§6949 Rural Communities Assistance

Summary

The Administrator must give grants to States so very small towns (5,000 people or less) and some small counties (10,000 people or less, or under 20 people per square mile and not in a metropolitan area) can get the solid waste facilities and equipment they need. The help is for meeting federal waste rules or limits on burning and pollution under the Clean Air Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Grants are only for places that are too far to join urban waste systems, or where existing or planned services can’t meet the rules, and for projects the State approves as fitting its plans. Funds are divided among States using a formula that averages three shares: each State’s rural population share, its share of low-density county population, and its share of low-density counties where 33 percent or more of families have incomes at or below 125 percent of the poverty level. Grants can cover up to 75 percent of project costs and cannot be used to buy land. The law authorized $25,000,000 for 1978 and 1979, $10,000,000 for 1980, and $15,000,000 for 1981 and 1982. The Denali Commission may receive $1,500,000 per year for 2008–2012 to help Alaska and is treated like a State and must follow the same rules.