Section 1452 of the safe drinking water act (sdwa) authorizes the state to utilize funds to further the health protection objectives of sdwa

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services was awarded a $19.7 million formula grant from the Environmental Protection Agency Region 1 under the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program. The grant capitalizes Maine's DWSRF to provide low-interest financing through June 2029 for drinking water infrastructure projects that protect public health. Eligible activities include improving treatment facilities, replacing aging pipes, upgrading water sources, and constructing storage tanks. The department may also use some funds for set-asides that provide technical assistance to small systems, administration, and other allowed purposes. Sub-awards will support capacity development, lead service line inventories, system consolidations, emergency preparedness training, wellhead protection, and water system security. The capitalized fund is expected to increase technical, financial, and managerial capacity of water providers statewide and help ensure a safer drinking water supply through multiple funded improvements.

This agreement will provide funds, authorized by the infrastructure investment and jobs act (IIJA) (PL 117-58), to capitalize the recipient's drinking water state revolving fund (dwsrf) to provide low interest financing for costs associated with the planning, design and construction of eligible drinking water improvement projects and activities to protect human health. As part of this agreement, the recipient ensures compliance with federal and state regulations, which are designed to protect public health.activities:the bulk of the SRF will be used for loans and other authorized assistance to public water systems for eligible projects, including improving drinking water treatment, fixing leaky or old pipes (water distribution), improving source of water supply, replacing or constructing finished water storage tanks, and other infrastructure projects needed to protect public health. The recipient may also use some of the funding for specific 'set-asides'; to provide technical assistance to small systems, program administration, state program management and other allowable uses.subrecipient:these sub-awards are for grants provided under the dwsrf set-asides for capacity development, lead service line inventories, public water system consolidation, training, emergency preparedness, wellhead/source water protection and water system asset security.outcomes:the benefits of this grant will be to capitalize the recipient's dwsrf. The fund can then be used to increase technical, financial and managerial capacity of public water systems, and provide assurance of a cleaner and safer potable water supply by funding improvements to multiple water infrastructure projects. These public health benefits will be statewide.