Water Infrastructure Grants

Under the recently passed Infrastructure Bill, EPA will allocate $7.4 billion to states, Tribes, and territories for 2022, with nearly half of this funding available as grants or principal forgiveness loans that are intended to remove barriers to investing in essential water infrastructure in underserved communities across rural America and in urban centers. The states are just now being notified of the 2022 allocations which is the first of five years of $43 billion EPA funding that states will receive through the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”

The 2022 allocation includes $126,383,000 for Virginia, $144,181,000 for Maryland $144,181,000 for Maryland , $240,381,000 for Pennsylvania, $83,211,000 for West Virginia, $63,041,000 for Delaware, and $63,041,000 for the District of Columbia in our region. This is money for water infrastructure improvements will be awarded though the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, and is intended to  emphasize supporting underserved communities. For more than 30 years, the State Revolving Funds have been the foundation of water infrastructure investments, providing low-cost financing for local projects across America. However, according to the EPA “many vulnerable communities facing water challenges have not received their fair share of federal water infrastructure funding. Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, states have a unique opportunity to correct this disparity.”

"EPA Administrator Regan recently completed what the EPA called a “Journey to Justice” tour across the American South where he heard from families and advocates about their struggles with exposure to water pollution in their communities. For children, exposure to lead can cause irreversible and life-long health effects, including decreasing IQ, focus, and academic achievement. At the same time, families that live near high levels of contaminants such as PFAS or “forever chemicals” are at risk to develop adverse health outcomes.” The south is the only place where underserved communities exist. 

Many lead problems are in older cities of the north and mid-Atlantic. The nation has underinvested in water infrastructure for too long. Insufficient water infrastructure threatens America’s security, and it risks people’s health, jobs, peace of mind, and future prosperity. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocates around $50 billion to EPA to improve our nation’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure. This is an opportunity to fix some of the failing infrastructure in communities least able to afford it:

Safe Drinking Water- $11.7 billion to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and $15 billion to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for Lead Service Line Replacement. $4 billion to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for Emerging Contaminants. $5 billion to Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Grants to address emerging contaminants.

Clean Water for Communities- $11.7 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and $1 billion for the Clean Water Revolving Fund for Emerging Contaminants.

Protected Regional Waters- $1.7 billion for Geographic Programs and $267 million for the National Estuary Program, Gulf Hypoxia Program, and more hopefully that includes our own Chesapeake Bay. 

For more details on the the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, please check out EPA’s page on the topic. https://www.epa.gov/infrastructure