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TDEC announces new information on ARP funding opportunities

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The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has announced new information regarding the State Water Infrastructure Grants (SWIG) program, which is administering American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding opportunities. 

Phase I of the grant funding program focuses on non-competitive, formula-based grants while Phase II focuses on competitive grants and state strategic projects. TDEC shared important information on funding strategies for both phases. 

Project awards by region so far. 
PHASE I 

TDEC was enormously successful in obligating the non-competitive grants throughout 2023. Under this program, TDEC awarded 337 grants, representing all 95 counties and 267 cities across the state, that totaled approximately $996 million in funding. These grants encompass a staggering 1,119 projects: 605 focused on drinking water, 399 on wastewater, and 115 on stormwater. 

As grantees continue navigate through the non-competitive program, we want to ensure all parties are aware of the requirements to receive reimbursements, get approval for deliverables, and close-out completed projects.   

  • The ARP non-competitive grants are reimbursement for costs incurred for all projects. 
  • All projects must provide procurement documentation for review and approval prior to submitting a grant reimbursement request; this includes grant administration costs. 
  • Deliverable dates proposed by grantees during the application phase can be updated and modified for all required deliverables through GMS. 
  • Grantees should request site inspections through GMS once a construction project starts. 
  • Grantees should not request project changes in approved contracts. Doing so will cause delays in project completion and will most likely result in a denial for project changes.  

TDEC has developed a number of resources to assist grantees with procurement, reimbursement, and project reporting.   

  • Implementation Guide: The Implementation Guide details contract, state, and federal requirements for grantees to ensure compliance when executing projects using non -competitive grant funding. Grantees should also review this guidance for information on grantee monitoring and risk assessments the state will conduct for each awardee.  
  • GMS User Guide: The GMS User Guide includes submittal guidance and step-by-step instructions on procurement, reimbursement, deliverables, and site inspections as well as links to additional implementation resources.  
  • Quick Reference Guides: The quick reference guides outline requirements, prerequisites, documents needed, and resources for contracts, reimbursements, deliverables, and preliminary engineering reports.  
  • Contract Conditions Quick Reference Guide  
  • Deliverables Quick Reference Guide  
  • PER Quick Reference Guide  
  • Reimbursement Quick Reference Guide 
TDEC Funding Breakdown
Funding breakdown of projects awarded so far by project type.
PHASE II 

Tremendous progress has also been made on Phase II of our funding strategy. Phase II allocates $269 million toward state-initiated strategic projects that seek to support water system needs throughout the state and assist in funding projects that address state priorities. 

TDEC is excited to announce the awarding of 49 competitive grants totaling $191.2 million for regionalization, water reuse, and resource protection.   

Of the 49 competitive grants announced, 14 are for regionalization, eight for water reuse, and 27 for resource protection. Counties and cities, water utility districts, water utility authorities, and for-profit water infrastructure systems – if in partnership with one of the eligible entities as the lead grant applicant – were eligible to apply. To read more about the awarded grants and entities, please review the latest press release. For more information about Phase II of TDEC’s funding strategy, please review the State Strategic Projects Framework. 

TDEC recommends that all grantees and partners executing projects review all available resources. TDEC and the supporting EY Team remains available to assist grantees and their partners. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns to tdec.arp@tn.gov. 

 

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