WaterSMART: Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Projects | BOR DO 18 F011

Opportunity Information: Apply for BOR DO 18 F011

The WaterSMART: Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Projects funding opportunity (FOA number BOR DO 18 F011) is a discretionary federal grant program run by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, under CFDA 15.504. Its central purpose is to provide cost-shared financial assistance to sponsors of eligible water reclamation and reuse projects so they can move forward with planning, design, and or construction activities. In practical terms, this FOA is aimed at helping communities and water agencies develop and build projects that reclaim, treat, and reuse water supplies, which can improve water reliability and resilience in areas facing supply constraints.

Eligibility is limited to a specific universe of projects: (1) projects that have already been congressionally authorized under the Title XVI water reclamation and reuse authority, and (2) projects that are eligible under section 4009(c) of the WIIN Act. The FOA invites the sponsors of those projects to apply, meaning it is not a general open call for any new water recycling concept. The listing notes “Others” as eligible applicants, but the key qualifier is that applicants must be legitimate project sponsors for an authorized Title XVI project or a WIIN Act 4009(c) eligible project, consistent with the additional eligibility information referenced in the full announcement.

The funding can support multiple phases of an eligible project, including planning work, engineering and design, and actual construction. While the Bureau of Reclamation evaluates applications using criteria that look at the overall project, the FOA places an important boundary on what costs and activities can be the basis of a funding request: the request must be tied to expenditures already incurred or that are planned to be incurred by September 30, 2020. That means applicants need to frame their budget and scope around work that fits within that time horizon, rather than proposing costs that occur entirely after that cutoff date.

The FOA clarifies that the eligible work used to justify the request may include activities that are planned to occur through September 30, 2020, as well as certain work that has already been completed, as long as it took place after key triggering milestones. For congressionally authorized projects, completed work can be counted if it occurred after the date of the project’s congressional authorization. For WIIN Act projects, completed work can be counted if it occurred after the date the Bureau of Reclamation transmitted its feasibility study review findings to Congress. This effectively recognizes that project sponsors may have already spent local funds to advance a project once federal eligibility milestones were met, and it allows the federal cost-share request to be grounded in those post-authorization or post-review expenditures rather than only future work.

A special constraint applies to projects eligible under section 4009(c) of the WIIN Act: they cannot actually receive funding until Congress passes appropriations legislation that designates funding to the project by name. As a result, even if a sponsor applies and the project is otherwise eligible, the government will not execute a financial assistance agreement for a 4009(c) project until that project is explicitly listed in enacted appropriations. This is a statutory gate that affects timing and certainty for WIIN 4009(c) applicants, and it distinguishes them from projects that are already fully congressionally authorized under Title XVI.

From a funding and competition standpoint, the FOA lists an award ceiling of $20,000,000, with an expected 14 awards. The opportunity was posted May 30, 2018, with an original closing date of July 27, 2018. The funding instrument is a grant, and the program is framed as cost-shared, meaning the federal award is intended to cover only a portion of total project costs, with the sponsor providing the remaining share through non-federal funding. Overall, the opportunity is designed to accelerate delivery of already-vetted and authorized water reuse projects by helping sponsors pay for near-term planning, design, and construction costs, while keeping strict alignment with authorization status, statutory conditions, and a defined expenditure window ending September 30, 2020.

• The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "WaterSMART: Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Projects" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.504.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 30, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 27, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $20,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 14 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for BOR DO 18 F011

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