Assistance for Small and Disadvantaged Communities Drinking Water Grant Program (SDWA 1459A)
To assist small and disadvantaged communities to comply with the Safe Water Drinking Act (SDWA). Funding is awarded to states and territories, including a tribal allotment, for: (1) investments necessary for public water systems to comply with national drinking water standards; (2) programs to provide household water quality testing, including testing for unregulated contaminants; and (3) activities necessary for a state to respond to a contaminant. Funding Priorities - Fiscal Year 2019: Funding priority is for projects and activities that benefit underserved communities. Underserved communities include those communities that do not have household drinking water or wastewater services; or are served by a public water system that violates, or exceeds a requirement of a national primary drinking water regulation issued under SDWA section 1412, including a maximum contaminant level; a treatment technique; or an action level.
General information about this opportunity
Last Known Status
Active
Program Number
66.442
Federal Agency/Office
Environmental Protection Agency
Type(s) of Assistance Offered
A - Formula Grants
Program Accomplishments
Fiscal Year 2019 The projects and activities eligible anticipated to be funded include SDWA compliance investments targeted to public water systems, programs to provide household water quality testing (including testing for unregulated contaminants), as well as activities to respond to a drinking water contaminant.
Authorization
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), Section 1459A, as amended by section 2104 of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, and by section 2005 of the 2018 America's Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA).
Who is eligible to apply/benefit from this assistance?
Applicant Eligibility
Eligibility is limited to the governments of the fifty States; the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; the Northern Mariana Islands; the Virgin Islands; Guam; American Samoa; and federally recognized tribes.
Beneficiary Eligibility
Funded activities will benefit residents of small and disadvantaged communities that do not have household drinking water or wastewater services, or are served by public water systems that do not meet Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.
Credentials/Documentation
Not applicable.
What is the process for applying and being award this assistance?
Pre-Application Procedure
Preapplication coordination is required. An environmental impact statement is required for this listing. Preapplication coordination is required with the appropriate EPA Regional Office, found at https://epa.gov/safewater/grants. Draft work plans will be submitted to EPA Regions to ensure that proposed activities conform to all applicable requirements of the grant. The standard application forms, as furnished by the Federal agency and required by 2 CFR 200 and 1500 as applicable, must be used for this program. Consistent with the procedural requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500 through 1508) and the EPA’s NEPA Regulations (40 CFR Part 6), grant recipients may be required to conduct environmental reviews.
Application Procedure
2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. This is a noncompetitive grant program. Applicants, except in limited circumstances approved by the Agency, must submit all initial applications for funding through http://www.grants.gov. Additional information on the EPA grant package can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/how_to_apply.htm.
Award Procedure
The grant applications are reviewed by the appropriate EPA Regional Office, and if approved, the funds are awarded to the recipient.
Deadlines
Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines
Approval/Disapproval Decision Time
From 60 to 90 days.
Appeals
Disputes relating to matters other than the competitive selection of recipients will be resolved under 2 CFR 1500 Subpart E, as applicable.
Renewals
Not applicable.
How are proposals selected?
Not applicable.
How may assistance be used?
Funds are provided to eligible applicants to carry out projects and activities needed for public water systems to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act, programs to provide household water quality testing, and activities for a state to respond to a drinking water contaminant. Assistance agreement awards under this program may involve or relate to geospatial information. Further information regarding geospatial information may be obtained by viewing the following website: https://www.epa.gov/geospatial. Grant recipients and sub-recipients are encouraged to adopt and enforce policies that ban text messaging while driving company-owned or -rented vehicles or government-owned vehicles, or while driving privately-owned vehicles when on official government business or when performing any work for or on behalf of the government. Grant recipients and sub-recipients are encouraged to conduct initiatives of the type described in section 3(a) of the Federal Leadership on Reducing Text Messaging While Driving Executive Order that was signed on October 1, 2009.
What are the requirements after being awarded this opportunity?
Reporting
Performance Reports: Reporting requirements shall be determined at the time of award.
Auditing
Grants and cooperative agreements are subject to inspections and audits by the Comptroller General of the United States, the EPA Office of Inspector General, other EPA staff, or any authorized representative of the Federal government. Reviews by the EPA Project Officer and the Grants Specialist may occur each year.
Records
The record retention requirements of 2 CFR 200 and 1500 as applicable, apply. Recipients must keep financial records, including all documents supporting entries on accounting records and to substantiate changes in grants, available to personnel authorized to examine EPA recipients grants and cooperative agreements records. Recipients must maintain all records until 3 years from the date of submission of final expenditure reports. If questions, such as those raised as a result of audits remain following the 3-year period, recipients must retain records until the matter is completely resolved.
Other Assistance Considerations
Formula and Matching Requirements
Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.
Matching is mandatory. 45%. The grant award requires a non-federal cost share/match of no less than 45% of the total costs of the project or activity. Matching requirements will be described in implementation documents. This program does not have a statutory formula. However, EPA allocates funds based on formulas contained in regulations or program guidance.
MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
The terms of the grant shall be determined at the time of grant award. The method of fund disbursement will be determined at the time of award.
Who do I contact about this opportunity?
Regional or Local Office
A list of EPA Regional Contacts is available at www.epa.gov/safewater/grants. Additional Headquarters Office Contact: Alyssa Edwards, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. (Mail Code: 4606M), Washington, D.C. 20460, Email: edwards.alyssa@epa.gov; Phone: 202-564-0473
Headquarters Office
Yvonne Gonzalez, Program Lead
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. (Mail Code: 7405M)
Washington, DC 20460 USA
gonzalez.yvonne@epa.gov
Phone: 202-564-2912
Catherine Davis, Associate Branch Chief
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. (Mail Code: 1305A)
Washington, DC 20460 USA
davis.catherinem@epa.gov
Phone: 202-564-2703
Website Address
https://epa.gov/safewater/grants
Financial Information
Account Identification
68-0103-0-1-304
Obligations
(Formula Grants) FY 18$0.00; FY 19 est $42,800,000.00; FY 20 -
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
Range for States/Territories: $150,000 to $3,770,000; Average: $763,000. Range of regional tribal allotments: $19,000 to $274,000; Average: $97,000.
Regulations, Guidelines and Literature
Assistance agreement awards are subject to the grant regulations (2 CFR 200 and 1500 as applicable). Grant implementation documents can be found at https://epa.gov/safewater/grants .
Examples of Funded Projects
Fiscal Year 2019 The projects and activities anticipated to be funded include SDWA compliance investments targeted to public water systems, programs to provide household water quality testing (including testing for unregulated contaminants), as well as activities to respond to a drinking water contaminant. Grant funding can be also used for activities that may include, but are not limited to: (1) Treatment; (2) Transmission and Distribution; (3) Storage (e.g. installation or replacement/rehabilitation of water storage infrastructure); (4) Consolidation (e.g. interconnecting two or more public water systems); (5) Household water quality testing, including for unregulated contaminants; (6) Assistance to increase technical, managerial, and financial (TMF) capacity; (7) Drinking water contamination response efforts.