Rural Utility Programs

The Utilities Programs provide households and businesses with modern telecommunications, electric power, and water and sewer service. This includes bringing the information "superhighway" to rural America; guaranteeing affordable, more reliable electric power; and delivering safe, clean drinking water with environmental sound wastewater disposal to rural areas.

       
Programs for rural utilities

USDA Rural Development's Utilities Programs deliver a variety of assistance to rural utilities. Most involve direct assistance by USDA, while others work through local partnerships.

• Water & Waste Disposal Loan & Grant - WWD Loan & Grant
• Colonias Grant - Colonias Grant
• Water & Waste Disposal Guaranteed Loan - WWD Guarantee
• Solid Waste Management Grant - SWMG
• Technical Assistance & Training Grant - TAT

Distance Learning and Telemedicine

The transmission of information is vital to the economic development, education and health of rural Americans. To further this objective, the Rural Utilities Service will provide financial assistance to distance learning and telemedicine projects to improve the access of people living in rural areas to educational, learning, training, and health care services.

Priority will be given to rural areas that have the greatest need for distance learning and telemedicine services. The agency believes that generally the need is greatest in areas that are economically challenged, costly to serve and experiencing a loss of population.

Distance learning will provide educational programs, instruction or information from one area, whether rural or not, to students and teachers who are located in rural areas.

Telemedicine will use telecommunications to link end users with medical professionals at separate sites in order to exchange health care information in audio, video, graphic, or other format to improve health care services to residents of rural areas.

For more information contact a representative from the Rural Utilities Service/Community Facilities.