This bill would create a Rural Area Digital Infrastructure Technology Grant Program at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It defines "digital infrastructure technology" to include tools such as remote sensing, flow and pressure monitoring, real-time pollutant monitoring, management and analytics tools, acoustic data collection, industrial control systems (including SCADA), artificial or embedded intelligence, hydraulic analysis, and digital design software. Eligible entities include owners or operators of publicly owned public water systems or treatment works that serve rural areas, rural areas themselves, and States or Tribes acting on their behalf. Grants may be used to design, construct, operate, and maintain digital technology for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems (including desalination and water reuse), distribution and conveyance systems, and activities to protect or develop surface water or groundwater resources (including banking or recharging aquifers). Grants can also fund training and workforce development for project managers and operators, and on-site cybersecurity training and technical assistance. The bill allows grant funds to pay for the initial acquisition of software. The EPA would give priority to systems that serve fewer than 3,300 people and to community-controlled or locally owned systems. The bill authorizes $50,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 to carry out the program. It states that the Act does not waive or limit other Federal or State laws that apply to projects funded by the program. The Comptroller General must study the impact of adopting digital infrastructure technology in rural water projects within 5 years of enactment and provide recommendations, and must submit a report on the study and the program to relevant Congressional committees by December 31, 2030.
If you run or manage a publicly owned water system, treatment works, or a rural water project, this bill would create a new way to apply for EPA grants to pay for digital monitoring, control, design tools, training, and cybersecurity work. States and Tribes can apply on behalf of eligible local entities. The program favors very small systems (serving fewer than 3,300 people) and community-controlled utilities.
The bill authorizes $50,000,000 each fiscal year for 2027 through 2031, to remain available until expended. No publicly available information on additional cost estimates beyond this authorization is included in the bill text.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.