$5 Million Available to Local Governments for Development of Complete Lead Service Line Inventories

Springfield —Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) Director John J. Kim on March 3rd, announced a second funding opportunity to assist communities in meeting the requirements outlined in the Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act (LSLRN Act). The Lead Service Line Inventory (LSLI) Grant Program offers grants to local government units ranging from $20,000 - $50,000 to fund the creation of a complete lead service line inventory. The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) has been posted to the Illinois EPA website.

The LSLRN Act requires owners and operators of community water supplies (CWS) in Illinois to deliver a complete water service line material inventory to the Illinois EPA no later than April 15, 2024. The complete inventory must report the composition of all service lines within the CWS’s distribution system. Illinois EPA announced the first funding cycle in October of 2022 and received tremendous response. To offer additional funding to Illinois communities, the General Assembly subsequently passed, and Governor Pritzker recently signed legislation that provided additional appropriation authority to Illinois EPA for the LSLI Grant Program.

“Illinois EPA is well aware of the need for funding assistance for communities to meet the requirements of the Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act,” said Director Kim. “With the first LSLI funding opportunity, we received applications far exceeding the funds available, and it is our hope that this new funding cycle will provide funding to many more communities working to meet the inventory requirements of the LSLRN Act.”

The LSLI Grant Program utilizes a portion of Illinois EPA Public Water Supply Loan Program (PWSLP) loan support funds generated from loan repayments. Illinois EPA expects to award a total of $5,000,000 with this round and anticipates distributing this amount across 100-250 grant awards. Funding will be limited, based on the number of service connections found within the community, to a maximum of $50,000 per applicant. LSLI Grant recipients may request supplemental funding in the form of a low-interest loan through the Illinois EPA’s PWSLP in conjunction with funding to replace lead service lines. To inquire about funding through the PWSLP, please call (217) 782-2027 and ask to speak with the Infrastructure Financial Assistance Section Project Manager on call.

The latest LSLI NOFO, and all required forms and information, can be found on the Illinois EPA website at: https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/drinking-water/public-water-users/lsli-grant-opportunity.html. Applications for the LSLI Grant Program will be accepted March 3, 2023, through 1:00 PM (CST) on April 25, 2023.

All applicants must pre-qualify through the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act Grantee Portal.