Where: Pine View Estates, Gardnerville, Douglas County, Nevada
Problem: Small water and wastewater systems face challenges to access funds for utility improvements that protect public health.
Solution: Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) guides communities through the regionalization process and helps them access federal and state funds.
Pine View Estates is an approximately 800-resident housing development located near Gardnerville, an unincorporated town in Douglas County, Nevada. Historically a “sundown town” where anti-Indigenous racism was rampant, Gardnerville is now a center for the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. Pine View Estates’ all-volunteer homeowners’ association (HOA) manages the community’s small water and wastewater treatment facility. Septic system contamination of groundwater has long been a concern in the region.
In 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Nevada’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) awarded the HOA funding to abandon their individual septic systems and consolidate with Gardnerville Ranchos General Improvement District (GRGID). Pine View needed an easement across Washoe tribal lands to complete the connection and consolidate with GRGID, but the HOA was unprepared to navigate Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) regulations without external assistance.
RCAC began working with the HOA in 2021 at the USDA’s request to help board members understand their roles and responsibilities and to assist in negotiating easements with the tribe. RCAC worked with the tribe and HOA’s respective legal counsels, as well as with USDA and Nevada CWSRF, to overcome BIA hurdles and obtain the necessary easements to permit consolidation.
As a result of RCAC’s assistance, Pine View Estates was able to utilize $2 million in grant funding before the deadline, while consolidation should prevent future groundwater contamination, allowing the tribe to abandon its septic system and link with GRGID. RCAC continues to work with the community to ensure it complies with funding conditions.
