Helene Resilience Funding Program - Decentralized Wastewater System

The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority created the Helene Resilience Funding program to administer supplemental disaster funding made available following Hurricane Helene. Congress passed the American Relief Act in December 2024, providing disaster relief supplemental funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, including additional Clean Water State Revolving Fund funding specifically intended to improve the resilience of decentralized wastewater treatment systems such as septic systems. For the decentralized wastewater funding opportunity, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allocated $8,956,000 to Georgia to promote resilience in decentralized wastewater systems. Decentralized wastewater systems covered by the program include individual septic or on-site systems, cluster systems serving two or more buildings or homes, and package plants. Eligible projects must be State Revolving Fund eligible and respond to the purposes of the Hurricane Helene funding. A decentralized wastewater project must improve the resilience of decentralized wastewater treatment systems to flooding, rapid hydrologic changes, or natural disasters, and/or assess the potential to connect homes served by decentralized systems to centralized wastewater systems or fund qualifying connections. Projects should also correspond to project types identified in Attachment 3 of EPA's March 13, 2025 SA-HMW Implementation Memo. Applicants proposing projects not specifically listed must explain how their project fulfills the applicable purposes. Eligible end uses include protecting decentralized systems from rising water and flood-related power risks, reducing system failure risks, increasing system capacity to handle flooding, and consolidating decentralized systems to reduce flood risk. Planning and qualifying connections to centralized wastewater systems may also be supported. Funding is available to eligible borrowers of GEFA State Revolving Fund programs that own or manage decentralized wastewater systems or finance or operate a program on behalf of individuals or entities that own or manage those systems. Examples include cities, counties, departments of county or city governments, state agencies, state-sanctioned local authorities such as water, sewer, water and sewer, and development authorities, public universities, regional commissions, and Community Development Financial Institutions. Any State Revolving Fund eligible project located in Georgia is geographically eligible. Projects in areas designated by FEMA as eligible for Hurricane Helene public or individual assistance receive additional points in GEFA's project scoring process. EPA allocated $8,956,000 to Georgia for this decentralized wastewater funding opportunity. The maximum loan available under the solicitation is $2,000,000, and there is no minimum loan size. All funded decentralized wastewater projects are eligible for a subsidy consisting of 100 percent principal forgiveness. Financing is provided at zero percent interest with 100 percent principal forgiveness if all loan conditions are fulfilled. An HRF loan may cover the complete cost of a project, and no local capital match is required. Recipients must nevertheless identify a source of repayment to secure financing because repayment could become necessary in uncommon circumstances, such as failure to comply with federal requirements. HRF funds may not finance project activities for which the recipient is simultaneously receiving other public subsidized financing. Separate public funding may potentially be used for different discrete project components when the recipient can demonstrate appropriate separation. The initial application step was participation in GEFA's Call for Projects. Eligible applicants were required to complete the HRF pre-application with an eligible project by December 31, 2025. GEFA states that only projects completing the pre-application by the deadline will be considered and that completing the pre-application is an initial step that does not guarantee funding. The program materials describe several potential financing models, including septic consolidation, responsible management entities for on-site systems, direct support for private decentralized wastewater owners through local governments or eligible financing entities, decentralized wastewater resiliency planning, and stormwater improvements. All Helene Resilience Funding projects are also required to complete a qualifications-based selection process when procuring architectural and engineering services regardless of project cost. Decentralized wastewater projects are scored on a 100-point system covering Water Quality Benefits, Natural Disaster Impact, Priority Project Types, and Priority Applicant Status. Water quality considerations include concentrations of decentralized wastewater systems, documented septic impacts, implementation of Total Maximum Daily Load plans, stream listing improvements, drinking water protection, and measurable project-effectiveness metrics. Natural disaster scoring considers FEMA Hurricane Helene disaster designations or demonstrated significant Hurricane Helene impacts. Additional points are available for innovative approaches, projects involving collaboration between at least two eligible borrowers, affordability, and first-time borrower status. The Call for Projects opened October 1, 2025 and closed December 31, 2025. The supplied sources do not establish a recurring application cycle, award notification date, or defined performance period.

Align the project explicitly with an eligible DWW resilience purpose and EPA-listed project type; provide compelling quantitative evidence of water quality benefits; document Hurricane Helene impacts and applicable FEMA designation; include clear project effectiveness metrics; identify innovative elements where applicable; highlight collaboration between two or more eligible borrowers where applicable