Federal funding in the District of Columbia - an overview
The US Congress and the President decide how federal funds are spent and determine the broad funding levels and categories for special spending packages for local communities. The District receives annual baseline funding from several federal programs, and it receives additional funding from major spending laws. This additional funding is designed to stimulate fiscal recovery from the pandemic, modernize infrastructure, and fight climate change. The amount of funding DOEE expects to receive from the most recent major spending laws and the projects those funds will support are summarized below.
Benefitting District residents
District residents will directly benefit from the hundreds of millions of dollars that will flow to the city for environmental projects over the next few years. Critically, miles of lead pipes will be removed, increasing drinking water safety for the public. New green infrastructure like rain gardens, permeable pavement, and green roofs, will be installed on public and residential land throughout the city, and streams will be restored. This will improve stormwater management, lessen neighborhood flooding, reduce pollution in the Anacostia River, and beautify the District. Hundreds of single family homes as well as multifamily and public-owned buildings will get energy retrofits to make them more energy efficient and switch their energy source to solar, which will cut greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and make buildings healthier.
Prioritizing Equity
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
Enacted in March 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides funding to address the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the ARPA program known as the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF), the U.S. Treasury awarded $350 billion in funding to state, local, and tribal governments to make up for lost revenue, support basic public services during the pandemic, and for investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.
The District was awarded $2.3 billion in SLFRF funds, which is distributed by the Mayor and Council to District agencies. Through fiscal year 2023, DOEE has received about $143 million in SLFRF funds to support energy and green infrastructure programs. Because SLFRF funds are flexible in how they can be spent, the Mayor and Council can adjust annual allocations as needed to address changing priorities and funding needs. Additional information on the city’s use of SLFRF funds is detailed in the Mayor’s Recovery Plan Performance reports. Outside of SLFRF, DOEE also received ARPA funding directly from federal agencies to support air quality monitoring and to assist low income households in paying energy bills.
| American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for energy and environmental projects Total Awarded from 2021 to 2023 |
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| Funding Source | Amount* | Projects supported with this funding |
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DOEE | Lead and Mold Hazard Mitigation |
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DOEE, DC SEU, DC Green Bank, DHCD | Affordable Housing Retrofit Accelerator (AHRA) |
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DHCA | for BEPS compliance |
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DOEE, DOES | Solar Works |
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DC SEU | Solar for All |
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DC Water | Lead Pipe Replacement |
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DOEE | Green Infrastructure Maintenance |
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DOEE, MPD, DPW | Dump Busters |
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DOEE | Kingman Island Rangers |
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DOEE | Home Weatherization Assistance |
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| US HHS | Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (US LIHEAP) | $14,560,741 | DOEE | Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (DC LIHEAP) Energy bill payment assistance for low income households |
| US HHS | Low Income Home Water Assistance Program (US LIHWAP) | $1,065,461 | DOEE | Low Income Home Water Assistance Program Water bill payment assistance for low income households |
| US EPA | American Rescue Plan Programs | $ 914,500 | DOEE | Air Quality Planning and Monitoring Various programs for air quality planning and monitoring in disadvantaged communities |
| Total for energy and environmental projects | $159,576,805 | |
* Values have been rounded to the nearest whole dollar amount. *Last updated April 2023
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)
The District will receive $3.3 billion over five years. About 80% of this funding will go toward public transit and lead pipe replacement projects implemented by WMATA and DC Water. Most of the remaining funding will go toward transportation improvements and high speed internet expansion. Learn more about the District’s Build Back Better Infrastructure Task Force. There will also be opportunities for the District to receive more funding through competitive grant programs administered by a number of federal agencies.
DOEE anticipates receiving roughly $83 million in BIL formula funding from 2022 to 2026 (based on population and census data) specifically to support green infrastructure and energy programs. There are rules and guidelines for how and by when these funds must be spent. Most of this funding will flow into preapproved existing environmental programs, while some funds may be used to set up new programs as outlined in the table below.
| Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding for environmental projects Total anticipated from 2022 to 2026 |
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| Funding source | Amount | Projects supported by this funding and lead agencies |
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US EPA | Drinking Water Capitalization and Emerging Contaminants |
$149,000,000 | DC Water Replacement, upgrades, and expansions to the drinking water distribution system including treatment improvements to assess contaminants |
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US EPA | Drinking Water Reducing Lead in Drinking Water |
$141,750,000 | DC Water | Lead Pipe Replacement Replacement of underground lead water pipes with copper or other material to reduce potential health risks associated with lead in drinking water |
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DC Water Total |
$290,750,000 |
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| US EPA | Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) |
$62,000,000 | DOEE | Clean Water Construction Program Design and construction projects to retrofit District property and public space to promote water quality improvements to District streams and rivers such as green streets, cisterns for rain water harvesting, and stream restoration |
| US EPA | Chesapeake Bay Program | $2,500,000 | DOEE | RiverSmart Homes Installation of rain barrels, shade trees, rain gardens, bay scaping, vegetation, and permeable pavers for single family homes of all incomes |
| US EPA | Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) State and Tribal Response Program | $1,400,000 | Brownfield Assessments Assessment and cleanup of soil and groundwater contamination left behind by several former dry cleaning sites to reduce vapor intrusion risks at sites and adjacent properties |
| US DOE | Weatherization Assistance Program (US WAP) | $5,200,000 | DOEE | Weatherization Assistance Program (DC WAP) Energy audits and energy efficient home improvements like insulation, duct sealing, HVAC repairs or replacement, and efficient lighting and appliances of low income single family homes |
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US HHS | Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program |
$1,500,000 | DOEE | Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (DC LIHEAP) Energy bill payment assistance for low income households |
| US DOE | Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund Capitalization Grant Program (EERLF) | $4,400,000 | DOEE, DC Green Bank Grants and loans for energy efficiency improvements to publicly-owned and privately-owned buildings |
| US DOE | State Energy Program (SEP) | $3,000,000 | TBD |
| US DOE | Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EERBG) | $1,900,000 | TBD |
| US DOE | Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid | $1,500,000 | DOEE Funding to improve the resilience of DC’s electric grids |
| DOEE Total | $83,400,000 | |
*Last updated April 2023
Passed in August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides $370 billion for the nation over eight years for clean energy, energy efficiency, and climate resilience. Federal agencies are currently conducting public outreach and developing guidelines for new funding programs with details expected later in the year. DOEE will be awarded some direct formula funding and intends to apply for relevant competitive grants in the coming years. The IRA also provides rebates and tax credits to consumers to help households offset costs for energy-efficiency and renewable energy home upgrades. Learn more about how to take advantage of these programs by visiting DOEE’s IRA home energy incentives web page. The following table provides information on non-competitive or formula funding that DOEE will receive under the IRA.
| Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding for energy and environmental projects Total anticipated starting in 2023 |
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| Funding source | Amount | Projects supported by this funding | |
| US DOE | Home Efficiency Rebates | $29,808,850 | DOEE, | IRA Rebates Discount consumer rebates for high-efficiency electric appliances, heat pumps, and other products to make homes more energy efficient |
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| US DOE | Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates | $29,635,400 | ||
| US EPA | Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) | TBD | TBD | |
| Total | $59,444,250 | ||
*Last updated April 2023
Competitive Federal Grants
Competitive federal grants are not guaranteed funds like state and local formula funding. Rather, interested applicants (such as a city or state, a local agency, a community organization, or a private sector applicant) must develop proposals and compete to win those awards. Proposals are reviewed by a panel of experts who score the applications based on selection criteria outlined in the initial grant notice. Both the BIL and IRA programs will offer competitive grant opportunities, which are published on federal agencies’ web sites and at www.grants.gov as they become available.
Despite many of these programs being highly competitive with hundreds of jurisdictions submitting proposals, DOEE and other District agencies are committed to pursuing opportunities that could further advance the city’s sustainability, climate action, and environmental justice goals. The following table summarizes some of the recent BIL and IRA grants District agencies and affiliated entities are pursuing to fund environmental projects in the District.
| Competitive (BIL and IRA) federal grants for environmental projects | ||||
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Federal Grant Program |
Lead Applicant |
Proposed environmental project |
Applied |
Awarded |
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Renew America's Schools (US DOE) |
DGS |
Energy efficiency improvements at DC public schools |
TBD |
TBD |
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Resilient & Efficient Codes (US DOE) |
NBI |
Energy efficient building code development |
Mar 2023 |
Pending |
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Recycling Education & Outreach (US EPA) |
DOEE |
Battery recycling campaign and rechargeable battery promotion |
Feb 2023 |
Pending |
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Regional Invasive Species (USDA) |
MWCOG |
Detection and rapid response to invasive plants that threaten urban forests |
Feb 2023 |
Pending |
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Flood Mitigation Assistance (FEMA) |
HSEMA |
Scoping phase for DC Watts Branch flood mitigation concept design plan |
Jan 2023 |
$581,000 |
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Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) (FEMA) |
HSEMA |
Floodproofing and infrastructure improvements to increase power resilience at the Eastern Avenue stormwater pump station |
Jan 2023 |
Pending |
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SMART (US DOT) |
DDOT |
Intersection safety sensors and electric vehicle charging |
Nov 2022 |
Pending |
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DOEE |
Stream restoration, algal river pollution scrubber, and stormwater retention credit (SRC) program |
Nov 2022 |
Pending |
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Brownfield Community Wide Assessment (US EPA) |
DOEE |
Assessment of brownfield properties in lower income neighborhoods |
Nov 2022 |
Pending |
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Brownfield Job Training (US EPA) |
DOEE |
Job training and placement in brownfield remediation |
Aug 2022 |
$0 |
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Clean School Bus (US EPA) |
OSSE |
Clean school bus purchase |
Aug 2022 |
$7,625,000 |
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America the Beautiful (US NFWF) |
DOEE |
Stream, wetlands, and meadow planning and restoration |
July 2022 |
$0 |
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RAISE (US DOT) |
DDOT |
Four mile walking and biking trail in Ward 8 along South Capitol Street |
Apr 2022 |
$10,000,000 |
*Last updated April 2023