Technical Assistance for Accessing SRF Funding Provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021

A coalition of organizations recommends that the EPA implement a comprehensive technical assistance (TA) strategy to help small, rural, and environmental justice communities overcome financial and capacity barriers when applying for SRF funding. The letter argues that without proactive TA—including one-on-one support, planning grants, and pre-development loans—funding will continue to be inequitably distributed toward wealthier applicants. Key recommendations include utilizing the $1 billion IIJA set-aside for outreach, training utilities in community engagement, and supporting green infrastructure projects to enhance climate resilience.

• Resource-constrained communities face significant financial and technical barriers to accessing SRF funding, with the average cost to develop and submit application materials for water infrastructure financing in California estimated at $17,000.
• Historical data indicates a lack of equitable distribution in SRF awards, with only 7.1 percent of eligible community water systems receiving a Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) award between 2011 and 2020.
• The authors recommend that the EPA allocate a significant portion of the approximately $1 billion in IIJA authorized set-aside funding for salaries, expenses, and administration toward outreach and assistance for small and disadvantaged communities.
• To achieve the goal of directing 40 percent of funding benefits to disadvantaged communities per Executive Order 14008, the EPA should provide one-on-one technical assistance and planning grants to cover costs that cannot be reimbursed via SRF loans.
• The EPA is urged to facilitate the use of pre-development loans and third-party loan guarantees to cover expensive technical documents, such as preliminary engineering reports and environmental reviews, which often impede progress for low-resource applicants.
• Technical assistance should specifically support the development of natural or green infrastructure projects, as many communities lack the capacity to identify and apply for funds for climate resiliency.

APA

Earthjustice (2022). Technical Assistance for Accessing SRF Funding Provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/epa_letter_-_technical_assistance_iija_srf_implementation_-_2-23-22.pdf

Chicago

Earthjustice. Technical Assistance for Accessing SRF Funding Provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. 2022. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/epa_letter_-_technical_assistance_iija_srf_implementation_-_2-23-22.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Earthjustice |title=Technical Assistance for Accessing SRF Funding Provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 |date=23 February 2022 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/epa_letter_-_technical_assistance_iija_srf_implementation_-_2-23-22.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{earthjustice2022technical, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{Technical Assistance for Accessing SRF Funding Provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2022}, month = feb, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/epa_letter_-_technical_assistance_iija_srf_implementation_-_2-23-22.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }