Page 26 - Nov-Dec2022 Vol 40 No 5

2022 CONFERENCE TECHNICAL SESSION By Sheryl Chino, AICP, PMP
Federal and State Funding:

Understanding What Is Out There

How can public works and communities
make the most of today’s state and federal
funding opportunities? The variety of
funding mechanisms and how they
overlap and even correlate may make your
head spin, but it’s important to remember
everyone’s main objective: maximizing the
benefits of American infrastructure and
its impacts.
There are a couple of overarching
themes in current funding programs. One Figure 1 - Federal Administration Priorities
theme is equity and justice. The Biden
Administration issued an Executive Order than $77 billion toward clean water to the traditional DWSRF, the IIJA also
in July 2021 that included the Justice40 programs for drinking water, stormwater, creates two new dedicated funding
Initiative. This initiative sets a goal that and wastewater projects. Investments are streams for specific project types: the Lead
40% of certain federal investments flow to provided through existing fund and grant Service Line Replacement program and
disadvantaged communities. programs as well as the creation of new the Emerging Contaminants program,
It is worth learning more about funding programs. bringing annual funding potential for the
when goals such as equity and justice State Revolving Funds (SRF) DWSRF to more than $8 billion in the
are at the forefront, but the federal The EPA administers two separate fiscal year 2022 and close to $10 billion in
government has some other key priorities SRFs: the Drinking Water State Revolving 2026, as shown in Figure 2.
as well, see Figure 1. Fund (DWSRF) and the Clean Water State The CWSRF received an identical
Federal administrations like the U.S. Revolving Fund (CWSRF). Both SRFs increase in its core program —
Environmental Protection Agency are low-interest loan programs that have with advance appropriations and
(EPA), Federal Emergency Management been around for decades, but now SRFs authorizations more than doubling the
Agency (FEMA) or Economic will receive an extra $72 billion in water available amounts. These amounts are less
Development Administration (EDA) infrastructure funding under the IIJA. than what’s available under the DWSRF,
are emphasizing priorities like equity, Starting with the existing DWSRF, as illustrated in Figure 3, but still reflect
affordability, resiliency, climate change, the IIJA provides both advance $1 billion available over the five years of
regulatory reform, and cybersecurity. appropriations as well as increases in the bill.
Aligning eligible projects up with future authorizations, representing over American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
these characteristics makes sense when a 700% increase in funding. In addition ARPA provides $350 billion for
targeting certain projects for grants.
Also consider that funding agencies rank
projects higher when outcomes touch on
multiple aspects of the above priorities.
Packaging together different priorities in
your project can elevate your opportunity
to obtain funding.
Overview of Funding Programs
Let’s identify some of the most
prominent funding programs.
Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act (IIJA)
The IIJA, also known as the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law (BIL), authorizes
$1.2 trillion in funding for American
infrastructure over the next five years.
When it comes to water infrastructure,
the IIJA provides the potential for more Figure 2 - DWSRF Appropriations and Authorizations Under the IIJA.

26 TPW November/December 2022