Water quality grants and loans

The current process is first-come, first-serve and only considers project priority at the end of the process, which can limit funding availability to many priority projects. The proposed changes will result in implementing priority scoring earlier in the process to provide advance notice of project priority and funding opportunities. Scoring is based on the criteria in the priority scoring models in Attachment I of the Drinking Water Revolving Fund and Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund Intended Use Plans (IUPs). 

The improved process will use a priority point threshold to determine when a project may submit a loan application. Projects that score at or above the threshold may apply at any loan cycle during the year (“Open” and “Limited” cycles are shown in the schedule below). Projects that score below the threshold may only apply at the “Open” cycles. Applicants will be provided a preliminary score at the Prequalification stage and a final score at the Project Needs Assessment stage. The proposed schedule for "Open" and "Limited" cycles is shown below:

• January 5th (leveraged) - Open
• February 5th - Open
• April 5th - Limited
• June 5th (leveraged) - Limited
• August 5th - Limited
• October 5th - Limited
• November 5th - Limited

The proposed changes will not go into effect until 2025. The existing process will remain the same until that time. The changes are made official by incorporating them into the SRF IUP. The IUP is updated annually and submitted to the Water Quality Control Commission for review by the public and approval by the commission in October. We are hosting virtual Question & Answer sessions to provide detailed information regarding the change, answer questions, and discuss any applicant concerns.