EPA Announces Funding for Grants under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act

Yesterday (2/19), EPA announced the availability of over $17 million for projects that implement or improve corrosion control or conduct lead service line replacements in disadvantaged communities and $22.8 million for projects that remove sources of lead in drinking water (e.g., fixtures, fountains, outlets and plumbing materials) in schools or child care facilities. The agency is prioritizing projects for drinking water systems that service disadvantaged communities, including those that are part of qualified Opportunity Zones, and have exceeded the lead action level during the last three years. Qualified Opportunity Zones include designated low-income or distressed communities where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment. The impact that these grants will have on neighborhoods and citizens across the country will supplement the ongoing investment in Opportunity Zones.

This WIIN grant will be competed through a Request for Application process. The funding opportunity is available now and will remain open for 60 days on www.grants.gov. In addition to this announcement of funding availability, EPA is working with states, tribes, and territories to award $87 million in funding through EPA’s two other newly created drinking water grant programs established by WIIN—the Voluntary Lead Testing in Schools and Child Care grant program and the Assistance for Small and Disadvantaged Communities grant program.

Learn more about this grant and EPA’s WIIN grant programs at: https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/drinking-water-grants