Wastewater Funding Requirements

Training for new recipients

We provide recipent training annually by webinars, that are typically held in July. See below for the most current information (dates/times of current trainings or presentations of previous trainings). We recommend recipients attend their project type training and any Environmental and Cultural Resources traning necessary. 

Register for Wastewater Facility Project Training: July 15, 2024, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Morning Sessions

• New Agreement Development (8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.)
  Recommended if you are a Project Manager
   
• Payment Request / Progress Reports (PRPRs) (10 a.m. to 12 p.m.)
  Recommended if you are Billing Contact or Project Manager

Afternoon Session (1 p.m. to 3 p.m.)

• Project Design and Engineering
  Recommended if you are an Engineer, Consultant, or Project Manager of projects with a construction component

Register for Environmental Review for Loan Agreements: July 18, 2024, 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Register for Cultural Resources Review for All Projects: July 18, 2024, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Previous presentations

• Agreement Development & Management (Session 1)
• Payment Request and Progress Report (Session 2)
• Project Design and Engineering (Session 3)

Other materials

• Staff contact for Water Quality Grants & Loans
• Progress Report and Payment Requests (PRPR) forms guidance
• Managing Recipient Roles in EAGL

Requirements for all projects 

All funded projects must adhere to:

• Funding Guidelines for the fiscal year of the award (see below)
• Administrative Requirements for Ecology Grant and Loans (Yellow Book),
• Terms and conditions of your funding agreement

Wastewater projects are typically funded by Clean Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF), and must follow those additional requirements.

Procurement, purchasing, and contracts

State procurement requirements apply to all projects. You can find further information in the Yellow Book (pg 48). See the CWSRF page for additional requirements. 

Step 1 Planning

Eligible documents in a planning project include, but are not limited to, general sewer plans, engineering reports, environmental and cultural review, value engineering studies, feasibility studies and rate studies.  Recipients must comply with planning requirements to be eligible for reimbursement. Below are available resources when preparing for a planning project.

• Value Planning Guide (Commerce)

Washington Administrative Code (WAC):

• General Sewer Plan  WAC 173-240-050
• Engineering Report  WAC 173-240-060

Steps 2, 3, 4 Design and Construction

Investment Grade Efficiency Audit (IGEA) 

We provide an Overview of IGEA Requirements which is a requirement of the State infrastructure funding and is required for step 2, 3, and 4 projects receiving CWSRF and/or Centennial funds. 

Washington Administrative Code (WAC):

• Plans and specifications WAC 173-240-070
• Construction quality assurance plan WAC 173-240-075
• Operation and maintenance manual WAC 173-240-080
• Declaration of construction completion WAC 173-240-090

Small community resources

Technical assistance

We work with small communities throughout the State to provide Technical Assistance focusing on water quality infrastructure needs. Technical assistance can address wastewater issues in several ways, including development of well-planned infrastructure projects, on-site operations assistance, coordination with external partners, and funding assistance for water quality projects.

For more information, contact Stephanie Allen or Kim Prisock.

Small Communities Project Priority List

The Small Communities Project Priority List (SCPPL) identifies wastewater projects eligible for a new simplified funding process to help projects move more smoothly from planning through design to construction. For projects that qualify for SCPPL, the recipient will not have to submit new applications to fund the next project step. Instead, funds can be amended into an existing funding agreement at the current step (planning or design). SCPPL eligible projects are updated and published in the Draft and Final Offer List and Intended Use Plan on the grants and loans home page.

If you have an active Step 1 Planning or Step 2 Design funding agreement, please contact your Ecology Project Manager, Financial Manager, or Ecology Engineering Team to determine if SCPPL could apply to your project.

Hardship determinations

We perform hardship determinations during application evaluation and design for SCPPL projects. Projects that meet the criteria are eligible to receive subsidy. Below are the criteria that are used to make the determination for wastewater.

Small communities dashboard

This dashboard displays estimated costs to meet wastewater infrastructure needs for small communities that have potential financial hardship conditions. Many wastewater systems across the state having aging infrastructure, which need updated plans to design and construct upgrades to protect public health and meet water quality standards.

View project requirements and resources by project type