This part sets forth the policies and procedures that will apply when the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) makes grants under the Rural Alaska Village Grant (RAVG) program (7 U.S.C. 1926d) to native villages in Alaska. The grants will be provided directly to a native village or jointly with either The State of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) or The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) for the benefit of native villages in Alaska.

The following definitions apply to subparts A through E of this part.

ANTHC means the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.

CONACT means the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.

DEC means the State of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation.

Dire sanitation conditions means:

(1) Recurring instances of illness reasonably attributed to waterborne communicable disease have been documented or insufficient access to clean water creates a persistent threat of water-washed diseases; or

(2) No community-wide water and sewer system exists and individual residents must haul water to or human waste from their homes and/or use pit privies; or

(3) An appropriate federal agency (such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) or regulatory Agency of the State of Alaska determines that the drinking water and/or sewer system does not meet current regulatory requirements.

Grant recipient means an applicant that has been awarded a Rural Alaskan Village Grant under this part.

IHS means the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Service.

Native Villages in Alaska means a Native village in Alaska which meets the definition of a village as defined in section 3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602).

Owner means Grant recipient.

RAVG means Rural Alaskan Village Grant, a grant awarded by RUS, DEC, and/or ANTHC to a grant recipient under this part.

RD means Rural Development, a federal agency mission area delivering the United States Department of Agriculture's programs to rural communities.

Recipient community means a community that has been awarded a grant under this part.

RUS means the Rural Utilities Service, a federal agency mission area delivering the United States Department of Agriculture's rural utilities programs.

Short-lived assets means repair and replacement items expended each year that are not included in the annual Operational and Maintenance expenses as annual repair and maintenance.

Statewide nonmetropolitan median household income (SNMHI) means the median household income of the State's nonmetropolitan counties and portions of metropolitan counties outside of cities, towns or places of 50,000 or more population.

USDA means the United States Department of Agriculture.

VSW means Village Safe Water Program authorized under the Village Safe Water Act, Alaska Statute Title 46, Chapter 7 (AS 46.07).

The objective of the RAVG Program is to assist the residents of rural or native villages in Alaska to provide for the development and construction of water and wastewater systems to improve the health and sanitation conditions in those villages through removal of dire sanitation conditions.