Basic Information for State Grants
What is EPA’ s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, DWSRF program?
TThe DWSRF program provides states with capitalization grants that may be used for two major purposes. The first purpose is capitalization of a state revolving loan fund. The second major purpose for which a state may use its capitalization grant is funding “set-asides. The program was designed to further public health protection under the SDWA. Congress established the DWSRF as part of the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments.
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What is the goal of the DWSRF?
The goal of the DWSRF Program is to provide states with the means to establish a revolving fund to provide low-cost loans to public water systems and other funding through set-asides to further public health protection under the SDWA.
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What types of projects are eligible for assistance from state revolving loan fund programs?
Eligible projects include treatment, certain storage facilities, transmission and distribution systems, and consolidation of systems.
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What types of funding are available through the set-aside provision?
Examples of activities that can be funded through set-asides include: technical assistance to water systems, source water protection, operator certification, and enhancing the ability of systems to operate successfully in the long term.
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How are annual appropriations allotted to states?
The funds available for allotment to the state SRF programs are those funds appropriated by Congress under the Safe Drinking Water Act. EPA allots funds to each state based on the state’s proportional share of total eligible needs reported for the most recent Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey.
The 2006 through 2009 allotments will be based on the 2003 needs survey.
The minimum proportional share that each State can receive is one percent of funds.
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Are annual appropriations allotted to Indian Tribes or Alaskan Native Villages?
Under this allotment, there is a provision for national set-asides that could include Indian Tribes/Alaskan Native Villages.
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Are annual appropriations allotted to other jurisdictions and the District of Columbia?
The SDWA requires up to 0.33 percent of the funds available for allotment to the states be reserved to provide grants to the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and Guam. One percent of the funds available for allotment to the states are also reserved to provide grants to the District of Columbia.
What is the method for allotment of funding?
The funds available for allotment to state DWSRF programs are those funds
appropriated by Congress under the Safe Drinking Water Act. EPA allots funds
to each state based on the state's proportional share of total eligible needs
reported for the most recent Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey (which
is conducted every four years). The minimum proportional share that each state
can receive is one percent of total funds available to states.
EPA reserves up to 0.33 percent of the funds available for allotment to the
states to provide grants to the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and Guam. The SDWA also requires the Administrator
to reserve one percent of the funds available for allotment to the states to
provide grants to the District of Columbia. The SDWA also allows EPA to reserve
funds for national set-asides that could include: Indian Tribes/Alaskan Native
Villages, health effects studies, small system technical assistance, monitoring
of unregulated contaminants, and operator certification reimbursement grants.
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