DEQ seeks comment on draft letter of interest forms for supplemental water infrastructure funding
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) — The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) seeks comment on the draft letter of interest forms for supplemental drinking water and wastewater infrastructure funding.
The funding is made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will support projects that address specific focus areas, including lead service line replacements for drinking water, emerging contaminants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water and wastewater, and planning studies.
The public comment process will help inform how DEQ administers the letter of interest forms and allocates the supplemental infrastructure money. The supplemental awards are in addition to the fiscal year 2024 drinking water and wastewater funding opportunities announced in October 2022.
Funding amounts vary by category. Up to $28.3 million will be allotted for Drinking Water State Revolving Fund lead service line replacements and the funding can also be used to perform lead service line inventories. Approximately $7.5 million will be available for Drinking Water State Revolving Fund emerging contaminants and $459,000 will be available for Clean Water State Revolving Fund emerging contaminants. Up to $337,000 will be allocated for wastewater inflow and infiltration studies or stormwater planning studies.
Applications can be for stand-alone projects or combined with existing drinking water or wastewater letters of interest. Applicants submitting a stand-alone supplemental letter of interest will be ranked separately from existing drinking water or wastewater letters of interest using a separate priority list. Applications for existing drinking water and wastewater letters of interest are encouraged to include supplemental requests in their overall project if applicable.
An informational meeting on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law supplemental letters of interest is scheduled for Nov. 28, 2022, from 2p.m. to 3:30 pm. See DEQ’s Events page for registration information.
The draft letter of interest forms are available for review on DEQ’s Public Comment Opportunities page, at DEQ’s State Office (1410 North Hilton Street), and at DEQ’s regional offices. Comments will be accepted through Dec. 30, 2022, at 5 p.m. MDT.
