This part sets forth the policies and procedures for Rural Utilities Service making grants to private nonprofit organizations for the purpose of providing loans and subgrants to eligible individuals for the construction, refurbishing, and servicing of individually owned household water well systems and individually owned decentralized wastewater systems in rural areas that are or will be owned by the eligible individuals.

(a) This program is subject to the general provisions that apply to all grants made by USDA and that are set forth in 2 CFR part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, as adopted by USDA through 2 CFR part 400, as well as the following:

(1) 2 CFR part 415—General Program Administrative Requirements.

(2) 2 CFR part 180, as adopted by USDA through 2 CFR part 417, Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension, implementing Executive Order 12549 on debarment and suspension.

(3) 2 CFR part 418, New Restrictions on Lobbying, prohibiting the use of appropriated funds to influence Congress or a Federal agency in connection with the making of any Federal grant and other Federal contracting and financial transactions.

(4) 2 CFR part 421, Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Financial Assistance), implementing the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 (41 U.S.C 8102).

(b) [Reserved]

Administrative expenses means expenses incurred by a grant recipient that are of the type more particularly described in Section 13 of this part.

Applicant means a private, non-profit organization that applies for a DWS grant under this part.

Centralized Servicing Center (CSC) means the centralized loan servicing center within the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development. CSC provides nationwide services for borrowers that have received financing from Rural Development programs.

Construction means building or assembling a water well system or portion thereof, that is not a water well system or portion thereof being constructed in connection with a new building.

Contamination means any physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance of matter in water, either exceeding or having potential to exceed State or Federal standards.

Decentralized Water System (DWS) means either a household water well or a septic system. This definition also includes decentralized wastewater systems which are onsite or clustered systems used to collect, treat, and disperse or reclaim wastewater from a small community or service area.

Eligible individual means an individual who is a member of a household the members of which have a combined income (for the most recent 12-month period for which the information is available) that is not more than 60 percent of the median nonmetropolitan household income for the State or territory in which the individual resides, according to 5-year income data from the American Community Survey (ACS) or, if needed, other Census Bureau data. If there is reason to believe that the ACS or other Census Bureau data does not accurately represent the median nonmetropolitan household income for the State or territory in which the individual resides, the reasons will be documented and the applicant may furnish, or RD may obtain, additional information regarding such median household income data. Information must consist of reliable data from local, regional, State or Federal sources or from a survey conducted by a reliable impartial source.

Funding opportunity announcement (FOA) means a publicly available document by which a Federal agency makes know its intentions to award discretionary grants or cooperative agreements, usually as a result of competition for funds. FOA announcements may be known as program announcements, notices of funding availability, solicitations, or other names depending on the agency and type of program. FOA announcements can be found at www.Grants.gov in the Search Grants tab and on the funding agency's or program's website.

Grant agreement means the contract between RUS and the grant recipient which sets forth the terms and conditions governing a particular grant awarded under this part.

Grant recipient means an applicant that has been awarded a DWS grant under this part.

Loan recipient means an eligible individual who has received a DWS loan.

Refurbishing means to renovate or to restore a water well system or portion thereof to near new condition.

Revolved funds means the cash portion of the revolving loan fund that is not composed of DWS grant funds, including repayments of revolving DWS loans, fees, and interest collected on DWS loans.

Revolving loan fund means the loan fund established by the grant recipient to carry out the purposes of this part, such fund comprising the proceeds of a DWS grant and other related assets.

Rural area means any area other than a city or town that has a population of greater than 50,000 inhabitants, the urbanized area contiguous and adjacent to such city or town, and which excludes certain populations pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(H) and (I).

RUS means the Rural Utilities Service, a Federal agency delivering the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Utilities Program.

Septic System means systems designed to treat wastewater from household plumbing fixtures through both natural and technological processes.

Servicing means making repairs or performing maintenance on a water well system or portion thereof.

Subgrants means a grant awarded to a decentralized water system owner in order to refurbish or replace a well or septic system.

USDA means the United States Department of Agriculture.