Deadline: 9-Dec-22
The Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation is inviting applications for Small Surface Water and Groundwater Storage Projects to promote Federal assistance to enhance water storage opportunities for future generations in support of the Department’s priorities.
The objective of this NOFO is to invite sponsors of small surface water and groundwater storage projects (projects) to request cost-shared funding for the planning, design, and/or construction of those projects.
Congress enacted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Public Law 117-58 on November 15, 2021. Title IX – Western Water Infrastructure was enacted to address water storage infrastructure that is critical to the Nation’s economic growth, health, and competitiveness. Section 40903 authorizes Reclamation to provide funding for small surface water storage and groundwater storage projects.
Surface water and groundwater storage are essential tools in stretching the limited water supplies in the Western United States. Water storage projects enhance and make more reliable municipal and irrigation water supplies as well as provide opportunities to enhance groundwater management abilities and to provide water quality improvements and ecosystem benefits. These projects will provide Western communities with new sources of water and increase water management flexibility, making water supply more reliable.
Type of Award
Awards will be made through a grant or cooperative agreement as applicable to the selected project.
If a grant is awarded, the recipient should expect oversight and monitoring; however, the Federal government is not directly involved in the project.
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If a cooperative agreement is awarded, the recipient should expect Reclamation to have substantial involvement in the project. Substantial involvement by Reclamation may include:
- Collaboration and participation with the recipient in the management of the project and close oversight of the recipient’s activities to ensure that the program objectives are being achieved (Note: The development and administration of an award under this NOFO is not considered substantial involvement), and
- Review, input, and approval at key interim stages of the project.
Funding Information
- Award Ceiling: $20,000,000.
Eligible Projects
- Projects eligible for funding under this NOFO include planning, design, and construction of small surface water and groundwater storage facilities. In order to be eligible for funding under this NOFO, the project must meet the following requirements.
- The project must be constructed, operated, and maintained by an eligible applicant, or the project must be sponsored by an eligible applicant. To sponsor a project, the eligible applicant must contribute funding for a sufficient portion of the capital construction costs of the project within the timeframe of this NOFO consistent with the law.
- The project must have a completed feasibility study that has been submitted to Reclamation for review by October 31, 2022, and for which the study is found to meet all of the requirements of CMP TRMR-127 by December 31, 2022. If a feasibility study has been reviewed by Reclamation and found to meet the requirements of TRMR CMP-127, but the review findings have not yet been transmitted to Congress, Reclamation will transmit those findings to Congress either before project selections are made or concurrently with project selections. Eligibility does not entitle a project to any future Federal funding or create a new project authorization.
- The project must be located in the Western United States as identified in the Reclamation Act of June 17, 1902, as amended and supplemented; specifically: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
- The project must be ready to proceed once a financial assistance agreement is in place.
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An eligible project must have water storage capacity of not less than 2,000 acre-feet and not more than 30,000 acre-feet, and
- Increase surface water or groundwater storage, or
- Convey water, directly or indirectly, to or from surface water or groundwater storage.
- The project must increase yield, on average, existing conditions to identified beneficiaries and the environment.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants eligible to receive an award under this NOFO include sponsors of small surface water and groundwater storage projects in the 17 Western States, including Alaska and Hawaii, that have submitted a Feasibility Study to Reclamation for review by October 31, 2022, and for which the study is found to meet all of the requirements of CMP TRMR (Temporary Reclamation Manual Release)-127, Small Surface Water and Groundwater Storage Projects Feasibility Review Process by December 31, 2022.
- In general, eligible applicants are State, local, other public institution/organization, Federally Recognized Indian Tribal governments, and Native American organizations
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=343524