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Clean Water State Revolving Fund CWSRF

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Funding Clean Water Infrastructure Projects

In 1989, KRS Chapter 224A and 200 KAR 17:050 were enacted to begin a new financial program for construction of wastewater projects. Construction grant program funds were no longer available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for new projects, and financial assistance was still greatly needed for communities to comply with the Clean Water Act. EPA has been funding the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) in the form of annual capitalization grants to the state. The state must provide a 20 percent match to the federal share.

The CWSRF, also referred to as Fund A, is a 20 or 30-year loan program for planning, design and construction of wastewater infrastructure projects, storm water projects and nonpoint source projects. Fund A also provides assistance to small communities in financing the preliminary costs prior to construction, commonly referred to as a Planning and Design loan. It is a 5-year loan for planning, design, and sanitary sewer evaluation study (SSES) and may be rolled into a subsequent construction loan.

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To be considered eligible to receive a CWSRF loan, a project must be identified on Kentucky's annual Clean Water Intended Use Plan/Project Priority List (IUP/PPL), which is prepared each year by the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority (KIA) and the Division of Water and published by KIA.

DOW and KIA, through an interagency agreement, are responsible for administering the CWSRF program to comply with the requirements of the Clean Water Act. WIB is responsible for reviewing the engineering and construction procurement and pay requests, environmental reviews for all loan projects and reviewing regional facilities plans or asset inventories, reviewing the design and specification contract documents, issuing construction permits, and monitoring the construction progress.

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The Intended Use Plan (IUP) is a document prepared annually by the DOW and Kentucky Infrastructure Authority (KIA) that identifies the intended uses of all Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program funds and describes how those uses support the overall goals of the CWSRF program. The comprehensive Project Priority List (PPL) is included in the IUP. The decisions in the IUP undergo public review and comment.

DOW supports the goals of EPA's Sustainable Infrastructure Initiative (SII). This initiative seeks to promote sustainable practices that will help to reduce the potential gap between funding needs and spending at the local and national level. The SII will guide our efforts in changing how Kentucky views, values, manages and invests in its water infrastructure.

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The Green Project Reserve (GPR) is a provision of the State Revolving Fund (SRF) that designates funds for projects that are considered "green." The provision generally states that to the extent there are sufficient eligible project applications, not less than 20 percent of the capitalization grant shall be used by states for projects to address green infrastructure, water or energy efficiency improvements, or other environmentally innovative activities. This provision has been included in appropriation bills since the 2009 ARRA capitalization grant and remains a requirement for the Capitalization grant.

Projects meeting GPR criteria are subject to all SRF program requirements. EPA's Green Project Reserve Guidance for CWSRF provides criteria for determining CWSRF GPR eligibility.

Some examples of green projects include but are not limited to:

  • Collection system Infiltration/Inflow (I/I) detection equipment
  • Energy management planning including energy audits, energy assessments, optimization studies, etc.
  • Renewable energy projects such as wind, solar, geothermal, micro-hydroelectric, and biogas combined heat and power systems that provide power to a utility
  • Recycling and water reuse projects that replace potable sources with non-potable sources
  • Fee simple purchase of land or easements on land that has a direct benefit to water quality, such as riparian and wetland protection
  • Projects that involve the management of wetlands to improve water quality and/or support green infrastructure efforts (e.g., flood attenuation)
  • Wet weather management systems for parking areas, including permeable pavement, bioretention, trees, green roofs, constructed wetlands
  • Stormwater harvesting and reuse projects, including pipe to distribute stormwater for reuse
  • Downspout disconnection to remove stormwater from sanitary, combined sewers and storm sewers
  • Construction of U.S. Building Council LEED-certified buildings or renovation at the wastewater treatment facility
  • Decentralized wastewater treatment solutions to existing deficient or failing onsite wastewater systems
  • Innovative treatment and collection options, which provide for advanced treatment solutions
  • Projects that achieve a 20-percent reduction in energy consumption

Contact the Division of Water to find out if your project qualifies as a "green" project.

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