The DWS Grant Program has been established to help individuals with low to moderate incomes finance the costs of household water wells and individually owned decentralized wastewater systems that they own or will own. Grant funds must be used to establish and maintain a revolving fund to provide loans and sub-grants to eligible individuals for individually owned water well systems and/or individually owned wastewater systems. Individual households may use the loan and/or sub-grant funds to construct, refurbish, rehabilitate, or replace decentralized water systems up to the point of entry to a home. Point of entry for the well system is the junction where water enters into a home water delivery system after being pumped from a well. For septic systems, in lieu of the point of entry, the point of exit is substituted. The point of exit is the junction where wastewater exits out of the home wastewater collection system into the septic tank and drain field. Grant funds may be used to pay administrative expenses associated with providing DWS loans and/or sub-grants.
(a) The applicant must be a private organization.
(b) The applicant must be organized as a non-profit organization.
(c) The applicant must have legal capacity and lawful authority to perform the obligations of a grant recipient under this part. Example 1: If the organization is incorporated as a non-profit corporation, it must have corporate authority under state law and its corporate charter to engage in the practice of making loans to individuals. Example 2: if the organization is an unincorporated association, state law may prevent the organization from entering into binding contracts, such as a grant agreement.
(d) The applicant must have sufficient expertise and experience in lending and in promoting the safe and productive use of individually-owned decentralized water systems and ground water to assure the likelihood that the objectives of this part can be achieved.