Climate Adaptation Funding for Water Sector Utilities
Loan and Grant Opportunities
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR)
- Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program (Community Change Grants): OEJECR’s Community Change Grants will offer $2 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funds to finance community-driven projects that address climate challenges and reduce pollution while strengthening communities through thoughtful implementation. Read the Notice of Funding Opportunity here. This funding opportunity is currently listed on Grants.Gov under opportunity number EPA-R-OEJECR-OCS-23-04. The application period closes on November 21, 2024.
- Community Change Equitable Resilience Technical Assistance: This program will provide free design and project development assistance, community engagement, and partnership development workshops that support climate resilience and environmental justice activities in disaster-prone areas. This program will help eligible entities develop applications to be submitted for grants under the OEJECR Community Change Grant Notice of Funding Opportunity (see bullet above). For more information on the program, eligibility requirements, and possible project types, please access this link. EPA intends to offer this technical assistance to up to 50 recipients nationwide, and the announcement will remain open until 50 recipients have been identified. To request assistance, please complete the following form: Technical Assistance Request Form.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA)
- The U.S. EPA recently announced the availability of $7.5 billion in credit assistance through its Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program FY 2024 Notices of Funding Availability: $6.5 billion will be allocated under the WIFIA Notice of Funding Availability, while $1 billion will be allocated under the State Infrastructure Financing Water Authority WIFIA (SWIFIA) Notice of Funding Availability. The WIFIA program offers long-term loans to help communities implement critical water infrastructure projects, which protect public health, deliver environmental benefits, and support local economies, for a lower cost. Through WIFIA program financing, borrowers have the ability to combine multiple projects into a single loan and access flexibilities that include interest rate resets, debt sculpting, and fast disbursements. Any States, cities, Tribes, utilities, and other public and private entities seeking financing for their water infrastructure projects can submit a letter of interest at any time. Check out the WIFIA Available Funding Webpage for more information.
Funding Resilience
The implementation of adaptive measures to address climate impact at water sector utilities are necessary to ensure clean and safe water provisions throughout the nation.
Listed below are funding sources from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and others. These Federal Funding Sources, along with EPA’S Financial Tools, will guide you to a variety of sources that fund climate resilience infrastructure projects, pay for operation and maintenance costs, and sustain resiliency programs. Click below to expand each section.
