Aid_Content Page_SDWLP Emerging Contaminants Program

IIJA/BIL-FUNDED SAFE DRINKING WATER EMERGING CONTAMINANTS PROGRAM

SAFE DRINKING WATER LOAN PROGRAM

The Safe Drinking Water Emerging Contaminants (SDW-EC) Program, which is a subprogram of the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program (SDWLP) and is funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), provides funding to municipalities for municipal water system projects that will reduce or eliminate any detectable levels of any PFAS contaminant compound included in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s enforceable PFAS levels in the water system. The Wisconsin DNR provides information regarding the concerns of PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances).

Attention: The SDWLP and SDW-EC Program are not able to award funds directly to private property owners (e.g. individuals, homeowners). The Water and Wastewater Funding Sources webpage includes resources to assist municipalities, individuals, and other entities in locating other sources of funding and technical assistance.

For additional SDW-EC Program details, see the corresponding state fiscal year (SFY) SDWLP intended use plan (IUP), which is available on the Project Lists and Intended Use Plans webpage.

Allocation of SDW-EC FUNDs

The SDW-EC funding has been integrated into the SDWLP. This allows applicants to compete for general SDWLP principal forgiveness and SDW-EC principal forgiveness. Remaining project costs can be covered through loan funding as long as the costs would be considered eligible under the SDWLP.

A separate scoring system and priority evaluation and ranking form (PERF) have been developed for ranking SDW-EC projects, and this ranking will be used for allocating SDW-EC PF. Up to 50% of EC project costs, up to a cap of $3,500,000 per municipality, is available for eligible projects in the form of SDW-EC PF.

Once the SDW-EC PF is allocated, SDWLP loan funds, and general PF for eligible municipalities, will be allocated in regular priority score order.

In the event SDWLP loan funding and PF is not sufficient to pay the costs of the project in full, the municipality must identify the non-DNR funding that will finance the remaining project costs.

If a project removes PFAS contamination in addition to other contaminants, then only the PFAS-related portions of the project would be considered eligible for SDW-EC PF. The overall PFAS contamination removal-related costs will be calculated by totaling the difference in capital costs with the PFAS removal components included versus the capital costs of the project without the PFAS removal components.

The methodology for allocating SDW-EC funding and SDWLP funding is specified in the corresponding state fiscal year SDWLP intended use plan, which is available on the Project Lists and Intended Use Plans webpage.

Back to Top

Eligible Applicants

Any city, village, town, county, town sanitary district, public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district, joint local water authority created under s. 66.0823, Wis. Stats., or municipal water district in Wisconsin is eligible to apply for the SDWLP and SDW-EC funding.

Project Eligibility

Municipal water system projects that will reduce or eliminate any detectable levels of any PFAS contaminant compound included in the EPA's PFAS hazard index (H.I.) and/or Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for PFOA and/or PFOS in the water system would be considered eligible for funding through the SDWLP and the IIJA/BIL SDW-EC program. Note: Previously, scoring criteria was based on the Wisconsin Department of Health Services' Cycle 11 H.I.

Eligible project types

For details about the eligible project types, refer to the corresponding state fiscal year SDWLP intended use plan, which is available on the Project Lists and Intended Use Plans webpage.

Eligible project types include all of the following:

1. Construction of a new treatment facility or upgrade to an existing treatment facility.

  • Costs associated with interim solutions/temporary/portable PFAS treatment systems might only be eligible if included with a funding request for a long-term solution. Rental or lease costs are eligible.

2. Development of a new source (i.e. new/replacement well or intake for a public water system).

3. Consolidation with another water system that does not have emerging contaminants present or has removal capability. 

4. Creation of a new community water system or extension of a distribution system to address unsafe drinking water provided by individual (i.e. privately-owned) wells or surface water sources.

5. Costs for planning, design and associated pre-project costs.

  • Eligible costs can include an alternatives analysis and non-routine sampling associated with project planning.
  • Costs are eligible as part of a funding request for a project that provides a long-term solution, not as stand-alone costs.

6. Infrastructure related to pilot testing for treatment alternatives.

  • Costs are eligible as part of a funding request for a project that provides a long-term solution, not as stand-alone costs.

7. Rental Costs will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Manganese Consideration

The DNR is considering adding Manganese as a contaminant that would be eligible for SDW-EC funding when it exceeds ‘do not drink’ levels (greater than 300 micrograms per liter (µg/L) or 0.3 mg/L). The DNR will publish more information before the state fiscal year 2027 funding cycle opens. The Wisconsin DNR provides information regarding the concerns of manganese in public and private drinking water systems.

Ineligible projects and costs

Bottled water is not an eligible expense per federal program rules. Point-of-use treatment devices (i.e. filters) are only eligible if the device is the compliance treatment technology and the devices are owned and maintained by the public water system.

Back to Top

HOW TO APPLY

The SDW-EC and EC-SDC funding has been integrated with the SDWLP, so the deadlines and application process are the same as the SDWLP. Additionally, Safe Drinking Water EC-specific documentation must be submitted with the SDWLP application:

Application guidance and considerations will be available in the corresponding state fiscal year SDWLP intended use plan, which is available on the Project Lists and Intended Use Plans webpage, and under the 'How to Apply' and ‘Deadlines’ tabs on the Environmental Loans webpage.

IIJA/BIL EC-SDC Grant Program for Municipal Systems

In addition to the SDW-EC PF, the IIJA/BIL also appropriated grant funding under section 1459A of the SDWA for the Emerging Contaminants in Small and Disadvantaged Communities (EC-SDC) grant program. There is no separate application for municipal EC-SDC funding; however, there are municipal reporting and signage requirements for systems that receive the Emerging Contaminants in Small and Disadvantaged Communities grant funding. The DNR will allocate the municipal EC-SDC funding to the largest eligible applicants to reduce the administrative burden on smaller communities.

FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS

As with any federal funding, the SDW-EC funding involves federal requirements. All applicants receiving IIJA/BIL SDW-EC funds will be treated as federal equivalency projects and will have to comply with the additional federal equivalency requirements detailed on the Federal Equivalency webpage, as applicable.

Applicable federal equivalency requirements include, at a minimum:   

In addition to the federal equivalency requirements, all SDW-EC projects will be required to comply with the standard federal requirements including, but not limited to:

Back to Top

RESOURCES

The Water and Wastewater Funding Sources webpage includes resources to assist municipalities, individuals, and other entities in locating other sources of funding and technical assistance.

For SDW-EC Program details, see the corresponding state fiscal year SDWLP intended use plan (IUP), which is available on the Project Lists and Intended Use Plans webpage. The DNR hosts a webinar to discuss changes in the annual intended use plan and respond to questions from attendees during the IUP’s public comment period. The webinar is recorded and posted with its slides to the same webpage.

Contact Information

Contact Information

Direct questions about the Safe Drinking Water Emerging Contaminants (SDW-EC) funding and the Emerging Contaminants in Small and Disadvantaged Communities (EC-SDC) grant funding to:

Ryan Atkinson, SDW-EC Program specialist

Back to Top

Searching? Don't forget about keyboard shortcut CTRL+F

You can search for a specific word or phrase on the webpage or in the document you are viewing by pressing Ctrl+F on a PC or Command+F on a Mac. Pressing those keys on the keyboard at the same time will open a search box. Simply type the word or phrase to look for and press the Enter key. This command finds and shows you every instance of the word or phrase you search.