Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Program – SDWA 1459A(l)

 

The purpose of this grant program is to increase drinking water system resilience to natural hazards. Grant funding can be used to assist in the planning, design, construction, implementation, operation, or maintenance of a program or project that increases resilience to natural hazards. Funding Priority Fiscal Year 2023: Funding priority is for projects that increase drinking water system resilience to natural hazards in underserved communities that are disadvantaged communities or communities with a population of less than 10,000 individuals. Underserved communities include those communities that: do not have household drinking water or wastewater services; are served by a public water system that violates, or exceeds a requirement of a national primary drinking water regulation issued under SDWA section 1412, including a maximum contaminant level, a treatment technique, or an action level. Eligible activities for funding include planning, design, construction, implementation, operation, or maintenance of a program or project that increases drinking water resilience to natural hazards through : (A) the conservation of water or the enhancement of water use efficiency; (B) the modification or relocation of existing drinking water system infrastructure made, or that is at risk of being, significantly impaired by natural hazards, including risks to drinking water from flooding; (C) the design or construction of desalination facilities to serve existing communities; (D) watershed management and source water protection; (E) the enhancement of energy efficiency or the use and generation of renewable energy in the conveyance or treatment of drinking water; or (F) the development and implementation of measures to increase the resilience of the eligible entity to natural hazards.

Active 66.448 Environmental Protection Agency B - Project Grants Not applicable. Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), Section 1458A(I), as amended Eligible applicants include (1) a public water system; a water system located in an area governed by an Indian Tribe; or a State, on behalf of an underserved community; and (2) serves a community-- (A) that is underserved; and (B) that, under affordability criteria established by the State under section 1452(d)(3), is determined by the State to be a disadvantaged community; or (C) with a population of less than 10,000 individuals. For certain competitive funding opportunities under this assistance listing, the Agency may limit eligibility to compete to a number or subset of eligible applicants consistent with the Agency's Assistance Agreement Competition Policy. Funded projects will benefit residents of underserved communities that are disadvantaged communities or communities with a population of less than 10,000 individuals. Not applicable. Preapplication coordination is required. An environmental impact statement is required for this listing. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. EPA financial assistance programs and activities subject to intergovernmental review that are subject to review under State single point of contact procedures are identified at https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-financial-assistance-programs-subject-executive-order-12372-and-section-204. Applicants for programs or activities subject to Intergovernmental Review that are not subject to State single point of contact review must provide directly affected State, areawide, regional, and local entities at least 60 days to review their application following notification by EPA that the application has been selected for funding as provided by 40 CFR 29.8(a) and (c). EPA awards grants and cooperative agreements based on competitive applications submitted in response to EPA solicitations. Regarding pre-application assistance with respect to competitive funding opportunities under this assistance listing, EPA will generally specify the nature of the pre-application assistance, if any, that will be available to applicants in the competitive announcement. For additional information, contact the individual(s) listed in the competitive announcement. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Applicants, except in limited circumstances approved by the Agency, must submit all initial applications for funding through Grants.gov. The Request for Application will specify application procedures. For competitive awards, EPA will review and evaluate applications in accordance with the terms, conditions, and criteria stated in the competitive announcement. Competitions will be conducted in accordance with EPA policies/regulations for competing assistance agreements. For competitive awards, deadlines will be specified in the competitive announcement. Approximately 180 days. Assistance agreement competition-related disputes will be resolved in accordance with the dispute resolution procedures published in 70 FR (Federal Register) 3629, 3630 (January 26, 2005). Disputes relating to matters other than the competitive selection of recipients will be resolved under 2 CFR 1500 Subpart E - Disputes (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-B/chapter-XV/part-1500/subpart-E), as applicable. Not applicable. The evaluation and selection criteria for competitive awards under this assistance listing description will be described in the competitive announcement. Funds are provided to eligible applicants to carry out projects and activities needed for public water systems to increase drinking water system resilience to natural hazards. Assistance agreement awards under this program may involve or relate to geospatial information. Geospatial information is information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural or constructed features or boundaries on the earth, or applications, tools, and hardware associated with the generation, maintenance, or distribution of such information. This information may be derived from, among other things, GPS, remote sensing, mapping, charting, and surveying technologies, or statistical data. Further information regarding geospatial information may be obtained by viewing the following website: Geospatial Resources at EPA (https://www.epa.gov/geospatial). Performance Reports: Reporting requirements and frequency shall be determined at the time of award under terms and conditions. Grants and cooperative agreements are subject to inspections and audits by the Comptroller General of the United States, the EPA Office of Inspector General, other EPA staff, or any authorized representative of the Federal government. Reviews by the EPA Project Officer and the Grants Specialist may occur each year. Recipients must keep financial records, including all documents supporting entries on accounting records and to substantiate changes in grants available to personnel authorized to examine EPA recipients grants and cooperative agreements records. Recipients must maintain all records until 3 years from the date of submission of final expenditure reports as required by 2 CFR 200.334. If questions, such as those raised because of audits remain following the 3-year period, recipients must retain records until the matter is completely resolved. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching is voluntary. A non-federal cost share or match is not required for the fiscal year 2023 Request for Application. EPA is applying a waiver to all grant applicants of the statutory cost share for the fiscal year 2023 Request for Application. EPA intends to exercise its discretion, as allowed for in the statute creating this grant program, to waive the cost share for all applicants.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. The terms of the grant shall be determined at the time of grant award. The method of fund disbursement will be determined at the time of award. None/Not specified. Claudette Ojo
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460 USA
ojo.claudette@epa.gov
Phone: 202-564-8886 https://www.epa.gov/dwcapacity/drinking-water-system-infrastructure-resilience-and-sustainability 68-0103-0-1-304 (Project Grants (Discretionary)) FY 22$0.00; FY 23 est $0.00; FY 24 est $19,000,000.00; FY 21$0.00; FY 20$0.00; - Range: $285,000 to $6,650,000/fiscal year; Average: $3,467,500/fiscal year. This is a new program. This range reflects an estimate. Assistance agreement awards are subject to the grant regulations at 2 CFR Part 1500 (EPA Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards); 40 CFR Part 33 (Participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in United States Environmental Protection Agency Programs). Not applicable.