San Joaquin and Stanislaus counites have been declared eligible for some federal disaster funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA Rural Development California State Director Maria Gallegos Herrera on July 20 announced the availability of grants to help rural and Tribal communities repair water infrastructure damaged by presidentially declared disasters due to severe weather or natural disasters in 2022.
Eligible water infrastructure projects must be located in areas affected by the California Coastal, Fairview, Mill, Mosquito, and Oak fires as well as severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, mudslides, and earthquake.
“Following a natural disaster, one of the most critical things to address is ensuring a clean, stable water infrastructure for impacted communities,” Gallegos Herrera said. “The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA Rural Development are offering the resources to repair and rebuild California’s rural water systems that were damaged by last year’s natural disasters because we know recovery is worth investing in.”
Eligible applicants include rurally located public bodies, and nonprofit organizations.
Funds may be used to repair damaged water infrastructure and develop resiliency to reduce long-term risks from future disasters.
Funds may be used in the following presidentially declared disaster areas:
Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Inyo, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, and Yolo counties and Rohnerville Rancheria (Indian Reservation).
USDA is making over $247 million in grants available through supplemental disaster funding under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. Funds will remain available until expended. Applications must be submitted through the RD APPLY application system at rdapply.usda.gov.
For more information on how to apply in California, contact Antonio Ybarra at antonio.ybarra@usda.gov or 559-490-8035, or Luis Andrade at luis.andrade@usda.gov or 760-355-2208 ext. 108, or visit www.rd.usda.gov/ca.
Additional resources to support rural communities seeking disaster assistance are available at https://www.rd.usda.gov/page/rural-development-disaster-assistance.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/ca.
