Governor Gianforte Invests Nearly $150 Million in Water and Sewer Infrastructure Projects

• September 09 2021

HELENA, Mont. – Governor Gianforte today announced the investment of nearly $150 million for water and sewer infrastructure projects across the state.

“Montana is leading the nation in making critical water and sewer infrastructure investments, with more than 80-percent of them supporting our rural communities,” Governor Gianforte said. “With funds devoted toward constructing new systems and improving existing ones, more Montana communities will have access to reliable, sustainable water and wastewater systems.”

As recommended by the Infrastructure Advisory Commission, $121 million will fund 73 top-ranked competitive grant projects, which the governor announced in mid-August. Each grant has a cap of $2 million per project. Associated Minimum Allocation Grants, totaling $20.2 million will also be awarded for those projects.

The governor is also awarding American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Water and Sewer Minimum Allocation Grants totaling $5.8 million to 13 eligible projects.  

Project rankings were conducted by a team of technical experts in drinking water, wastewater, engineering, and project management at the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC). 

A website with a dashboard detailing ARPA water and sewer grant project status and statistics as well as an interactive map have now launched and can be found at here. To date, the ARPA traffic and inquiries total over 27,000 hits, including the website, articles, community events, forum engagement and a survey, signaling immense public interest in this grant program. 

In addition to HB 632 which appropriated ARPA funds for water and sewer competitive grants, the Montana Legislature also appropriated $150 million of ARPA funds for water and sewer minimum allocation grants to towns, cities, and counties. These grants are not competitive. Applications exclusive to minimum allocation grants are being accepted on an ongoing basis until January 1, 2023. Applications must be reviewed for eligibility by DNRC before the agency can recommend those projects to the Infrastructure Advisory Commission. 

Applicants for competitive water and sewer grants can visit arpa.mt.gov to log in to see their final score. The full list of ranked projects may be found here. Technical assistance will continue to be available.

Agencies administering and assisting with the ARPA water and sewer grants include DNRC, the Department of Environmental Quality, and the Department of Commerce.

The next Infrastructure Advisory Commission meeting will be held on September 22, 2021. Public comments or letters of support regarding a specific project application can be mailed to dnrarpa@mt.gov or submitted in the Public Comment Form online.

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