County, North Carolina;
- Harlan County, Kentucky;
- Lowndes County, Alabama;
- McDowell County, West Virginia;
- Raleigh County, West Virginia; and,
- San Carlos Apache Tribe, Arizona.
Each community or Tribe will receive direct support to address wastewater infrastructure shortcomings that have lasted generations, including developing wastewater assessments with technical engineering support, developing wastewater community solution plans, identifying and pursuing funding opportunities, and building long-term capacity.
Several of the communities chosen for this initiative are also participating in the Biden-Harris Administration’s recently announced Rural Partners Network. The USDA-led network brings together 20 federal agencies and regional commissions to help rural communities create economic opportunity by accessing resources and funding that match their unique needs and priorities.
