Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise

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Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program Background

The Texas Water Development Board's (TWDB) Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs receive federal funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These funds are used to provide financial assistance for wastewater and drinking water projects. As a condition of federal grant awards, EPA regulations require that funding recipients (municipalities, towns, public water authorities, nonprofit water supply corporations, etc.) and sub-recipients (prime consultants, prime contractors, and subcontractors) make a good faith effort to award a fair share of work in a nondiscriminatory manner whenever procuring Construction and Non-Construction (supplies, equipment, services).

The DBE Program is an outreach and education program designed to increase nondiscriminatory participation in procurements funded by EPA assistance agreements. In addition, EPA regulations require evidence of the demonstration of the six affirmative steps showing a good faith effort.

Recipients of financial assistance (Clean Water State Revolving Fund Equivalency projects and all Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Equivalency projects) are required to be in compliance with the EPA's DBE Program through all phases of the project funded utilizing the Clean Water State Revolving Fund or Drinking Water State Revolving Fund dollars. For more detailed instructions, please review the TWDB's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program Guidance (TWDB-0210).

DBE Guidance

For detailed instructions on the Texas Water Development Board's (TWDB) review for DBE compliance, the DBE Program Guidance (TWDB-0210) document is available for your convenience.

DBE 210 Guidance is currently being updated and is anticipated to be available here on or before 10/1/25. Updates will include 1.) Deletion of Current Fair Share Goals. 2.) Recommended Solicitation Statement. 3.) Required Forms. 4.) Submission Timing. 5.) Contact Us. These sections are currently updated on the DBE Page for access.

Six Good Faith Efforts

  1. Ensure DBEs are made aware of contracting opportunities to the fullest extent practicable through outreach and recruitment activities.  For Indian Tribal, state and local government recipients, this will include placing DBEs on solicitation lists and soliciting them whenever they are potential sources.
  2. Make information on forthcoming opportunities available to DBEs and arrange time frames for contracts and establish delivery schedules, where the requirements permit, in a way that encourages and facilitates participation by DBEs in the competitive process.  This includes, whenever possible, posting solicitations for bids or proposals for a minimum of 30 calendar days before the bid or proposal closing date.
  3. Consider in the contracting process whether firms competing for large contracts could subcontract with DBEs.  For Indian Tribal, state and local government recipients, this will include dividing total requirements, when economically feasible, into smaller tasks or quantities to permit maximum participation by DBEs in the competitive process.
  4. Encourage contracting with a consortium of DBEs when a contract is too large for one of these firms to handle individually.
  5. Use the services and assistance of the Small Business Administration (SBE) and the Minority Business Development Agency of the Department of Commerce.
  6. If the prime contractor awards subcontracts, require the prime contractor to take the above steps.

Resources for Identifying DBEs

To assist entities with identifying, including, and utilizing qualified Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs), recipients of financial assistance and prime contractors are encouraged to refer to the following list of resources made available on local, statewide, and national levels.

Other Minority & Women Business Organizations that you can contact directly to obtain a list of qualified vendors for your procurement opportunity:

Please note that Minority Business Enterprises (MBE), Women-owned Business Enterprises (WBE), or Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) certifications provided by the Texas Small Businesses Association or Texas Certification Directory will not be accepted by the TWDB or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

How to Become a Certified DBE

Self-Certification of MBEs and WBEs does not meet the EPA's current DBE requirements. Disadvantaged Business Enterprises must be certified by state, local, Tribal, or private entities whose certification criteria meets or exceeds EPA's. To qualify as a MBE or WBE, a business must establish that it is at least 51% owned and/or controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who are of good character and are citizens of the United States. The TWDB will accept certifications from the following governmental entities:

Requirements and Recommendations

Solicitation Statement

To be compliant with the DBE Program, all solicitations, both publicly advertised and via direct contact, must address 1) good faith efforts; 2) the involvement of federal EPA funding; and 3) encouragement of all prime and subcontractor bidders.

To ensure compliance, the TWDB recommends including the following language in all solicitations:

This contract is subject to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program, which includes and offers procurement opportunities to all businesses during solicitations. EPA rules require that applicants and prime contractors/consultants make a good faith effort to award a fair share of contracts, subcontracts, and procurements in a nondiscriminatory manner through demonstration of the six affirmative steps. For more details of the DBE Program, please visit www.twdb.texas.gov/DBE.

Required Forms

Submission Timing

Project Application Phase
Applicants requesting federal financial assistance through the State Revolving Fund (SRF) must include a TWDB-0215 form with the application.

Commitment and Closing Phase
After receiving a commitment, but 30 days prior to closing, applicants must provide a TWDB-0217 form for the project’s Prime Engineer, Financial Advisor, and Bond Counsel indicating availability of any subconsultant opportunities, or if the prime will be self-performing 100 percent of the contract. Failure to comply or include a contractor and/or contract may result in delayed or denied payment.

Planning and Designing Phase (PAD)
Some projects require additional procurements during the planning phase for geotechnical and materials testing, pilot testing, surveying, archeological surveys, etc. Projects requiring additional procurement during the PAD Phase will require submittal of the signed TWDB-0217 form once the service contract has been awarded.

Construction Contract Phase
For each Construction Contract, financial recipients or their representative must provide a TWDB-0217 form for the project’s Prime Contractor indicating availability of any subcontracting opportunities, or if the prime will self-perform 100 percent of the contract. Failure to comply or include a contractor and/or contract may result in delayed or denied payment.

External DBE Training

Highly recommended for financial recipients and their primes to assist in meeting solicitation/procurement requirements on "equivalency" funded projects.

External training is currently being updated and is anticipated to be available here on or before 10/1/25. Updates will include 1.) Deletion of Current Fair Share Goals 2.) Recommended Solicitation Statement 3.) Required Forms 4.) Submission Timing 5.) Contact Us

Contact Us

For assistance related to the TWDB's DBE Program, please email Jo Bradshaw or DBE@twdb.texas.gov or call (512) 463-4841.