On September 16, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to the first 18 states across the country to renovate their mostly-decrepit water infrastructure.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocates more than $50 billion to EPA toward rehab9ilitating the nation’s deteriorated water infrastructure.
This helps revitalize communities by improving their access to clean, safe and reliable drinking water: no matter how many tax incentives the local economic developers offer employers to move to their city, few will come if they know they would be putting the health of their own families—and their employees—at risk.
This infrastructure renovation work will also increase local resilience, properly collect and treat wastewater to protect public health, remediate pollution, and restore vital waterways.
“All communities need access to clean, reliable, safe water,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan.
“Thanks to President Biden’s leadership and the resources from the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are repairing aging water infrastructure, replacing lead service lines, cleaning up contaminants, and making our communities more resilient in the face of floods and climate impacts,” he added.
More than $1.1 billion in capitalization grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have been issued to 18 states through the State Revolving Funds (SRFs), with additional capitalization grants forthcoming.
The grants mark the first significant distribution of water infrastructure funds thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. State allocations were previously announced.
“President Biden has been clear—we cannot leave any community behind as we rebuild America’s infrastructure with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu.
“Because of his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, nearly half of the additional SRF funding will now be grants or forgivable loans, making accessing these critical water resources easier for small, rural and disadvantaged communities,” he continued.
EPA’s SRFs are part of President Biden’s Justice40 initiative, which aims to deliver at least 40% of the benefits from certain federal programs to underserved communities. Furthermore, nearly half the funding available through the SRFs thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law must be grants or principal forgiveness loans that remove barriers to investing in essential water infrastructure in underserved communities across rural America and in urban centers.
EPA awarded SRF capitalization grants to 18 states, including: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.
Funding announced represents FY22 awards for states that have submitted and obtained EPA’s approval of their plans for use of the funding.
Capitalization grants will continue to be awarded, on a rolling, state-by-state basis, as more states receive approval throughout FY22; states will also receive awards over the course of the next four years. Once grants are awarded, state programs will begin to deliver the funds as grants and loans to communities across their state.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law presents the largest-ever funding opportunity for investing in America’s $1.6 trillion backlog of infrastructure renewal.