$121 million from EPA will fund critical drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet today welcomed the first funding headed to Colorado from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, an initial $121,347,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for water infrastructure projects. The funding comes through EPA’s State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs and will help upgrade Colorado’s aging water infrastructure. It will address issues like lead in drinking water and PFAS contamination.
“Our Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill will eliminate lead pipes and clean up contamination in communities across Colorado,” said Hickenlooper. “We’re working to get the funds where they’re needed as fast as possible.”
“Clean water should be available to everyone — but far too many communities in Colorado lack access,” said Bennet. “The water infrastructure funding coming to Colorado from the infrastructure bill is a major step toward reducing this disparity. As these funds are distributed across our state, collaboration at every level of government is critical to ensure water system upgrades are prioritized for rural areas, Tribes and other communities that have historically lacked access to clean water and wastewater systems.”
The water funding was included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which was signed into law earlier this month. Hickenlooper was part of a bipartisan group of 22 senators who negotiated and wrote the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill in the Senate.
Background:
- In total, EPA will allocate $7.4 billion to states, Tribes, and territories for 2022, with nearly half of this funding available as grants or principal forgiveness loans that remove barriers to investing in essential water infrastructure in underserved communities across rural America and in urban areas.
- The 2022 allocation is the first of five years of $43 billion in dedicated EPA SRF funding that states will receive through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. SRFs have been a primary source of water infrastructure investments for the last 30 years, providing low-cost financing for local projects across America.
- Many vulnerable communities facing water challenges have historically received insufficient federal water infrastructure funding. Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, states have a new opportunity to correct this disparity.
- Earlier this year, Bennet and Hickenlooper introduced the Tribal Access to Clean Water Act to address the significant backlog of water infrastructure projects in tribal communities and provide clean water to the overwhelming number of Native American households who currently lack access.
For more information on the state-by-state allocation of infrastructure funds by EPA, click HERE.
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