	Introduction

The public health and environmental requirements of two federal laws are primarily driving projects in rural, as well as non-rural, areas for drinking water and wastewater treatment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers both laws. Much like the Safe Drinking Water Act, small community wastewater systems have higher rates of noncompliance than larger systems. As with meeting drinking water needs, EPA has estimated that, because small systems lack economies of scale, their customers face a particularly heavy financial burden to meet needs for clean water investments. In dollar terms, the largest federal programs that solely assist water and waste disposal needs are administered by EPA. They do not focus solely on rural areas, however. USDA's grant and loan programs also support significant financial activity and are directed entirely at rural areas. Still, funding needs in rural areas are high (more than $130 billion, according to state surveys summarized in EPA reports), and there is heavy demand for funds. Meeting the infrastructure funding needs of rural areas efficiently and effectively is likely to remain an issue of considerable congressional interest.
The Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act impose requirements regarding drinking water quality and wastewater treatment in rural as well as urban areas of the United States. Approximately 19% of the U.S. population lives in areas defined by the Census Bureau as rural. Many rural communities need to complete water and waste disposal projects to improve the public health and environmental conditions of their citizens. Small water infrastructure systems often have higher rates of noncompliance than larger systems. In addition, because small systems generally lack economies of scale, their customers face a particularly heavy financial burden to meet needs for clean water investments. Funding needs are high (more than $130 billion, according to state surveys).
Several federal programs assist rural communities in meeting these requirements. In dollar terms, the largest are administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, but they do not focus solely on rural areas. The Department of Agriculture's grant and loan programs support significant financial activity and are directed solely at rural areas. Meeting infrastructure funding needs of rural areas efficiently and effectively is likely to remain an issue of considerable congressional interest.