The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Infrastructure Spring 2022 application period closed with a record number of applications and more than $3 billion in requests for water and wastewater infrastructure funding.  The 642 submitted applications represent water and wastewater infrastructure needs across the state, with utilities in 95 of North Carolina’s 100 counties requesting funding.

“The American Rescue Plan Act funding is an opportunity for significant investment in North Carolina communities to address pressing water infrastructure improvements that will benefit water quality, public health, and the environment,” said Secretary Elizabeth S. Biser. “But the total requests far outweigh the amount available showing just how great the infrastructure needs are in our state.”

The 2017 Statewide Water and Wastewater Master Plan indicated a total statewide need of $17 to $26 billion in water and wastewater infrastructure funding.  

The funding offered in this round is a portion of the $1.69 billion appropriated by the North Carolina General Assembly from the state’s allocation of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Nearly $840 million of that amount was directed to specific projects and is not available for grant awards. Additional details are available in the Division’s ARPA Administration Plan.  Once the applications are reviewed, grants awards are scheduled to begin in July. 

More information about drinking water and wastewater funding is available at: https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-infrastructure