Feds to Fund Water Infrastructure Projects in Four States
(UC) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of $2.7 billion for infrastructure projects that help protect surface water and provide safe drinking water to communities across the country.
The State Revolving Funds (SRF) programs assist states, tribes and territories by funding a wide range of water infrastructure projects, including drinking water treatment and distribution systems, wastewater treatment and collection systems, and a variety of other projects related to preserving water quality, pursuant to the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The 2020 annual allocation for the four EPA Region 7 states totals $148.7 million of SRFs, including:
• Iowa - $38.95 million
• Kansas - $27.13 million
• Missouri - $63.46 million
• Nebraska - $19.12 million
Over the last three years, the EPA Region 7 states have been allocated approximately $150 million per year for their Drinking Water and Clean Water SRF loan programs, according to the EPA. The allocation to the SRF program includes more than a third of the dollars provided to EPA by Congress and more than half of the EPA Region 7 budget.
In 2020, EPA is providing approximately $1.6 billion in new federal grant funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). This funding is available for a wide range of water infrastructure projects, including modernizing aging wastewater infrastructure, implementing water reuse and recycling, and addressing stormwater. More than $64 million in CWSRF grant funding is available to tribes, certain U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia for infrastructure projects.
EPA is also making available more than $1.07 billion in new federal grant funding for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). This funding can be used for loans that help drinking water systems install treatment for contaminants, improve distribution systems by removing lead service lines, and improve system resiliency to natural disasters such as floods.
In addition, more than $50 million in DWSRF grant funding is available to tribes, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia to use for drinking water system upgrades.
About SRFs
Under the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs, EPA provides funding to all 50 states and Puerto Rico to capitalize SRF loan programs. The states and Puerto Rico contribute an additional 20% to match the federal grants.
The 51 SRF programs function like infrastructure banks by providing low-interest loans to eligible recipients for drinking water and clean water infrastructure projects. As the loan principal and interest are repaid over time, it allows the state’s DWSRF and CWSRF to be recycled or “revolve.”
As money is returned to the state’s revolving loan fund, the state makes new loans to other eligible recipients. These funds can also be combined with EPA’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans to create a powerful, innovative financing solution for major infrastructure projects.
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