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U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service

Water and Waste Technical Assistance and Training Grants

Federal program · program number 10.761 (the federal Assistance Listing number) · also called “Water & Waste Disposal TAT Grants”

Key facts

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1 grant
Type of help
Project grant
Typical award
$100,000 to $8,500,000. Average: $1,492,821.

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What it pays for

Annual TAT - To identify and evaluate solutions to water and waste disposal problems in rural areas; to assist applicants in preparing applications made in accordance with 7 CFR 1780; to improve operation and maintenance of water and waste disposal facilities in rural areas. Technical Assistance and Training for Innovative Regional Wastewater Treatment Solutions (TAT/RWTS) - to identify and evaluate economically feasible innovative regional solutions to wastewater treatment concerns for historically impoverished communities in areas which have had difficulty installing traditional wastewater treatment systems due to soil conditions. The Calendar Year (CY) 2022 Disaster Circuit Rider Technical Assistance (CRTA) GRANTS PROGRAM (this is the program title) provides grant funds to qualified organizations for providing on-site technical assistance on a national basis to help eligible communities mitigate damage caused by CY 2022 Presidentially declared disasters. Funds can be used to identify and evaluate solutions to impacted water, wastewater, stormwater and solid waste challenges, help communities develop and prepare applications for related loans and grants, deliver training and other resources to operators, managers, and other system personnel, and pay certain expenses associated with the provision of such services. In accordance with the industry standards, the term �water� is inclusive of all water resource infrastructure, such as drinking water, wastewater, storm drainage, and solid waste facilities.

Who can apply

Annual TAT - Eligible entities must be private nonprofit organizations. Applicants must have proven ability, background, experience, legal authority and actual capacity to provide technical assistance and/or training on a regional basis to associations. TAT/RWTS - Eligible entities must be consortiums (regional institutions of higher education, academic health and research institutes or economic development entities, or combination thereof, located in the region identified to be served that have experience in addressing these issues in the region). Applicants must have proven ability, background, experience, legal authority and actual capacity to provide technical assistance .

How applications are judged

Assistance will be directed to those applicants who: (1) have demonstrated ability to provide technical assistance and/or training to rural associations; (2) propose to serve multi-state, regional, or nationwide areas; (3) maximize use of grant funds for direct staffing of activities that are delivered to the associations; and (4) the population of the associations served have low income.

Match

None required (federal program listing).

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal year 2025: Training and hands on technical assistance to small water system operators in rural communities. Provide Geographic Information System (GIS) services to rural communities for effective operations, asset management, and emergency response. Help rural communities prepare applications for water and waste disposal loan and grants.

Who in Tennessee has won this program

2 awards to Tennessee groups since 2022 · 0 in Blount County. Largest shown:

Past Tennessee winners
Past winnerWhereAmountFiscal year
United South and Eastern Tribes, IncNashville, Davidson County$1.1M spent that year2023
Tennessee Association of Utility DistrictsMurfreesboro, Rutherford County$502K spent that year2025

Source: Federal Audit Clearinghouse.

Tennessee groups that got this money through Tennessee Department of Agriculture

This federal money also reaches local groups as pass-through grants. In Tennessee, Tennessee Department of Agriculture passes it on: watch that agency for applications, not the federal agency. 16 pass-through grants on file · 0 in Blount County. Largest shown:

Tennessee pass-through grant winners
Past winnerWhereThroughAmountFiscal year
Tennessee Association of Utility DistrictsMurfreesboro, Rutherford CountyNational Rural Water Association$613K spent that year2023
Chattanooga Area Reg Council of Governments/Se TN Development DistrictChattanooga, Hamilton CountyTennessee Department of Agriculture$145K spent that year2023
Tennessee Association of Utility DistrictsMurfreesboro, Rutherford CountyNational Rural Water Association$139K2025
Chattanooga Area Regional Council of GovernmentsChattanooga, Marion CountyU.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Housing Service$139K spent that year2025
Tennessee Association of Utility DistrictsMurfreesboro, Rutherford CountyNational Rural Water Association$138K2024
Tennessee Association of Utility DistrictsMurfreesboro, Rutherford CountyNational Rural Water Association$138K2025
Tennessee Association of Utility DistrictsMurfreesboro, Rutherford CountyNational Rural Water Association$129K2024
Tennessee Association of Utility DistrictsMurfreesboro, Rutherford CountyNational Rural Water Association$129K2025
Tennessee Association of Utility DistrictsMurfreesboro, Rutherford CountyNational Rural Water Association$120K2025
Tennessee Association of Utility DistrictsMurfreesboro, Rutherford CountyNational Rural Water Association$120K2024
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox CountyWest Virginia University Research Corporation$70K2024
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox CountyWest Virginia University Research Corporation$68K2025

Source: USAspending.gov pass-through reports (the first recipient reports each one of $30,000 or more).

Official program listing (SAM.gov) Program website