Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, doing business as Iepa, is a U.S. state government entity operating as a child of the State of Illinois Office of the Governor that receives federal grant funding to administer environmental protection, remediation, and compliance programs across air quality, water quality, land remediation, and energy efficiency initiatives at the state and regional level.

Iepa operates exclusively as a federal grant recipient (329 awards with no subcontract relationships), with all work carried out under EPA Region 5 and other federal grantor agencies rather than as a federal contractor. The agency's recent award portfolio is anchored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which funds approximately 91% of awards across EPA Region 5 and the national EPA office. The top funding sources include EPA Region 5 (134 awards) and the national EPA office (118 awards), with smaller volumes from the Department of Justice Bureau of Prisons (29 awards for water and waste permitting at the USP Marion facility), the Department of Energy (10 awards for state energy programs), and the Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service (6 awards for Superfund remediation support). Combined obligated dollars across the portfolio total $5.08 billion against $960 thousand in combined potential value across 329 awards, reflecting the multi-year, large-scale capitalization grants that dominate Iepa's federal footprint.

Iepa's grant work centers on water infrastructure financing, hazardous waste remediation oversight, air quality monitoring, and statewide environmental compliance. Key recent awards include a $133.698 million Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) capitalization grant (CFDA 66.458) awarded July 1, 2025, to fund $111.415 million in low-interest loans to municipalities for wastewater treatment, stormwater management, and water quality projects; a $245.9 million Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) capitalization grant (CFDA 66.468) for lead service line replacement and emerging contaminant treatment infrastructure; a $104.132 million grant under the Clean Ports Program (CFDA 66.051) for zero-emission port equipment deployment and emissions reduction across Illinois counties; a $63.26 million Performance Partnership Grant (CFDA 66.605) funding statewide air, water, and land environmental programs across three major bureaus; and a $1.87 million Brownfields Multipurpose Cooperative Agreement (CFDA 66.818) supporting assessment and remediation planning in St. Clair County, Danville, Jacksonville, and other Illinois communities. Iepa also acts as a pass-through entity for water quality management planning, nonpoint source implementation, drinking water emerging contaminant funding, and state revolving loan fund administration under multiple EPA capitalization grant programs, with responsibilities for subawarding to local municipalities, water systems, and regional planning agencies. Environmental remediation work includes Superfund site characterization, five-year reviews, and remedial action oversight at National Priorities List sites (e.g., Beloit Corporation, Crab Orchard, Interstate Pollution Control sites in Illinois).

Activity has been stable with 20 awards in 2022, 27 in 2023, 33 in 2024, 22 in 2025, and 6 awards recorded in 2026 (year-to-date through July 15). Thirty-eight awards carrying combined potential value of $138 thousand are scheduled to reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing recompete opportunities for EPA and Department of Energy grant renewals across water infrastructure, air monitoring, and energy efficiency programs. The Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3 is the highest-value customer by dollar magnitude ($470 thousand across 4 awards), driven primarily by the Crab Orchard Superfund project; however, EPA Region 5 and the national EPA office dominate by award count and represent the majority of obligated federal funding through state revolving fund capitalization grants and performance partnership mechanisms.

Iepa does not hold parent contract vehicles or serve as a federal contractor prime or sub; its entire federal footprint is grant-based, delivered through cooperative agreements and formula grants that fund state-level environmental administration and pass-through financing to subrecipients (municipalities, water systems, counties, regional agencies). The agency does not engage in traditional federal contracting competitive procurement; instead, it administers federal environmental programs under delegation from EPA and other federal agencies and distributes federal capitalization grants and cooperative agreement funds to eligible sub-recipients within Illinois for water infrastructure, brownfields remediation, energy efficiency, and emissions reduction projects.