The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Infrastructure Fall 2022 application round closed with 649 submitted applications for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater funding, nearly reaching the record number of applications received in the Spring 2022 funding round. The applications represent more than $2.7 billion in funding requests and reflect needs across the state, with utilities in 91 of North Carolina’s 100 counties requesting funding.
The Division website includes a new interactive dashboard listing by county the individual projects local government units applied for in Fall 2022 for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure funding.
“The American Rescue Plan Act funding and the new stormwater infrastructure program provide additional opportunities for significant investment in North Carolina communities to benefit water quality, public health, and the environment,” said Secretary Elizabeth S. Biser. “Even after the historic Spring funding round, the total requests still far outweigh the amount available, highlighting how great the infrastructure needs are in our state.”
The 2017 Statewide Water and Wastewater Master Plan indicated a total statewide need of $17 to $26 billion in water and wastewater infrastructure funding.
The Fall 2022 application round includes the first available funding from the new Local Assistance for Stormwater Infrastructure Investments (LASII) program. The funding offered in this round is a portion of $2.3 billion appropriated by the North Carolina General Assembly from the state’s allocation of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and other sources, and funding from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Additional details are available in the Division’s ARPA Administration Plan and the LASII Administration Plan. Once the applications are reviewed, grants and loans are scheduled to be awarded by the State Water Infrastructure Authority in February 2023.
Information about the drinking water, wastewater and stormwater funding administered by the Division of Water Infrastructure is available at: https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-infrastructure