DOH presents SRF priority list as agencies coordinate distribution of large application pool

Chris Pettit, program manager for the Department of Health's drinking water SRF, told the Public Works Board the agency finalized a priority list and submitted it to the legislature the morning of Jan. 23.

Pettit said the state received more than $220 million in project applications and that the list identifies about $155 million of construction projects plus additional planning and preconstruction requests. He noted that BIL-era federal funds increased demand and that subsidy constraints (including requirements to direct a portion of loan funds to disadvantaged communities) mean not all qualified applicants will receive subsidy.

"We had over $220,000,000 worth of project applications, come in... 46 total applications," Pettit said, adding that the agency is working to spread available funds across construction, preconstruction and emerging-contaminant grants while coordinating with other funders to avoid double funding.

Commerce staff said the board deferred some preconstruction awards until February to ensure coordination with other funders and to avoid offering awards before other agencies publish their lists. Pettit and others urged careful scheduling to make the most effective allocations during a year of fluctuating federal grant levels.

The board asked questions about data quality, survey response rates and how the SRF's new EPA data aggregator could improve consistency in the coming cycle. No vote was taken on the priority list itself at this meeting (the list had been transmitted to the legislature as a snapshot in time).