State Wastewater Reserve and Drinking Water Reserve Programs

The State Wastewater Reserve and Drinking Water Reserve Programs provide grants and loans for planning, design, and construction of critical water infrastructure in North Carolina. The programs support wastewater collection systems and treatment works, as well as public water system projects. The source identifies the programs as reserve programs connected to state water infrastructure funding and references NCGS 159G. Grant funding is awarded according to affordability criteria developed from the definition in NCGS 159G-20.(1). The stated purpose of the affordability criteria is to stretch limited grant dollars further by targeting applicants that demonstrate the greatest need and have the least ability to afford the project. The same criteria are used to determine whether an applicant is eligible for grant funding and to determine the percentage of the project that may be funded through grants. The programs make both grants and loans available. Eligible uses include planning, design, and construction activities for wastewater collection systems, treatment works, and public water system projects. The source states that funding is available only to the extent that other funding sources are not reasonably available to the applicant. This indicates that applicants must consider the availability of other funding before relying on these reserve program dollars. Eligible applicants are local government units. The source does not provide a broader list of eligible entity types, does not identify nonprofit or private-sector eligibility, and does not describe fiscal sponsorship. Because the program is tied to state water infrastructure and local government applicants, the relevant applicant pool appears limited to eligible local government units seeking support for wastewater or drinking water infrastructure projects in North Carolina. The source does not provide a specific application opening date, application deadline, pre-application requirement, application form list, evaluation scoring rubric, award notification date, or period of performance. It does state that affordability criteria guidance can be found on the Application Forms & Resources page of the Division's website and identifies a Funding Process resource and Regulatory Information resource as additional information areas. Key program limits include a cap stating that grants for each system awarded for three consecutive fiscal years may not exceed $3 million. The amount of targeted interest loans for each system awarded for three consecutive fiscal years also may not exceed $3 million. No required match or cost-share percentage is stated in the provided source. For wastewater projects, the source lists Trupti Desai, PE, at (919) 707-9166 and trupti.desai@deq.nc.gov. For drinking water projects, the source lists Kavitha Ambikadevi, PE, at (919) 707-9048 and Kavitha.Ambikadevi@ncdenr.gov, and David Giachini, PE, at (919) 707-9191 and David.Giachini@ncdenr.gov.

Emphasize affordability need, inability to reasonably access other funding sources, and alignment with eligible wastewater or drinking water infrastructure uses.