Building a More Resilient Avon: State and Federal Funding Opportunities

Collin Hayes

There are ample funding opportunities to support the investments that need to be made in promoting our Town’s infrastructure

In this series of posts, I'm diving deep into proactive approaches to build resiliency in Avon, particularly in the face of increasingly frequent severe weather events.

In previous posts, I discussed how strategic planning and smart zoning regulations can significantly reduce stormwater runoff, protect our water quality, and effectively mitigate flood damage. I also explored how comprehensive hazard planning can provide a framework to organize, implement, and assess these efforts. I discussed how the Town can leverage technology in tracking historical weather patterns and storm events, identifying areas of frequent flooding, and monitoring the health and effectiveness of our infrastructure.

In this post, I will discuss the state and federal funding opportunities that are available to enable this important work.

Applying for Grants: Leveraging Local Expertise

Livingston County provides grant assistance to municipalities. The Livingston County Planning Department can provide data and technical assistance in preparing a grant application and is a vital resource in grant administration for towns and villages in the County. This local expertise will be invaluable.

My personal experience applying for grants for several nonprofit organizations, where I'm a member or serve on the board, and my direct experience on the grant administration side, working for the Legal Services Corporation as a Grants Coordinator for their Disaster Grants program, have equipped me with a deep understanding of the grant lifecycle. This includes working with legal aid providers across the country to administer a federal grant program focused on increasing the resiliency and emergency planning efforts of those organizations and providing legal assistance to survivors of natural disasters. This firsthand knowledge will be crucial in navigating the complexities of securing these vital funds for Avon.

State Opportunities: New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC)

The New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) acts as New York State's "water infrastructure bank," providing low-cost financing and technical assistance for environmental and public health projects. Their funding opportunities are particularly relevant to Avon's resiliency goals:

• Green Resiliency Grants (GRG): This program specifically prioritizes grants to flood-prone communities for green stormwater infrastructure and resiliency projects. There's currently $60 million available in the next round of funding, with applications due by August 15, 2025. This is a significant opportunity that Avon should actively pursue.

• Green Innovation Grant Program (GIGP) - Administered by EFC:

  • Purpose: The GIGP specifically supports projects that utilize unique green stormwater infrastructure design and create cutting-edge green technologies. These are competitive grants for transformative projects that protect and improve water quality through green infrastructure, spur innovation, and build capacity.

  • Eligibility: The program focuses on green infrastructure components, energy efficiency, water efficiency, and environmental innovation. Projects may be eligible for up to 90% of eligible costs, especially for municipalities meeting certain median household income (MHI) criteria or serving environmental justice/disadvantaged communities.

• Water Infrastructure Improvement Act (WIIA) and Intermunicipal Water Infrastructure Grants (IMG) - Administered by EFC:

  • Purpose: These are competitive grant programs that provide significant funding to help municipalities affordably undertake critical wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects. While not exclusively for stormwater, many projects with a stormwater component (especially those related to combined sewer overflow (CSO) abatement or flood resiliency) can be eligible.

  • WIIA: For individual municipal projects.

  • IMG: Specifically for projects undertaken by two or more cooperating municipalities. This encourages regional collaboration, which can be highly effective for interconnected water systems.

• Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF): Provides low-interest financing to municipalities for projects that control water pollution, such as wastewater treatment plant upgrades, collection sewer rehabilitation, and protecting waterbodies from storm runoff pollution. Interest-free, subsidized, and market-rate financing are available, with additional subsidy like principal forgiveness or grants possible for eligible communities that qualify for hardship.

• Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF): Offers low-interest financing and grants to community and private water systems for safe drinking water projects, including improving drinking water treatment, fixing leaky pipes, and enhancing water supply sources.

EFC also provides valuable technical assistance and resources to help municipalities with projects:

• Community Assistance Teams: These teams help local governments navigate the funding process for water infrastructure projects, offering one-on-one meetings and guidance on applications.

• Engineering Planning Grants: These grants help communities develop the necessary engineering reports to set the stage for successful funding applications.

State Opportunities: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)

NYSDEC also provides funding opportunities accessed through the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA), a single application platform that allows applicants to be considered for multiple state funding sources.

• Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) Program - Administered by DEC:

  • Purpose: This is a competitive, statewide reimbursement grant program that supports the implementation of projects that directly improve water quality or aquatic habitat, promote flood risk reduction, restoration, and enhanced flood and climate resiliency, or protect a drinking water source.

  • Stormwater Relevance: WQIP frequently funds projects related to polluted runoff abatement, green infrastructure practices, stormwater retrofits, and streambank stabilization.

• Non-Agricultural Nonpoint Source Planning and Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Mapping Grant (NPG) program - Administered by DEC:

  • Purpose: This program funds initial planning of non-agricultural nonpoint source water quality improvement projects, including green infrastructure technologies, and stormwater system mapping (especially for MS4 communities). This is designed to help communities prepare for larger implementation projects, making it a crucial first step for many initiatives.

Federal Opportunities

Beyond state-specific programs, several federal funding opportunities can be leveraged:

• USDA Rural Development Water & Waste Disposal Loan & Grant Program: Provides financial assistance to rural areas for water and waste projects. Avon's rural character could make this a strong fit.

• Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants Program (OSG): This is a direct grant program from the EPA to states, which then provide sub-awards to local governments for projects that address sewer overflows and promote stormwater reuse.

• Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Program: Administered by EPA, these grants are awarded to states, which then provide sub-grants or assistance for projects that address nonpoint source pollution, such as stormwater runoff.

• FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC): This is a pre-disaster mitigation program that funds projects increasing resilience to natural hazards and disasters. This aligns perfectly with Avon's proactive approach.

• DOT Bridge Investment Program: While focused on bridges, this competitive, discretionary program aims to reduce the number of bridges in poor condition or at risk of falling into poor condition. Upgrading or reinforcing bridges can be a key component of overall infrastructure resiliency, especially during flood events.

• Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) investments: The EDA provides grants to regions experiencing severe economic distress or other economic harm resulting from natural disasters like hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, and floods. EDA’s goal is to assist communities recovering from a disaster by realizing opportunities to recover and change the economic trajectory of the community for the better. While typically post-disaster, pre-disaster planning demonstrating potential economic harm could be a factor in some of their broader programs.

There are ample funding opportunities to support the investments that need to be made in promoting our Town’s infrastructure. If elected, I plan to use my experience to pursue these opportunities. This will require organizing our efforts under a comprehensive hazard mitigation plan and directing our resources towards the goal of promoting resiliency in our neighborhoods and infrastructure.