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Financial Assistance for Water Infrastructure
National Information
Currently, EPA gives funding through the State Revolving Fund to the states. (There are two programs: the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.) The states then make below market loans to communities. When accepting Federal SRF grants, states must provide 20% matching funds. As payments are made on loans, funds are recycled to fund other projects.
EPA has a long tradition of providing grants to municipalities for expanding and upgrading centralized publicly-owned wastewater treatment facilities. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Construction Grants Program was a major source of Federal funds, providing more than $60 billion nation-wide for the construction of publicly-owned wastewater treatment projects. These projects included sewage treatment plants, pumping stations, and collection and interceptor sewers; rehabilitation of sewer systems; and control of combined sewer overflows.
Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) - With the 1987 amendments to the CWA Congress set 1990 as the last year that grant funds would be appropriated. By phasing out the Construction Grants Program, EPA shifted the method of municipal financial assistance from grants to loans provided by State Revolving Funds. The District of Columbia received an exemption from establishing an SRF and receives its share of available funding as grants for facility construction. The new State Revolving Fund also provided additional flexibility for the funding of other water quality projects related to abatement of nonpoint source pollution and implementation of estuary plans.
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) - After demonstrating success through the implementation of the Clean Water SRF program, Congress authorized a similar program for drinking water facilities as part of the 1996 SDWA Amendments. Prior to establishment of the Drinking Water SRF program, EPA had not provided financial assistance for the construction of drinking water infrastructure.
Special Appropriation Act Projects (SAAP) - Recognizing the special needs of certain communities, Congress may include directed funding as part of EPA's annual appropriation. If your community has been identified for such grant assistance, additional information on submitting your financial assistance application is available at Grants & Funding in the Mid-Atlantic States.
