The State of Utah Water Quality Board is administering a competitive program to fund eligible projects in the state to address identified Emerging Contaminants (EC). These are defined as substances and microorganisms, including manufactured or naturally occurring physical, chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear materials that may pose newly identified or re-emerging risks to human health, aquatic life, or the environment. An example of an EC is Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).
Available Funding
At this time the Water Quality Board has two fiscal years of funding available totaling approximately $1.6 million. These funds are available as principal forgiveness. Principal forgiveness is an additional subsidy that reduces the amount of principal a Clean Water State Revolving Fund borrower is required to pay back on a loan. This has an overall result of the borrower repaying $0 of this funding.
Project Eligibility Requirements
Applicant
Municipalities and municipal entities (meeting 33 USC section 1362 definition) are eligible to receive these grant funds.
Timeline
Projects must start within 18 months of being awarded and be substantially completed within 3 years.
Project Type
Any project eligible under EPA’s guidance is eligible to apply for funding under the Emerging Contaminants fund. Listed below are a few important topics identified by the State of Utah, but it is not an exhaustive list of all eligible projects.
Note: All projects must have a reasonable expectation of a capital project. In other words, studies cannot be conducted only for evaluation, but there must be a plan for a path forward for a water quality project to be constructed. Additionally, funds can only be used for capital costs, they can not be used for operation and maintenance activities.
Funding Match Requirements
No matching funds are required. However, matching funds are likely to be required to complete a project if only partial funding authorized. Projects with contingency funds available will be more likely to be successful.
The application for the EC Funding Program will be open from January 27, 2025, to 5 P.M. on May 2, 2025. Please review the EC Funding Program Application Summary to view a list of the information required to complete the application. Due to the need to upload documents, applicants will need a google account to complete the form. will be required to provide non-federal funding for 20% of the project.
Other Information
Anticipated Schedule
- May 2, 2025 – Application Submission Deadline
- May 2025 – Proposal evaluation committee will meet to rank submissions.
- May 28, 2025 – Applications will be discussed during the Water Quality Board meeting.
Prioritization
To the extent there are sufficient eligible applications the following projects will be prioritized:
- Projects with identifiable water quality benefit.
- Projects which mitigate a public health hazard (such as protecting a drinking water source)
- Projects which assist a community demonstrating a financial hardship
Examples of Acceptable Projects
EPA has prepared a frequently asked questions (FAQs) page, as well as a list of Case Studies of CWSRF-Eligible Emerging Contaminants Projects. These links are provided below:
- CWSRF Emerging Contaminants – Frequent Questions and Answers
- Clean Water State Revolving Fund Emerging Contaminants
The list below is not an exhaustive list of potential projects, but is intended to give some examples of eligible projects under the EC fund.
- Septic to Sewer Conversion above a groundwater aquifer with EC Contamination.
The presence of an emerging contaminant(s) must be confirmed to be eligible for funding, and a capital project must be identified. - Sewershed Identification and Pretreatment Construction.
EC funding cannot fund a Statewide study of wastewater influent, effluent, and biosolids sampling. However, following the identification of ECs, funding may be used to address contaminants with a reasonable expectation for construction of a full-scale treatment unit. - Pilot Projects.
Pilot plants may be funded if they are identified as a required component of the planning and design for a capital project. These projects would require identification of an EC and a reasonable expectation for construction of a full scale treatment unit.
Questions
For more information on the EC Funding Program, email your questions to: wqECfunding@utah.gov. Please provide a contact name and phone number in your email so that staff may contact you.