104 STAT. 4014 PUBLIC LAW 101-624—NOV. 28, 1990 SEC. 2326. EMERGENCY COMMUNITY WATER ASSISTANCE GRANT PRO- GRAM. (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. —Subtitle A of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act is amended by inserting after section 306A (7 U.S.C. 1926a) the following new section: 7 USC 1926b. "SEC. 306B. EMERGENCY COMMUNITY WATER ASSISTANCE GRANT PRO- GRAM. "(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make grants in accordance with this section to assist the residents of rural areas and small communities to secure adequate quantities of safe water— "(1) after a significant decline in the quantity or quality of water available from the water supplies of such rural areas and small communities; or "(2) when repairs, partial replacement, or significant maintenance efforts on established water systems would remedy an acute shortage of quality water or would remedy a significant decline in the quantity or quality of water that is available. "(b) PRIORITY.—In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to projects described in subsection (a)(D, and provide at least 70 percent of all such grants to such projects. "(c) EuGiBiliTY. —To be eligible to obtain a grant under this section, an applicant shall— "(1) be a public or private nonprofit entity; and "(2) in the case of a grant made under subsection (a)(l), demonstrate to the Secretary that the decline referred to in such subsection occurred within 2 years of the date the application for such grant was made. "(d) USES.— "(1) IN GENERAL. —Grants made under this section may be used for waterline extensions from existing systems, laying of new waterlines, repairs, significant maintenance, digging of new wells, equipment replacement, hook and tap fees, and any other appropriate purpose associated with developing sources of, or treating, storing, or distributing water, and to assist communities in complying with the requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) or the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.). "(2) JOINT PROPOSALS.— This section shall not preclude rural communities from submitting joint proposals for emergency water assistance, subject to the restrictions of subsection (e). Such restrictions should be considered in the aggregate, depending on the number of communities involved. "(e) RESTRICTIONS.—Grants made under this section shall not be used to assist any rural area or community that— "(1) includes any area in any city or town with a population in excess of 5,000 inhabitants according to the most recent decennial census of the United States; or "(2) has a median household income in excess of the State nonmetropolitan median household income according to the most recent decennial census of the United States. Not less than 75 percent of the funds allocated under this section shall be gdlocated to rural communities with populations that do not exceed 3,000 inhabitants. "(f) MAXIMUM GRANTS. —Grants made under this section may not exceed—
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