EPA Announces $87 Million in Grant Funding for Lead Testing and Small/Disadvantaged Systems
On Monday, April 29, EPA announced $87 million in grant funding for lead testing in schools and child care centers, for small and disadvantaged communities/water systems. States, tribes, and territories are eligible to receive funding from two new EPA drinking water grant programs established by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN):
- Under EPA’s the Voluntary Lead Testing in Schools and Child Care grant program, EPA will award $43.7 million in grants to fund testing for lead in drinking water at schools and child care programs. EPA has posted the allotments for this grant program. Testing results carried out using grant funds must be made publicly available.
- Under EPA’s the Assistance for Small and Disadvantaged Communities grant program, EPA will award $42.8 million in grants to support underserved communities with bringing public drinking water systems into compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. EPA has also posted the allotments for this grant program. Funding can also be used for conducting household water quality testing, including testing for unregulated contaminants.
As a next step, program participants will be asked to submit workplans to EPA outlining their proposed project(s) for approval and funding. EPA will announce funding details for WIIN’s third newly-created grant program dedicated to reducing lead in drinking water systems in summer 2019.
