Engineering:

Providing quality water service and safe, efficient waste disposal for rural areas requires thoughtful application of technology. Rural Development (RD) draws upon engineering resources in two ways to enhance the delivery of the Water and Environmental Programs. First, RD has staff engineers in our State Offices that interface with applicants, their consulting engineers, and other agencies. In the interest of developing the best possible projects, RD staff engineers are responsible for reviewing project documents and concurring in the technical aspects of Water and Waste Disposal projects funded under Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of Rural Development. Second, RD maintains a working partnership with the consulting engineers. Consulting engineers often make first contact with applicants and provide basic information about RD programs. This partnership has resulted in thousands of successful water and waste projects. The purpose of our web pages is to provide current, useful engineering information to applicants, consulting engineers, and RD staff.

If you have questions regarding engineering policy at the national level, please contact Ben Shuman, PE, Senior Environmental Engineer, at 202-720-1784 or ben.shuman@wdc.usda.gov or Jon Melhus, PE, Senior Civil Engineer, at 202-720-7817 or jon.melhus@wdc.usda.gov