Emerging Contaminants (EC) Program Drinking Water (DWSRF) and Clean Water (CWSRF) State Revolving Funds

Given the timeframe for submitting the Lead Service Line Replacement and Emerging Contaminants Project Information Forms (PIFs), the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) will accept PIFs over $100,000 that are not sealed by a professional engineer at the time of submittal, with the understanding that a PIF requesting over $100,000 to remain eligible must be sealed by a registered professional engineer no later than the conclusion of the public comment period on the project priority lists that is currently scheduled for mid-July 2023. It is understood that proposed project costs may differ between the original PIF submission and the PIF being sealed by a professional engineer.

SRF Emerging Contaminants Funding Solicitation

Emerging Contaminants Webinars

1. What can the program do for you?

The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) are authorized by the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide low-cost financial assistance for planning, acquisition, design, and construction of water and wastewater infrastructure.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) appropriated additional funds through the DWSRF and CWSRF for projects that reduce exposure to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other emerging contaminants through drinking water and to help address discharges through wastewater and, potentially, nonpoint sources.

Funding is available through the CWSRF Emerging Contaminants (CWSRF-EC) program and the DWSRF Emerging Contaminants (DWSRF-EC) program. Entities are invited to submit Project Information Forms (PIF) for projects to be included in the current fiscal year's "CWSRF Emerging Contaminants" Intended Use Plan (IUP) and "DWSRF Emerging Contaminants" IUP. Detailed information about each program can be found in the linked IUP documents, which are currently in "draft" status.

2. Who can borrow?

Eligible applicants for the CWSRF-EC program include:

Wastewater treatment management agencies, including interstate agencies and water supply corporations that have been designated and approved as a management agency in the Texas Water Quality Management Plan
Cities, commissions, counties, districts, river authorities, or other public bodies created by or pursuant to state law that have authority to dispose of sewage, industrial waste, or other waste
Intermunicipal, interstate, or State agencies
Authorized Indian tribal organizations
Private entities for nonpoint source projects or estuary projects only (A water supply corporation that has been designated and approved as a management agency in the Texas Water Quality Management Plan is considered a "municipality" and is therefore eligible for funding for Publicly Owned Treatment Works and other activities.)

Recipients eligible to receive assistance are dependent on project type and are defined in section 603(c) of the Clean Water Act.

Eligible applicants for the DWSRF-EC program include:

Existing community Public Water Systems (PWSs) including political subdivisions, nonprofit water supply corporations, and privately-owned community water systems
Non-profit, non-community public water systems
State agencies

3. What types of projects can I use EC funding for?

For a project to be eligible for CWSRF-EC or DWSRF-EC, it must be eligible under the CWSRF or DWSRF programs AND specifically reduce exposure to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other emerging contaminants.

For the CWSRF-EC program, "emerging contaminants" are broadly defined on page 36 (Attachment 1- Appendix B) of the EPA's Implementation of the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Provisions of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law document.

For the DWSRF-EC program, "emerging contaminants" are defined in the EPA's Contaminant Candidate Lists (CCL1- CCL5).

Examples of eligible projects can be found in the draft CWSRF-EC IUP and draft DWSRF-EC IUP.

4. How much funding is available?

The amount of funding available for projects for this year are as follows:

CWSRF-EC: $4,103,040
DWSRF-EC: $56,833,920

5. Are loans or grants offered?

All project funding will be in the form of principal forgiveness.

6. When can I apply for EC financial assistance?

To be included in the initial Project Priority Lists for State Fiscal Year 2023, entities must submit a completed Project Information Form (PIF) no later than midnight on Wednesday, June 7, 2023:

CWSRF Emerging Contaminants Project Information Form must be emailed to CWSRF@twdb.texas.gov
DWSRF Emerging Contaminants Project Information Form must be emailed to DWSRF@twdb.texas.gov

Note: The TWDB is not able to use the Online Loan Application System (OLA) for these submittals. PIFs must be submitted by email using the Microsoft Word version of the form.

7. Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities Grant

In addition to the CWSRF-EC program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced funding available through the Emerging Contaminants in Small and Disadvantaged Communities Grant (EC-SDC) program, of which $114,696,000 has been allotted to Texas.

Check back for more information about TWDB's implementation of this program, but the TWDB may use PIFs received under the new DWSRF Emerging Contaminants program to consider funding under this separate EPA EC-SDC program.

Please refer to the EPA's EC-SDC Grant program webpage for more information.

Special Requirements

Financial assistance through the CWSRF-EC and DWSRF-EC programs require compliance with applicable rules, policies, and statutes, including:

Submittal of a Project Information Form (PIF) to the current Intended Use Plan
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) level of environmental review
Projects must be consistent with the current TWDB State Water Plan
Adoption of a Water Conservation Plan and Drought Contingency Plan for all financial assistance greater than $500,000
Application of Davis-Bacon wage rate requirements
Compliance with the EPA's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, which requires applicants and prime contractors to follow six affirmative steps in procurement (Guidance and additional information is available)
Compliance with EPA's American Iron and Steel Provisions
Compliance with the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA).
Review of legislative requirements regarding water loss threshold limits

Note: all CWSRF-EC and DWSRF-EC projects will be considered "Equivalency" projects, which must follow all federal requirements. More information on funding requirements is available in the draft CWSRF-EC IUP and draft DWSRF-EC IUP.

Where Can I Get More Information About…?

Funding

In order to provide you with a single point of contact at the TWDB, our project implementation staff is organized into six regional project implementation teams. Each team is led by a manager that serves as the primary point of contact for both our existing and future customers. For assistance with the application or any questions related to your project, please look up contact information for your Regional Team.

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