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Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§6949 Rural communities assistance

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 82— - SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER IV— - STATE OR REGIONAL SOLID WASTE PLANS › § 6949

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Administrator must give grants to states so they can help very small towns (5,000 people or less) and small counties (10,000 people or fewer, or fewer than 20 people per square mile and not in a metro area) pay for trash management sites and equipment needed to meet federal solid-waste, air, or water pollution rules. Help is allowed only when the town or county is too far to join a nearby urban waste system, when current or planned services won’t meet the rules, and when the state certifies the system fits state or area plans. Grants can pay up to 75% of a project’s cost, but not for buying land. Each year money is split among states using three population ratios (share of rural people, share of very low-density county people, and share of such counties with 33% or more families at or below 125% of poverty). Authorized amounts: $25,000,000 for 1978 and 1979; $10,000,000 for 1980; $15,000,000 for 1981 and 1982. The Denali Commission gets $1,500,000 per year for 2008–2012, is treated as a state, and must follow the same rules.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §6949

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Administrator shall make grants to States to provide assistance to municipalities with a population of five thousand or less, or counties with a population of ten thousand or less or less than twenty persons per square mile and not within a metropolitan area, for solid waste management facilities (including equipment) necessary to meet the requirements of section 6945 of this title or restrictions on open burning or other requirements arising under the Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.] or the Federal Water Pollution Control Act [33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.]. Such assistance shall only be available—
(1)to any municipality or county which could not feasibly be included in a solid waste management system or facility serving an urbanized, multijurisdictional area because of its distance from such systems;
(2)where existing or planned solid waste management services or facilities are unavailable or insufficient to comply with the requirements of section 6945 of this title; and
(3)for systems which are certified by the State to be consistent with any plans or programs established under any State or areawide planning process.
(b)The Administrator shall allot the sums appropriated to carry out this section in any fiscal year among the States in accordance with regulations promulgated by him on the basis of the average of the ratio which the population of rural areas of each State bears to the total population of rural areas of all the States, the ratio which the population of counties in each State having less than twenty persons per square mile bears to the total population of such counties in all the States, and the ratio which the population of such low-density counties in each State having 33 per centum or more of all families with incomes not in excess of 125 per centum of the poverty level bears to the total population of such counties in all the States.
(c)The amount of any grant under this section shall not exceed 75 per centum of the costs of the project. No assistance under this section shall be available for the acquisition of land or interests in land.
(d)There are authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1978 and 1979 to carry out this section. There are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for the fiscal year 1980 and $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1981 and 1982 to carry out this section.
(e)(1)There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section for the Denali Commission to provide assistance to municipalities in the State of Alaska $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.
(2)For the purpose of carrying out this subsection, the Denali Commission shall—
(A)be considered a State; and
(B)comply with all other requirements and limitations of this section.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Clean Air Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is act July 14, 1955, ch. 360, 69 Stat. 322, which is classified generally to chapter 85 (§ 7401 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 7401 of this title and Tables. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is act June 30, 1948, ch. 758, as amended generally by Pub. L. 92–500, § 2, Oct. 18, 1972, 86 Stat. 816, which is classified generally to chapter 26 (§ 1251 et seq.) of title 33, Navigation and Navigable Waters. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1251 of title 33 and Tables. Codification Pub. L. 110–234 and Pub. L. 110–246 made identical

Amendments

to this section. The

Amendments

by Pub. L. 110–234 were repealed by section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246.

Amendments

2008—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 110–246, § 6009(b), added subsec. (e). 1980—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 96–482 authorized appropriation of $10,000,000, $15,000,000, and $15,000,000 for fiscal years 1980, 1981, 1982, respectively.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2008 AmendmentAmendment of this section and repeal of Pub. L. 110–234 by Pub. L. 110–246 effective May 22, 2008, the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–234, see section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 8701 of Title 7, Agriculture.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

For transfer of certain

Enforcement

functions of Administrator or other official of Environmental Protection Agency under this chapter to Federal Inspector, Office of Federal Inspector for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, and subsequent transfer to Secretary of Energy, then to Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, see note set out under section 6903 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 6949

Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73