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Rural, Small and Tribal Clean Water Technical Assistance Grant Program is sponsored by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This program provides grant funding for technical assistance providers to help small, rural, and Tribal communities address wastewater infrastructure challenges to protect human health and comply with the Clean Water Act.
The assistance focuses on improving small wastewater system operations and management practices.
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Training and Technical Assistance (TA) Program for Rural, Small, and Tribal Wastewater Systems | US EPA Training and Technical Assistance (TA) Program for Rural, Small, and Tribal Wastewater Systems How to Request Technical Assistance Grant Announcement - Open through August 14, 2026 On June 17, 2026, EPA announced the availability of $25.
5 million in new technical assistance funding under the Clean Water Act to help small, rural, and Tribal communities address wastewater and water quality challenges. EPA’s Great American Comeback prioritizes clean water for all Americans and economic prosperity. The funding opportunity will remain open through August 14, 2026, on Grants.
gov - Funding Opportunity Number (FON): EPA-OW-OWM-26-01 ( https://simpler. grants. gov/opportunity/825ee53e-5178-4ec1-95ed-d6fabde2dd5a ).
Selections for the Rural, Small, and Tribal Wastewater Technical Assistance Grant Program will be made in: Priority Area 1: Acquisition of Financing and Funding. These applicants will help rural, small, and Tribal communities plan for and access funding from federal EPA infrastructure programs and other sources. Priority Area 2: Protection of Water Quality and Compliance Assistance.
This funding will help rural, small, and Tribal communities improve their technical, managerial, and financial capacity and maintain compliance. Priority Area 3: Tribal Wastewater Systems. This area provides training and technical assistance to Tribes across all areas of their clean water infrastructure.
Priority Area 4: Decentralized Wastewater Systems. More than one in five households in the United States rely on septic systems and other decentralized systems, and this priority area focuses on assistance to communities with those systems. For more information, see frequently asked questions related to this funding opportunity.
View EPA's News Release . The Clean Water Rural, Small, and Tribal Technical Assistance (RST TA) grant program was authorized by the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 and codified under Section 104(b)(8) of the Clean Water Act.
The program provides technical assistance and training to support rural, small and Tribal wastewater system operations and management practices, making them more effective and supporting EPA’s mission to protect public health and the environment.
The Clean Water RST technical assistance providers: Assist rural, small, and Tribal municipalities and governments in securing financing and funding they need to support infrastructure improvements, and Support rural, small, and Tribal wastewater treatment systems – centralized and decentralized – build their technical, managerial, and financial capacity to operate their systems well, protect water quality, and maintain compliance.
Services are available to municipalities and treatment systems nationally in all 50 states, the U.S. territories, and for Tribes. On April 29, 2025, EPA announced the selection of six organizations to receive a total of $49 million in technical assistance funding under the Clean Water Act. This funding is designated to assist communities in addressing critical challenges related to wastewater management and water quality.
Priority Area 1 - Acquisition of Financing and Funding: These applicants will help rural, small, and Tribal communities plan for and access funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and other sources.
Rural Community Assistance Partnership National Rural Water Association Southwest Environmental Finance Center Priority Area 2 - Protection of Water Quality and Compliance Assistance: This funding will help rural, small, and Tribal communities improve their technical, managerial, and financial capacity and maintain compliance.
Rural Community Assistance Partnership National Rural Water Association Southwest Environmental Finance Center Priority Area 3 - Tribal Wastewater Systems: This area provides training and technical assistance to tribes across all areas of their Clean Water Infrastructure.
Rural Community Assistance Partnership Priority Area 4 - Decentralized Wastewater Systems: More than one in five households in the United States rely on septic systems and other decentralized systems, and this priority area focuses on assistance to those communities.
Rural Community Assistance Partnership National Rural Water Association Pacific International Center for High Technology Research For more information, please review the following resources: Frequent Questions for Training and Technical Assistance Grant (pdf) FY 2024 Training and Technical Assistance Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) How to Request Technical Assistance Communities may request technical assistance support through the EPA’s Water Technical Assistance (WaterTA) Request Form .
Communities may also directly contact the current RST TA grantees to request training and technical assistance: Rural Community Assistance Partnership National Rural Water Association Southwest Environmental Finance Center Hudson Valley Regional Council Tennessee Water Resources New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center Des Moines Area Community College Alaska Water Infrastructure Finance Navigation Center Pacific International Center for High Technology Research View past grant competitions and awardees .
Clean Water Rural, Small, and Tribal Technical Assistance Program Fact Sheet 2024-2025 (pdf) Small and Rural Wastewater Systems Contact Us About Small and Rural Wastewater Systems Contact Us About Small and Rural Wastewater Systems to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem. Last updated on June 17, 2026
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Technical assistance providers who can help small, rural, and Tribal communities. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
Applications for Rural, Small and Tribal Clean Water Technical Assistance Grant Program are due August 14, 2026. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, and final submission checks.
Rural, Small and Tribal Clean Water Technical Assistance Grant Program is funded by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Start from the official opportunity page linked in this listing — it carries the sponsor's submission instructions.
Past winners and funding trends for this program
Conservation Partners Program is sponsored by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) in partnership with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), The J.M. Smucker Co., PepsiCo, General Mills, Cargill, Nestlé, Walmart, and Sam's Club. The Conservation Partners Program funds locally-led projects that provide technical assistance to agricultural producers to adopt regenerative agriculture systems and conservation practices.
Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania (RISE PA) Grant Program is sponsored by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) via Pennsylvania State University. This program offers grants for small-, medium-, and large-scale decarbonization projects at industrial facilities to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) and co-pollutant emissions by promoting investment into emissions reduction equipment and technology and energy efficiency upgrades.
On June 29, 2026, EPA announced it will waive the $25,000 WIFIA application fee and the credit processing fee — averaging roughly $156,000 per loan — for communities of 25,000 or fewer residents in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Combined, that removes nearly $200,000 in upfront cost from the single most affordable federal water-infrastructure financing program, which carries roughly $11 billion in available capacity and can cover up to 80% of eligible project costs at Treasury-rate pricing. For small towns, rural utilities, and the nonprofits and districts that serve them, this is a rare instance of the federal government lowering the barrier to a program that has historically been out of reach for exactly the communities that need it most. Here is what changed, who qualifies, and how to move on a letter of interest before the window closes.
Read articleFor FY2026 and FY2027, EPA is waiving the $25,000 WIFIA application fee and the ~$156,000 credit-processing fee for water systems serving 25,000 or fewer people — a near-$200,000 discount on access to an $11 billion pool of low-cost federal financing. The waiver removes the single barrier that kept small and rural utilities out of WIFIA for a decade. Here is how WIFIA actually works, who qualifies, why the letter of interest is the real gate, and how a town of 8,000 should think about a program built for billion-dollar projects.
Read articleFor FY2026 and FY2027, EPA is waiving the WIFIA application and credit-processing fees for communities of 25,000 or fewer — saving nearly $200,000 per loan — against roughly $11 billion in flexible financing that covers up to 80 percent of project costs. Here is why WIFIA has been underused by small systems, how the loan actually works, and how a rural utility should build a WIFIA strategy in 2026.
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