Water & Waste Disposal Predevelopment Planning Grants in Michigan

The Water & Waste Disposal Predevelopment Planning Grants program in Michigan, administered by USDA Rural Development, provides grant assistance to low-income rural communities to help cover initial planning and development costs for proposed water and waste disposal projects. The primary goal is to help financially distressed communities evaluate technical solutions and develop complete applications for USDA Rural Development Water and Waste Disposal loans and grants or other infrastructure financing. Eligible applicants include local and state governmental entities, federally recognized tribes, and non-profit organizations. To qualify, projects must serve rural areas or towns with populations of 10,000 or fewer, or tribal lands, with a median household income below the federal poverty line or less than 80 percent of the statewide non-metropolitan median household income. The applicant must demonstrate that it lacks the financial resources to independently fund predevelopment planning costs. Eligible activities include the preparation of preliminary engineering reports (PERs), environmental reports (ERs), and financial or technical feasibility studies. Grant awards are capped at $30,000 or 75 percent of eligible predevelopment costs, requiring at least a 25 percent non-grant match. Applications are accepted year-round on a continuous rolling basis through USDA's RD Apply online application system or by contacting the USDA Rural Development Michigan State Office.