The Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) are the two major federal funding sources for drinking water and wastewater systems. Traditionally this money is distributed to states by a formula that considers things like population and infrastructure project needs, then the state uses it to fund projects on their Intended Use Plan. However, since 2022, congressional earmarks get their share first. Since the overall amount of funding is not getting any larger, every dollar in earmarks one state gets is essentially taken away from another state.
While trade associations in DC work to fix this problem by changing the way earmarks effect the SRFs, you should not wait for Congress to change this — if you are pursuing SRF funding this year, you should also pursue a Congressional earmark at the same time.
Further: if your utility rarely gets SRF funding from your state, this is a chance to get your share of funding that you wouldn’t normally have access to.
Navigating the appropriations and earmark process can often be difficult and confusing, and it is a challenge to understand how to even get started. Banner is uniquely qualified to help utilities seek out earmarks — we have some of the top experts on federal water policy and the appropriations process in Washington, DC, and we helped clients secure millions of dollars in earmarks last year.
If you are interested in learning more from our team, email our water practice chair Mae Stevens at mstevens@bannerpublicaffairs.com and let us know the best way to contact you. We’ll reach out right away and help you get started.
