Shelley Nordham, senior loan officer at the Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC), described RCAC’s technical assistance and environmental loan programs for rural and tribal communities. RCAC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates across 13 Western states and the Pacific Islands.

Nordham said RCAC provides on-site technical assistance, training, application support for FAST and USDA RD portals, rate studies, policy development, emergency response planning and regional collaboration to help small systems meet regulatory and financial requirements. On the financing side, RCAC offers bridge loans or revolving lines of credit to pay contractors while borrowers await grant reimbursements, short-term interest-only draw periods followed by multi-year amortizations, and loans secured by real estate for land purchase or well construction in rural communities.

RCAC staff recommended that eligible applicants—nonprofits, government entities and federally recognized tribes serving rural areas under 50,000 population—contact loan officers via the CFCC handbook and use breakout sessions to discuss project specifics.