American Rescue Plan Act Grants

The competitive ARPA grant application period is closed.

Governor Kevin Stitt approved $100 million in one-time grant funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to address water, wastewater, and dam rehabilitation infrastructure projects across Oklahoma, to be administered by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. The approved funding will be allocated as follows:

$10 million for pre-selected dam rehabilitation projects;
$40 million for water/wastewater projects by communities with a population greater than 7,000 or to rural water districts with more than 2,300 non-pasture taps
- Funding is limited to $2 million per applicant
- Requires a 50% cost share
$50 million for water/wastewater projects by communities with a population of 7,000 or less or to rural water districts with less than 2,300 non-pasture taps
- Funding is limited to $1 million per applicant
- No match required

For questions regarding dam rehabilitation projects, please contact dam safety staff. Grant funding for water/wastewater projects is competitive. Project eligibilities and application procedures are described below.

Eligible Entities

The grants made available under this program may be obtained by any duly constituted and existing political subdivision of the State, including, but not limited to:

Counties, cities, towns, or the State of Oklahoma
Rural sewer and/or water district
Public Trust
Master Conservancy District
Any other political subdivision of the State

Eligible Projects

Eligible projects include a broad range of water, wastewater, and dam projects, including those eligible under the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), the EPA’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), and certain additional projects, including a wide set of lead remediation, stormwater infrastructure, and aid for private wells and septic units.

Projects will be evaluated to determine eligibility, consistent with the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) Final Rule.

Application/Ranking Process

The application period for water/wastewater grants is October 1, 2022 through 5:00 p.m. November 30, 2022.

Documentation Required to Apply for a Water/Wastewater Grant

When preparing to submit an application, please allow time for the execution/electronic upload of the following documents. An application will be considered incomplete until all documents are submitted to the OWRB.

✅ An authorizing resolution signed by the applicant's Board
✅ A verification form signed by the authorized applicant and certified by an attorney
✅ A copy of the applicant’s most recent trust indenture or other organizational documents
✅ A copy of the Sam.gov Unique Entity ID (UEI) verification. The UEI must be in the name of the applicant. If you do not have an active UEI number, you should begin working on that prior to applying as it can be a lengthy process.
✅ A list of water use permit numbers if the applicant is permitted through the OWRB to take water
✅ A copy of the water purchase agreement if the applicant purchases water from another entity
✅ A copy of the rate ordinance of minutes from a meeting establishing applicant’s water and sewer rates
✅ Copies of documentation showing all funding is available to complete the project (i.e., commitment letters for grants, a bank statement with a letter earmarking funds, etc.)
✅ A copy of the applicant’s engineering report and cost estimate. Procurement of professional services for federal grants must comply with 2 CFR 200 and provide documentation for such.
✅ If applicable, a copy of the consent order the project is addressing
✅ A copy of the applicant’s most recent audit or agreed upon procedures

Priority Formula for Water/Wastewater Grants

Applications will be ranked based on the following formula.
T = WR + I +APCI + C + BP + PG + S + LP, where:

T = Total of priority points (72 points possible)
WR = Water and sewer rate structure (Maximum 13 points)
I = Indebtedness per connection (Maximum 10 points)
APCI = Adjusted Per Capita Income (Maximum 24 points)
C = Consent Order (5 additional points if project addresses an active Consent Order)
BP = Project benefit to other systems (5 additional points)
PG = Previous OWRB ARPA grant assistance (8 points deducted)
S = Sustainability (Maximum 10 points)
LP = Proposals submitted to the Legislative ARPA Committees (5 additional points)

Application Review Process

All applications will be initially evaluated to determine if the entity and/or proposed project meets the eligibility for funding under the program as discussed above. Each project will be separated by population (or taps for districts) and ranked against other eligible applicants in those categories. Once ranked, the Priority List will be made available to all applicants and posted to this webpage. The top ranked projects will proceed to the Board for approval based on Readiness to Proceed until all the available funding has been obligated.

Schedule

Each entity selected for funding under this program must meet the deadlines outlined below. If an applicant fails to submit a complete application and all supporting documents by the deadline, they will be ineligible for funding under this program. In addition, applicants must demonstrate that a proposed project can meet the deadlines listed below to receive funding. Once approved for funding, any selected entity that fails to meet the deadline listed below may be required to return all unused funds. Unused or returned funds may be reallocated to additional eligible projects.

Application Period Opens: October 1, 2022
Application Deadline: November 30, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.
Construction Completion Deadline: December 31, 2026
- All funds must be expended by this date.

Financial Assistance