Water and Waste Disposal

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Water and Waste Disposal Grant Program, focusing on: (1) how different areas of the country benefit from the program; (2) the program's matching funding requirements; and (3) how the program has been implemented for Mexican border states and rural Alaskan villages. GAO noted that: (1) most states benefit from the program, but some states use the program more actively than others; (2) Rural Development Administration (RDA) grants generally may not exceed 75 percent of a project's costs, and rural communities must fund the remaining costs; (3) RDA may fund up to 100 percent of project costs in communities whose residents face significant health risks; (4) RDA has obligated about $25 million of the $50 million in grant funds that Congress specifically targeted for the border states for fiscal years (FY) 1993 and 1994; and (5) RDA anticipates that it will soon begin obligating portions of the FY 1994 grant funds targeted for rural Alaskan villages.