Department Of Environment & Conservation Tennessee

The Department of Environment & Conservation Tennessee (TDEC), a U.S. state government entity headquartered in Nashville, operates as a federal grant recipient administering environmental programs funded primarily through EPA Region 4 and other federal agencies. TDEC does not hold federal contracts as a prime and lacks federal contract-related IDVs; its federal footprint consists almost entirely of grants and cooperative agreements, with the agency acting as recipient on environmental and conservation awards and occasionally distributing subawards to partner organizations.

TDEC's federal funding concentrates heavily in water infrastructure and environmental management. The agency administers two major revolving loan fund (RLF) programs, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), which received capitalization grants exceeding $600 million in combined obligations across multiple awards since 2022. Recent representative work includes $89.756 million from EPA Region 4 for DWSRF lead service line replacement projects (CFDA 66.468, obligated October 2023); $35.787 million under CWSRF for water quality improvement financing (CFDA 66.458, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act-funded, awarded October 2025); and $8.574 million under the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program for coal mining site remediation (CFDA 15.252, awarded July 2025). TDEC also holds cooperative agreements with EPA Region 4 supporting nutrient reduction initiatives, Superfund remediation oversight, and hazardous waste management under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

Customer concentration is highly skewed toward federal environmental and water agencies. EPA Region 4 (129 awards) and the broader EPA portfolio (199 awards) together account for the dominant share of TDEC's award activity, reflecting Tennessee's role as a state environmental agency. Additional customers include the National Park Service (50 awards totaling $175 thousand in outdoor recreation grants), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (91 awards for disaster response and dam safety), the Department of the Interior (including Fish and Wildlife Service for endangered species recovery and OSMRE for mine reclamation), and the Department of Agriculture NRCS. The Food and Drug Administration contributed $5.2 million through a single multi-year mammography quality assurance program award (CFDA 21.007, $2.448 million definitive contract, awarded July 2022, extending through January 2028).

TDEC's prime footprint centers on state-administered environmental compliance and infrastructure management. The agency acts as recipient or pass-through entity on formula grants for water quality monitoring, air quality surveillance, solid waste management, underground storage tank programs, and historic preservation activities under the National Historic Preservation Act. Recent high-dollar infrastructure work includes $41.912 million for DWSRF financing addressing emerging contaminants including PFAS (CFDA 66.468, IIJA-funded, October 2025) and $35.787 million for CWSRF-supported wastewater infrastructure projects also IIJA-funded (October 2025). Grant activities increasingly support climate and energy resilience priorities: TDEC received $3 million from EPA Region 4 for climate pollution reduction planning (CFDA 66.046, awarded July 2023); cooperative agreements with the Department of Energy for home energy rebate programs, battery recycling, and smart manufacturing partnership support totaling over $4 million; and a $2.829 million AML grant addressing legacy coal mining impacts (CFDA 15.252, July 2025).

TDEC functions as a subawardee on narrower, targeted initiatives. The agency received subawards from the Tennessee Department of Health for Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program delivery and from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency for emergency protective measures and disaster recovery reimbursement related to Hurricanes Helene and Milton (May 2022 through August 2025). These sub-awards reflect TDEC's operational role within the broader state environmental and health infrastructure.

The recompete cliff shows 46 awards with completion dates within the next twenty-four months, carrying combined potential value of $2.5 million. Activity has remained stable in the 40–50 award range annually (2022–2025), with three awards in early 2026. TDEC's award portfolio reflects structural characteristics of state environmental agencies: episodic project and project grant funding tied to federal program cycles, large long-term capitalization grants for revolving funds, and formula-based allocations under Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act authorities. The agency does not compete for conventional federal contracts and does not operate on a prime contractor business model; rather, it functions as a state-level implementer of federal environmental mandates and steward of federal infrastructure funding deployed through low-interest loan programs serving municipal customers throughout Tennessee.