§ 6949. Rural communities assistance
(a)
In general
The Administrator shall make grants to States to provide assistance to municipalities with a population of five thousand or less, or counties with a population of ten thousand or less or less than twenty persons per square mile and not within a metropolitan area, for solid waste management facilities (including equipment) necessary to meet the requirements of section
6945 of this title or restrictions on open burning or other requirements arising under the Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.] or the Federal Water Pollution Control Act [33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.]. Such assistance shall only be available—
(1)
to any municipality or county which could not feasibly be included in a solid waste management system or facility serving an urbanized, multijurisdictional area because of its distance from such systems;
(2)
where existing or planned solid waste management services or facilities are unavailable or insufficient to comply with the requirements of section
6945 of this title; and
(b)
Allotment
The Administrator shall allot the sums appropriated to carry out this section in any fiscal year among the States in accordance with regulations promulgated by him on the basis of the average of the ratio which the population of rural areas of each State bears to the total population of rural areas of all the States, the ratio which the population of counties in each State having less than twenty persons per square mile bears to the total population of such counties in all the States, and the ratio which the population of such low-density counties in each State having 33 per centum or more of all families with incomes not in excess of 125 per centum of the poverty level bears to the total population of such counties in all the States.
(c)
Limit
The amount of any grant under this section shall not exceed 75 per centum of the costs of the project. No assistance under this section shall be available for the acquisition of land or interests in land.
(d)
Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1978 and 1979 to carry out this section. There are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for the fiscal year 1980 and $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1981 and 1982 to carry out this section.
(e)
Additional appropriations