EPA Announces Availability of $40 Million to Further Reduce Lead in Drinking Water

as part of EPA’s 50th anniversary celebration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of approximately $40 million to assist disadvantaged communities and schools with removing sources of lead in drinking water. This funding will help protect the health of children in disadvantaged communities and makes progress on implementing the Trump Administration’s Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures.

“Protecting children from lead in drinking water is a top priority for President Trump and the EPA,” said U.S. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “This new funding—authorized under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act—will be directed to schools and disadvantaged communities and will help support public health and economic potential in Opportunity Zones.”

EPA is announcing 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.