Connecticut State Department of Public Health

Call for Projects, Review and Ranking of Projects

The annual Call for Projects is issued via e-mail to all PWSs eligible to receive DWSRF loans, municipal Chief Elected Officials and local Directors of Health. The Call for Projects is also posted on the DPH Drinking Water Section’s (DWS) website. The solicitation period for annual PPL projects runs for approximately 60-90 days. PWSs are encouraged to submit projects which promote green infrastructure and energy or water efficiency. Please refer to the Green Project Reserve webpage from more information and to find the "Green Project Information Form" and guidance.
Call for Projects

The DPH has announced the Call for Projects for SFY 2022 (July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022). Eligibility Applications are now being accepted for projects that are expected to be funded during this time period. For more information, please refer to the Call for Projects notice and Circular Letter #2021-07 below. All applications must be submitted electronically to DPH.CTDWSRF@ct.gov no later than noon on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 in order to be considered for inclusion on the SFY 2022 Project Priority List. The DPH also anticipates that a new federal infrastructure stimulus bill may be passed in the coming months that could include additional loan and grant funding for drinking water infrastructure projects. The DPH does not know at this time if or how much additional infrastructure funding may become available, but we do anticipate that it may include a significant grant component that will be attractive and beneficial to Connecticut’s eligible public water systems. Eligibility Applications for projects which only want to be considered for potential stimulus funding must also be received by the March 31, 2021 deadline.

We have made a slight modification to the DWSRF Eligibility Application for applicants to indicate whether they are submitting applications for DWSRF funding, potential federal infrastructure stimulus bill funding, or both. The DPH is not planning to conduct another Call for Projects during SFY 2021 or 2022 if any federal infrastructure stimulus funding is made available to Connecticut; however, we will certainly announce its availability to applicants who respond to this Call for Projects as well as those applicants that are already in the DWSRF pipeline.

Call for Projects notice for SFY 2022 Project Priority List

Circular Letter #2021-07

Deadline: Noon on Wednesday, March 31, 2021

UPDATE:

The Eligibility Application due date for Lead Service Line Replacement projects only has been extended to April 16, 2021. Please refer to Circular Letter #2021-20  for more information. 

The annual Call For Projects notice announces the deadline by which Eligibility Applications must be received in order to be considered for inclusion on the annual Project Priority List (PPL). The PPL details the projects to which the DPH is expecting to commit the available DWSRF funds for the state fiscal year. Applications received after that deadline will be assigned appropriate priority points according to the Priority Ranking System and periodically (expected to be done quarterly) added to the DPH’s Comprehensive Project List (CPL). The CPL is essentially a “waiting list” for funding. Occasionally, projects on the PPL get delayed or withdrawn from funding, or otherwise bypassed, which opens those funds up to projects on the

Eligibility Application

PWSs must submit an Eligibility Application for each independent DWSRF project. A project’s eligibility for funding, its priority ranking point score and its readiness to proceed is based on the information submitted with this application. Please note, this application is for eligibility and inclusion in DPH’s Intended Use Plan; it is not the application for a loan from the DWSRF program.

Please review the Priority Ranking System (below) before completing the application. If you have a project which proposes to consolidate or connect to another PWS, or connect private wells with water quality or quantity issues, please complete and attach the appropriate form(s) to the Eligibility Application.

A new Small Loan Program has been created for non-construction projects If you have with a total project cost of less than $100,000. This program is intended for the purchase and installation of drinking water equipment and will follow similar procedures that have been used within the Emergency Power Generator Program. A different Eligibility Application is required for projects seeking funding through this program. Please visit the Small Loan Program webpage for more information.

For an emergency power generator project with a total project cost of less than $100,000, please visit the Emergency Power Generator Program webpage. A different Eligibility Application is required for projects seeking funding through this program.

Project Examples  
For some ideas of eligible and ineligible projects, please view our SRF Project Examples document.  The DWSRF program may be able to fund the planning phase, design phase, and construction phase of an eligible drinking water project.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) clarified funding for service line replacements on private property. The DWSRF program may fund the complete service line replacement, regardless of pipe material and ownership of the property on which the service line is located. Please refer to their May 9, 2016 memo for more information.

Review and Ranking of Projects

The DWS reviews project Eligibility Applications for completeness and eligibility for DWSRF funding. Points are assigned based on Priority Ranking System established by the DPH and approved by the EPA. The total points assigned to each project along with each project’s readiness to proceed will be used to prepare the Project Priority List.

The Priority Ranking System has undergone major revisions to update the overall document as well as reflect current drinking water issues. In addition, some changes were made to address comments received from PWSs during the IUP public hearing process. Please review this document prior to completing the Eligibility Application. Major changes have been made to the project point table. If you have any questions, contact the DPH DWSRF Unit.

Intended Use Plan and Project Priority List

The DPH prepares an annual Intended Use Plan (IUP) that identifies how the State intends to use the DWSRF funding available for that year. The IUP is provided to the EPA as part of the DPH’s annual capitalization grant application for federal DWSRF funds.

The DPH is federally required to solicit meaningful public input when each IUP is developed. The DPH is also required by State law to hold a public hearing on the draft Project Priority List (PPL) that is included in the IUP. The DPH publishes the draft IUP and PPL for a 30 day public comment period followed by a public hearing. 

The DPH periodically amends the annual IUP to add new funding applications to the annual IUP’s Comprehensive Project List after the annual IUP has been finalized. These amendments are posted to this website for a 30 day public comment period before they are finalized. Projects on the Comprehensive Project List are eligible to receive funding if there is a surplus of DWSRF funds available, or if a project on the annual IUP’s PPL is bypassed, and they are ready to proceed during the State Fiscal Year. Projects on the Comprehensive Project List are prioritized based on the priority ranking score.

Amendment #1 to the SFY 2021 Annual Intended Use Plan

The DPH has finalized Amendment #1 to the SFY 2021 Annual IUP, per the procedure noted in the IUP, to reflect Eligibility Applications which were received after the drafting the Annual IUP. The proposed Amendment #1 to the Annual SFY 2021 IUP was available for a 30-day public review and comment period. No comments were received and the amended IUP is now final.

SFY Annual 2021 IUP – Now Final

The public hearing on the State Fiscal Year 2021 IUP and PPL was held on Tuesday, September 15, 2020 at 10:00 am. This was a remote meeting via Zoom. The finalized Hearing Report, IUP and PPL for SFY 2021 are provided below.

Prior Years’ Intended Use Plans and Project Priority Lists

The IUPs and PPLs for State Fiscal Year 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 are available below.