EPA Announces Water Infrastructure Funding for South-Central States Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Calls for Prioritizing Underserved Communities
EPA Announces Water Infrastructure Funding for South-Central States Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Calls for Prioritizing Underserved Communities
Media contact: Jennah Durant at [email protected] or 214 665-2200
DALLAS – (Dec. 3, 2021) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan announced funding that states, Tribes, and territories will receive in 2022 through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This funding, provided through EPA’s State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs, will create jobs while upgrading America’s aging water infrastructure and addressing key challenges like lead in drinking water and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination.
Allotments for states in EPA Region 6 are:
- Arkansas: $93,252,000
- Louisiana: $101,243,000
- Oklahoma: $91,488,000
- New Mexico: $63,041,000
- Texas: $507,672,000
In a letter sent to governors, the Administrator encouraged states to maximize the impact of water funding from the law – an unprecedented nationwide total of $50 billion investment – to address disproportionate environmental burdens in historically underserved communities across the country.
“With President Biden’s leadership and congressional action, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has created a historic opportunity to correct longstanding environmental and economic injustices across America,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “As leaders, we must seize this moment. Billions of dollars are about to start flowing to states and it is critical that EPA partners with states, Tribes, and territories to ensure the benefits of these investments are delivered in the most equitable way.”
“From small, rural areas that struggle to provide service to residents to large cities with expansive, aging infrastructure, communities across EPA Region 6 have urgent water-related needs the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law can help address,” said Acting Regional Administrator David Gray. “This funding will go a long way to solving long-standing problems, especially for underserved communities.”
EPA will allocate $7.4 billion to states, Tribes, and territories for 2022, with nearly half of this funding available as grants or principal forgiveness loans that remove barriers to investing in essential water infrastructure in underserved communities across rural America and in urban centers. The 2022 allocation is the first of five years of nearly $44 billion in dedicated EPA SRF funding that states will receive through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. For more than 30 years, the SRFs have been the foundation of water infrastructure investments, providing low-cost financing for local projects across America. However, many vulnerable communities facing water challenges have not received their fair share of federal water infrastructure funding. Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, states have a unique opportunity to correct this disparity.
Administrator Regan recently completed a “Journey to Justice” tour across the American South where he heard from families and advocates about their struggles with exposure to water pollution in their communities. For children, exposure to lead can cause irreversible and life-long health effects, including decreasing IQ, focus, and academic achievement. At the same time, families that live near high levels of contaminants such as PFAS or “forever chemicals” are at risk to develop adverse health outcomes.
The implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law calls for strong partnership, and EPA stands ready to work with states to ensure that communities see the full benefits of this investment.
For more information, including state-by-state allocation of 2022 funding, and a breakdown of EPA funding by SRF program, and additional funding available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/infrastructure.
Connect with EPA Region 6:
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eparegion6
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/EPAregion6
Activities in EPA Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.htm
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