Grants for Drinking Water, Wastewater and Stormwater Projects

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality offers funding through low-interest loans, Principal Forgiveness, and grants for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater projects. These financial resources support the construction of infrastructure to improve water quality and address emerging contaminants. Eligible applicants include municipalities and public authorities. The program emphasizes sustainability, with additional funding for green initiatives and studies addressing PFAS contamination. This initiative promotes community health and environmental protection through enhanced water management.

Low-interest loans, Principal Forgiveness (PF), and grants from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), State Reserve Program (SRP), and Community Development Block Grant – Infrastructure (CDBG-I) program are available for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure construction projects. Principal forgiveness from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) DWSRF and CWSRF Emerging Contaminants funds are available for projects addressing PFAS contamination in drinking water and wastewater. Low-interest CWSRF loans are available for green projects such as stormwater quality infrastructure and stream restoration projects. Asset Inventory and Assessment (AIA) grants and Merger/Regionalization Feasibility (MRF) grants are available for drinking water and wastewater studies.
Funding
Grants/PF are limited by the grant/PF eligibility of the applicant, by the availability of grants and PF, and by program type (e.g. up to $3 million in CDBG-I grants; up to $500,000 in State Revolving Funds for most types of drinking water and wastewater construction projects unless additional PF funds are available which will be allocated in $500,000 increments; up to $3 million in Drinking Water Reserve or Wastewater Reserve grant funding; up to $5 million in stormwater construction projects funded from LASII; up to $5 million for drinking water construction projects addressing PFAS funded from BIL DWSRF Emerging Contaminants funds; up to $500,000 for drinking water evaluation/assessment studies to address PFAS contamination funded from BIL DWSRF Emerging Contaminants funds). Since drinking water and wastewater construction projects eligible for principal forgiveness from the State Revolving Funds may be limited to $500,000 in principal forgiveness, selecting a minimum grant/PF amount above $500,000 risks the possibility of not being offered any funding if there are insufficient grant/principal forgiveness funds. Grant/principal forgiveness is limited by the eligibility of the applicant.