SEARCH - Special Evaluation Assistance for Rural Communities and Households
Detailed information about this program is below:
Category | Information About This Specific Program |
---|---|
Title | SEARCH - Special Evaluation Assistance for Rural Communities and Households |
Purpose | This program helps very small, financially distressed rural communities with predevelopment feasibility studies, design and technical assistance on proposed water and waste disposal projects. |
Type of Assistance | Grant |
Eligible Applicants |
Utilities Serving Colonias, Indian Tribal Governments, Local Governments, Nonprofit Groups, State/Territorial Agencies, Universities Areas to be served must be rural and financially distressed:
|
Eligible Activities |
To pay predevelopment planning costs, including: feasibility studies to support applications for funding water or waste disposal projects; preliminary design and engineering analysis; technical assistance for the development of an application for financial assistance. The predevelopment planning costs must be related to a proposed project that meets the following requirements:
|
Excluded Activities/Other Restrictions |
Grant funds may not be used to:
|
Pre-Funding Requirements (if applicable) | Not applicable |
Typical Award Amount (if applicable) | The Secretary may use not more than four percent of the total amount of funds made available for a fiscal year for water and waste disposal activities for SEARCH grants. The Secretary may fund up to 100 percent of the eligible grant costs, not to exceed $30,000. |
Total Awarded Fiscal Year 2018 (if applicable) | $2,365,045 for 89 SEARCH grants |
Match Requirement (if applicable) | None |
Solicitation Process/Timeline |
Applications for this program are accepted year round through your local Rural Development (RD) office. Program resources are available online (includes forms needed, guidance, certifications, etc.). |
Proposal Elements/Scoring Criteria |
Projects will be selected based primarily on the funding priorities in 7 CFR section 1780.17. The Program Official discretionary points stated in 7 CFR section 1780.17(e) can also include consideration of the following criteria: (a) Systems with limited resources. |
Contact Information (primary contact and website or other source) |
Local U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office |
Website Information About Successful Tribal Applicants/Projects |
Not Applicable |
Headquarters Office |
USDA |