WIIN Grant: Reducing Lead in Drinking Water
The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act establishes the Reducing Lead in Drinking Water grant program to award funding for the reduction of lead in drinking water in disadvantaged communities. This grant focuses on reducing lead in drinking water through drinking water infrastructure, treatment improvements, and facility remediation in schools and child care facilities in states and tribal communities.
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Competitive Grant Program
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EPA Announces Availability of $20 Million to Further Reduce Lead in Drinking Water
WASHINGTON (February 18th, 2022) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of $20 million to assist disadvantaged communities and schools with removing sources of lead in drinking water. It continues its focus on ensuring and advancing environmental justice and equity, revitalizing communities, and protecting public health through the reduction in lead grant program. Through the grant program, EPA’s prioritization in advancing the Justice40 Initiative furthers the pursuit towards meeting the goal of delivering 40 percent of the benefits from covered federal investments to disadvantaged communities.
This WIIN grant is competed through a Request for Application process. The funding opportunity is available on February 18th and will remain open for 60 days on www.grants.gov. In addition to this announcement of funding availability, EPA is working with states, tribes, and territories to award over $50 million in funding through EPA’s two other drinking water grant programs established by WIIN—the Voluntary Lead Testing in Schools and Child Care grant program and the Small, Underserved and Disadvantaged Communities (SUDC) Grant.
Learn more about this grant and EPA’s WIIN grant programs at https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/drinking-water-grants.
Click here to apply: Grants.gov
The Request for Applications (RFA) is viewable here: RFA for Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water (pdf) .
See below for information on frequently asked questions.
Background
Funding will be awarded on a competitive basis. The grant program is designed to facilitate reducing lead in drinking water in disadvantaged communities through infrastructure and/or treatment improvements or facility remediation in schools and child care facilities. The goal of these projects is to address conditions that contribute to increased concentrations of lead in drinking water. The lead reduction projects should proceed to implementation upon award.
Priority Areas identified in this announcement are for: (1) Reduction of Lead Exposure in the Nation’s Drinking Water Systems through Infrastructure and Treatment Improvements and (2) Reduction of Children’s Exposure to Lead in Drinking Water at Schools and Child Care Facilities. A key priority for the agency is assisting drinking water systems, schools, child care facilities, and communities nationwide to minimize sources of lead in drinking water.
Available Funding
For the FY22 grant cycle, the program is making approximately $20 million available.
The following is the expected total of awards in each of the two National Priority Areas:
1. One to two awards are anticipated under the Reduction of Lead Exposure in the Nation’s Drinking Water Systems through Infrastructure and Treatment Improvements National Priority Area, with an estimated total of $10 million.
2. Two to five awards are anticipated under the Reduction of Children’s Exposure to Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities National Priority Area, with an estimated total of up to $10 million.
All applicants must demonstrate in their application submission how they will contribute a minimum non-federal cost-share/match of 20 percent of the total project cost. Section 1459B(b)(4)(B) of the SDWA states that the EPA may reduce the cost share/match requirement for reasons of affordability, as the Administrator determines to be appropriate.
For only this grant cycle, EPA is applying a waiver to all grant applicants of the statutory 20 percent cost share due to the financial constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic across the country. Waiver of the 20 percent cost share is at the discretion of the agency.
Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants under this competition include the following. Individuals and for-profit organizations are not eligible to apply.
- Community water systems, for example, a town’s drinking water system.
- Water systems located in an area governed by an Indian Tribe.
- Non-transient non-community water systems, for example schools, factories, office buildings, and hospitals that have their own water systems.
- Qualified nonprofit organizations servicing a public water system.
- Municipalities.
- State, interstate, or intermunicipal agencies, such as a department of environmental protection, an interstate environmental commission, or a joint municipal pollution control board.
Eligible Projects
The proposed projects support the Agency’s Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years (FY) 2022-2026, Goal 5: Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities, Objective 5.1: Ensure Safe Drinking Water and Reliable Water Infrastructure. The EPA’s Strategic Plan is available at https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan
Timeline
The grant opportunity was announced on February 18, 2022. Questions must be submitted by April 4, 2022. Applications are due by April 19, 2022. Awardees are expected to be announced by early summer, 2022. The project period is expected to be four years.
How to Apply
Application packages must be submitted electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) no later than 60 days post announcement 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, April 19, 2022, in order to be considered for funding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about this RFA must be submitted in writing via e-mail and must be received by the Agency contact identified in the “Contacts” section of this page. 11:59 PM Eastern Time, April 4, 2022.
Please refer to the following document for responses to frequently asked questions.
FAQ: WIIN Grant, Reducing Lead in Drinking Water (pdf)
Historical Funding
On October 23, 2020, EPA announced projects that were selected to receive nearly $40 million in grant funding under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act. These first-ever selections under the WIIN Act’s Reducing Lead in Drinking Water grant will be used to assist disadvantaged communities and schools with removing sources of lead in drinking water.
The request for applications for the 2020 grant competition is available here:
FY20 RFA for Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water (pdf)
The selected grantees will conduct projects that will reduce lead exposure in drinking water by replacing thousands of lead service lines, implementing treatment improvement projects, and removing potential sources of lead in hundreds of schools and childcare facilities across the United States. The selected grantees include:
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Lead Service Line Replacements and Treatment Improvement Projects |
Lead Remediation in Schools and Childcare Facilities Projects |
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Providence Water Supply Board, RI - $6.4M |
Indiana Finance Authority - $544,000 |
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City of Benton Harbor, MI - $5.6M |
Newark Board of Education, NJ - $7.5M |
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City of Grand Rapids, MI - $5.1M |
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Clean Water Trust- $3M |
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District of Columbia, DC - $2.3M |
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Elevate Energy, IL - $2M |
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Virginia Department of Health, VA - $1.3M |
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Boston Public Schools, MA - $6.2M |
Contact Information
Applicants should raise any questions they may have to the following contact as soon as possible so that any questions about the solicitation language may be resolved prior to submitting a proposal.
Agency Contact: Ying Tan
E-mail: WIINDrinkingWaterGrants@epa.gov
Tribal Grant Program
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Background
The Tribal grant program supports projects and activities that will meaningfully reduce lead concentration in drinking water, including replacement of lead service lines and use of corrosion control. Since FY2018, the combined funding amounts included $3 million dollars, which were awarded through Interagency Agreements (IA) with Indian Health Services (IHS). For Fiscal Year 2021 funding and beyond, interagency agreements are anticipated to be the primary vehicle to collaborate and fund projects and activities in tribal communities.
The program is designed to facilitate reducing lead in drinking water in disadvantaged communities through infrastructure and/or treatment improvements or facility remediation in schools and child care facilities. The goal of these projects is to address conditions that contribute to increased concentrations of lead in drinking water.
Priority areas identified in this announcement are for: (1) Reduction of Lead Exposure in the Nation’s Drinking Water Systems through Infrastructure and Treatment Improvements and (2) Reduction of Children’s Exposure to Lead in Drinking Water at Schools and Child Care Facilities. A key priority for the agency is assisting drinking water systems, schools, child care facilities, and communities nationwide to minimize sources of lead in drinking water.
Available Funding
The FY21 and FY22 allotments are anticipated to be approximately $1M and $2M respectively, pending any recommendations to increase funding due to increased appropriations to the overall program.
Eligible Applicants
This grant program makes assistance available to public water systems that serve tribal communities.
Eligible Projects
The proposed projects support the Agency’s Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years (FY) 2022-2026, Goal 5: Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities, Objective 5.1: Ensure Safe Drinking Water and Reliable Water Infrastructure. The EPA’s Strategic Plan is available at https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan
Timeline
The grant opportunity is expected to be announced in late spring , 2022.
How to Apply
EPA Regions will coordinate with participating stakeholders, including eligible beneficiaries such as, but not limited to, public water systems that serve tribal communities and tribal nations.
Historical Funding
For FY18 through FY20, the Agency established interagency agreements through Indian Health Service for projects in in tribal communities to help build drinking water systems to improve water access and water quality for the following areas:
- Quapaw Nation
- Chickasaw Nation
- Big Valley Rancheria
- Mekoryuk
These grants illustrate the potential for EPA’s water infrastructure programs to benefit communities, especially low-income communities where investment is needed the most. Through strong partnerships at the state and local level, water infrastructure investments can provide vital public health and environmental protections. The Agency anticipates continuing the prioritization of improved public health by providing vital drinking water infrastructure in tribal communities across the country, in collaboration with Federal partners.
| Tribal Community/Nation | EPA Region | Fiscal Year(s) | Project Description | Award Amount |
| Quapaw Nation | 6 | FY18, FY19 and FY20 | Community water system improvements for assistance with sampling individual wells for contamination due to lead. The project will benefit 109 Indian-owned homes with estimated population of 382 people. | $620,000 |
| Quapaw Nation | 6 | FY18, FY19 and FY20 | Improvements to the community water system. Includes the construction of a new water line extension. | $367,000 |
| Chickasaw Nation | 6 | FY18, FY19 and FY20 | Water Treatment and distribution system improvements. | $1,848,516 |
| Big Valley Rancheria | 9 | FY19 | Installation of a new treatment plant to treat highly corrosive water and significant amounts of iron and manganese. | $100,000 |
| Mekoryuk | 10 | FY20 | Replace copper pipe in the water treatment plant with plastic pipe. | $64,483 |
| Fort Yukon | 10 | FY21 | Install corrosion control in the water treatment plant. | $93,480 |
| Rampart | 10 | FY21 | Install corrosion control in the water treatment plant. | $93,480 |
Contact Information
- Agency Tribal Contact: Laura Montoya, montoya.laura@epa.gov
- EPA Regional Contacts: Tribal Drinking Water Coordinator
- Overall WIIN Grant Program Contact: Yvonne Gonzalez, Gonzalez.yvonne@epa.gov