As the US federal government works to foster a more sustainable, climate resilient future for Americans, various funding programs have been introduced that states, municipalities, and other jurisdictions can apply for to aid in stormwater infrastructure planning. Each program has different eligibility requirements and deadlines, but we’ve broken down the main funding opportunities here to simplify the application process and help state and local governments receive federal funds for geospatial mapping projects.‍

Federal funding opportunities for stormwater & climate infrastructure projects

Clean Water State Revolving Fund

Through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides grants to US states and territories to capitalize state CWSRF loans for water infrastructure projects. States contribute an additional 20% to match the federal grants, and loan repayments are recycled back into individual state CWSRF programs to fund future projects.

CWRF eligibility

CWRF loans may be used for the following:

• assistance to any public, private, or nonprofit entity for measures to manage, reduce, treat, or recapture stormwater or subsurface drainage water;
• assistance to any municipality or inter-municipal, interstate, or state agency for measures to reduce the demand for publicly owned treatment works capacity through water conservation, efficiency, or reuse;
• assistance to any public, private, or nonprofit entity for the development and implementation of watershed projects meeting the criteria in Clean Water Act section 122;
• assistance to any public, private, or nonprofit entity for projects for reusing or recycling wastewater, stormwater, or subsurface drainage water.

How to apply for CWSRF

Each state has a unique CWRF program, so interested applicants should reach out to their specific state program office for more information.‍

If you are considering applying for CWSRF funds to support a geospatial project, let us know. Ecopia’s dedicated stormwater team specializes in innovative applications of mapping technology to support climate resilience, and is here to help organizations determine the data they need to reach their project goals.

Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act

The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) provides billions in long-term, low-cost supplemental loans for eligible water and wastewater infrastructure projects. A possible use for WIFIA loan funds is geospatial and mapping data to support water-related infrastructure planning, management, and development.

To qualify for WIFIA, projects must be found to be creditworthy sources of revenue during the application review and due diligence process. WIFIA funds may be used for up to 49% of a project’s cost, and total federal assistance may not exceed 80%. Large communities (population of 25,000 or more) can apply for a minimum of $20 million, while the minimum for small communities (population of less than 25,000) is $5 million. More information is available here.

WIFIA eligibility

The following entities are eligible to borrow WIFIA funds:

• Local, state, tribal, and federal government entities
• Partnerships and joint ventures
• Corporations and trusts
• SRF programs

Projects eligible for WIFIA credit funding include:

• projects that are eligible for the Clean Water SRF, notwithstanding the public ownership clause;
• projects that are eligible for the Drinking Water SRF;
• enhanced energy efficiency projects at drinking water and wastewater facilities;
• brackish or seawater desalination, aquifer recharge, alternative water supply, and water recycling projects;
• drought prevention, reduction, or mitigation projects;
• acquisition of property if it is integral to the project or will mitigate the environmental impact of a project;
• a combination of projects secured by a common security pledge or submitted under one application by an SRF program;
• development phase activities, including planning, preliminary engineering, design, environmental review, revenue forecasting, and other pre-construction activities;
• construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and replacement activities;
• acquisition of real property or an interest in real property, environmental mitigation, construction contingencies, and acquisition of equipment;
• capitalized interest necessary to meet market requirements, reasonably required reserve funds, capital issuance expenses and other carrying costs during construction.

How to apply for WIFIA

The WIFIA application process typically takes about six months. There are two steps to apply for WIFIA funds:

1. Prospective borrowers must submit a letter of interest which will be reviewed by EPA on a rolling basis.

2. If EPA selects a project based on the letter of interest, the borrower is invited to submit an application. The borrower must submit the application within one year of the invitation. Once an application is submitted, EPA will conduct credit, legal, and technical due diligence and negotiate loan terms with the borrower. A breakdown of this process and application fees can be found here. 

Ecopia’s stormwater team can help you scope a stormwater infrastructure project using geospatial data. Get in touch here. ‍

Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program

The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program (BRIC) is a FEMA hazard mitigation assistance grant supporting states, local communities, tribes, and territories. Each fiscal year, FEMA announces specific fund allocations to help address high-level future risks to natural disasters, foster greater community resilience, and reduce disaster suffering.

A core tenet of BRIC funding is to use grants to support capacity and capability building through innovation. There are many ways to leverage BRIC funding for geospatial data to achieve this goal. For example, geospatial data and mapping can be funded through BRIC to help state and local governments better understand and mitigate wildfires, drought, hurricanes, earthquakes, extreme heat, flooding, and other natural disasters.

Cost sharing is typically involved in BRIC grants. Generally, the cost share for this program is 75% federal cost share funding/25% non-federal cost share funding, but there are some projects where federal contributions can go up to 90%. These instances are usually in historically disadvantaged communities, or those designated as Community Disaster Resilience Zones.

BRIC eligibility

States, territories, and tribal governments may apply for BRIC grants. These governing bodies must designate one agency to apply for the grant, and have a FEMA-approved Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) by the time of the application deadline.

Local communities, homeowners, business operators, and nonprofit organizations can be included as subapplicants, and must coordinate with a state, territory, or tribal government on the application. Local communities must also have a FEMA-approved HMP by the application deadline. Subapplications must be ranked in terms of priority prior to applying.

Projects eligible for BRIC grant funding include:

• capability- and capacity-building activities;
• mitigation projects;
• and associated management costs.

A more detailed list, including specific examples, can be found here.

How to apply for a BRIC Grant

Interested applicants should coordinate with their State Hazard Mitigation Officer (SHMO) to apply for a BRIC grant. Applications must be submitted in coordination with a FEMA regional office and online via the FEMA GO portal.

The Ecopia team has a large network of hazard mitigation and state GIO contacts, as well as experience applying for federal grants. Get in touch and we can help you apply for BRIC funding. 

Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants Program

The Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants Program (OSG), reauthorized by the 2018 America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) amendment to 221 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), has appropriated over $120 million in funds for states to provide municipalities for stormwater management projects. 

The OSG is intended to help municipalities manage urban stormwater issues, such as pollution, runoff, and other environmental or public health concerns. Geospatial data representing impervious surfaces and other critical land cover features may be acquired with OSG funds if used in an eligible project.

OSG eligibility

States may apply for OSG funding to distribute to municipalities for use in the planning, design, and construction of treatment works to intercept, transport, control, treat, or reuse stormwater. Examples of OSG eligible projects include:

• watershed management of wet weather discharges, including the management of municipal combined sewer overflows (CSOs), sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), and stormwater discharges;
• stormwater best management practices (BMPs), such as activities that manage, reduce, treat, recapture, or reuse municipal stormwater;
• watershed partnerships efforts that demonstrate cooperative ways to address nonpoint sources of pollution to reduce adverse impacts on water quality;
• integrated water resource planning facilitating the coordinated management and protection of surface water, ground water, and stormwater resources on a watershed or subwatershed basis;
• municipality-wide stormwater management planning identifying the most effective placement of stormwater technologies and management approaches to reduce water quality impairments from stormwater on a municipality-wide basis;
• increased resilience of treatment works to manmade or natural disasters, such as extreme weather events and sea-level rise.

States are required to prioritize funding to financially distressed communities, municipalities with a long-term municipal CSO or SSO control plan, and projects that have requested a grant on their CWSRF Intended Use Plan. A minimum of 20% of a state’s allocation of funds must be used for green infrastructure, water and energy efficiency improvements, and other environmentally innovative activities. At least 25% of a grant should be used for eligible projects in rural areas (with a population of 10,000 or less) or financially distressed communities. A maximum of 4% of state allotments may be used for administrative costs. ‍

How to apply for OSG Funds

To receive allocated funds, states must submit an application package including the required application forms, work plan, and estimated project costs on grants.gov. A helpful resource explaining the entire application process can be found here. If your organization is not yet registered on grants.gov, you will need to create an account, which can take up to four weeks. Once an account is created, work through the following steps to apply:

1. Applicants can access the grant application either through searching by the Funding Opportunity Number (EPA-CEP-02) on this page or directly through this link. Several funding opportunities will appear; make sure to select “Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grant Program.” The following forms must be completed to apply:

• Standard Form 424 (Application for Federal Assistance);
• Standard Form 424A (Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs);
• EPA Form 4700-4 (Pre-award Compliance Review Report);
• Project Narrative Attachment Form22 (Work Plan);
• Budget Narrative Attachment Form21;
• EPA Form 6600-06 (Certification Regarding Lobbying), available at epa.gov. This will be requested by the EPA Project Officer after the application has been selected for an award. ‍

2. Once the application is submitted, EPA’s Grant Management System will use the applicant's state to identify the region receiving the application package. An accompanying ‘lookup table’ will associate the region with an EPA point of contact in that region to receive the email notice and the link to the application in the pre-award module. 

3. Following an award, the following forms must be completed:

• EPA Form 5700-52A (MBE/WBE Utilization Report), available at epa.gov;
• Standard Form 425 (Federal Financial Report).

Unless otherwise stated above, all forms can be found here.

The closing date for OSG funding is October 4, 2030. If you have questions about applying for OSG funding to go towards geospatial data, reach out to Ecopia’s dedicated stormwater team. We are happy to help discuss the data needed for eligible projects.‍

Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant

Also overseen by FEMA, Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grants support the reduction and elimination of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured by the National Flood Insurance Program. This federal assistance has been in practice since the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994, and FEMA designates specific funding each fiscal year to support state, territory, tribal, and local governments. 

Geospatial data can be acquired through FMA grants to inform decision-making related to impervious surfaces, stormwater, runoff calculations, flood modeling, and more. Like BRIC funding, FMA grants involve cost sharing, with federal involvement ranging from 75-100% depending on the project. More information can be found here.

FMA grant eligibility

States, territories, and tribal governments are eligible to apply for FMA grants. A single agency within the state or government must be selected to apply for the grant, and the governing body must have a FEMA-approved Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) by the time of the application deadline.

Local communities, homeowners, business operators, and nonprofit organizations can be listed as subapplicants, and should coordinate with a state, territory, or tribal government to submit an application. Local communities also need a FEMA-approved HMP by the application deadline. Subapplications need to be ranked in terms of priority prior to applying.

Projects eligible for FMA grant funding include:

• capability- and capacity-building activities;
• mitigation plans;
• technical assistance by states to communities;
• project scoping, including data sourcing;
• localized flood risk reduction projects;
• individual flood mitigation projects;
• partnership development to conduct eligible mitigation activities;
• enhancing local floodplain management
• severe repetitive loss/repetitive loss strategy development;
• and associated management costs.

How to apply for an FMA grant

The application process for FMA grants is similar to applying for a BRIC grant. Applicants need to coordinate with their State Hazard Mitigation Officer (SHMO) and FEMA regional office to apply online via the FEMA GO portal.

Ecopia is here to help. If you would like assistance applying for an FMA grant for geospatial data, let us know.

Emergency Management Performance Grant

The Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) overseen by FEMA provides funding to build and sustain core capabilities across the prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery mission areas, including those related to natural hazards. With this funding, state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency management agencies can acquire the resources required to implement the National Preparedness System and work toward the National Preparedness Goal of a secure and resilient nation.

Many emergency response teams are turning to geospatial data and mapping to optimize routes, identify emergency caller locations, and improve response outcomes. Funding from the EMPG can be used to source, create, or maintain a database of this critically important information. 

EMPG Eligibility

All states and territories are eligible for EMPG funds. However, like other FEMA grants, each state or territory can only submit one application. Interested applicants should get in touch with their State Administrative Agency or Emergency Management Agency to coordinate an application plan.

Projects eligible for EMPG funding include those designed to improve:

• health and social services;
• mass care services; 
• public health, healthcare, and emergency medical services;
• housing;
• logistics and supply chain management;
• critical transportation;
• public information and warning;
• community resilience;
• economic recovery;
• long-term vulnerability reduction;
• risk and disaster resilience assessment;
• threats and hazards identification;
• risk management for protection programs and activities;
• operational coordination;
• and supply chain integrity and security.

All of these initiatives support FEMA's overarching goals of enhancing readiness, resilience, and equity in emergency management. Learn more about eligible projects here.

How to apply for an EMPG

Applications for EMPGs are managed through grants.gov. Applicants can anticipate a multi-step process that begins with registration, which can take up to four weeks. Applications should be submitted at least three days before the deadline in any given fiscal year. Within one to two business days of submitting an application, applicants will be notified by FEMA if they need to submit additional information.

Ecopia has experience helping states and territories apply for federal funding. Let us guide you through the application process - get in touch here.

Comprehensive land cover data for stormwater infrastructure management & climate resilience

Effectively planning, developing, and managing stormwater infrastructure requires reliable mapping data. At Ecopia, we leverage AI-based mapping systems to extract the most comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date land cover features from geospatial imagery. The resulting planimetric-level detail maps provide states, municipalities, and other organizations involved in stormwater management with a source of truth for land cover across their area of interest, fueling mission-critical applications of federal funding.

Examples of land cover features Ecopia provides for stormwater mapping include:

• Buildings
• Roads
• Pavement
• Tree canopy
• Shrubs
• Grass
• Gravel
• Bareland
• Water
• Swimming pools
• Sports grounds

and any other feature visibly discernible in geospatial imagery from satellites, airplanes, drones, and street-view cars.

To see how one US municipality is leveraging Ecopia data in their stormwater workflows, check out this case study about the City of Detroit. When you’re ready to explore federal funding opportunities for Ecopia data, set up a meeting with our stormwater team.