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Clean Water Construction Grant Program
The CWC grant program receives funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Water State Revolving Fund. This grant can provide up to 80% of a project’s total cost. Project applicants must provide at least 20% of their project’s eligible costs using a non-federal funding source, referred to as the local match. This minimum project budget, including local match, eligible for funding consideration is $250,000.
The quick guide below outlines 1) the types of projects funded, 2) when funding may be available if your project is selected, 3) the application process, and 4) last year’s Request for Applications.
To be placed on an email list to receive funding announcements or to learn more about how your agency or organization can apply, please contact Raymond Nuesch, [email protected] or (202) 578-1674.
Types of Projects Funded
The District of Columbia’s Clean Water Construction (CWC) program may provide funding for design and construction of projects that contribute towards the District’s compliance with the Clean Water Act (CWA) through one of four categories, (1) Stormwater Green Infrastructure Projects, (2) Stormwater Grey Infrastructure Projects, (3) Sewage Infrastructure Projects, and (4) Emerging Contaminants Infrastructure Projects.
Funding Cycle
The CWC grant award process occurs over two fiscal years. In the first year of the cycle, DOEE updates the existing Project Priority Lists (PPL) with new projects, as follows:
- DOEE solicits applications for new projects;
- DOEE adds new projects to a PPL within the applicable project category, in order from highest score to lowest, creating three ranked lists;
- DOEE seeks public comment on the PPLs; and
- DOEE submits the PPLs to EPA for review and approval.
In the second year of the cycle, DOEE applies for CWC funding in the following way:
- EPA notifies DOEE of the Clean Water Construction State Revolving Fund allocation;
- DOEE uses the PPLs to identify the highest ranked projects to include in the application. DOEE determines which projects to fund by considering the amount of funding available and which projects are ready to proceed; and
- DOEE submits the District’s CWC grant application to EPA.
For further information on this process, refer to the District’s Project Priority Rating System (PPRS). The PPRS and the PPLs are available for download at the bottom of this page.
How to Apply
Step 1: Request to be added to the CWC Stakeholder list so that notice of the funding opportunity will be emailed to you as soon as the opportunity opens.
Step 2: Determine whether the proposed project would be categorized as Stormwater Green Infrastructure, Stormwater Grey Infrastructure, or Sewage Infrastructure.
Step 3: Obtain written permission to perform work from the property owner. This could be DDOT, DPR, NPS, DCHA, etc.
Step 4: Calculate the total project cost, federal funding request (up to 80% of the total project cost) and local match requirement (at least 20% of the total project cost). (Emerging contaminants applications do not require a matching contribution.)
Step 5: Secure a source of local match funding.
Step 6: Submit a proposal that directly addresses the scoring criteria found in the Project Priority Rating system (PPRS) and includes all elements and documents required by the Request for Applications.
Request for Applications
While the text and requirements of the RFA may change slightly each year, reviewing the previous Clean Water Construction Request for Applications (CWC RFA) may be helpful for planning purposes. Please note that the District Project Priority Rating System (PPRS) was updated in November 2022 and supersedes the prior version of the PPRS (as referenced in Appendix 8 of the previous CWC RFA). The current PPRS is available in the attachments section below.
