MassDEP reviews ECSDC grant rules, reporting and technical assistance for small water systems

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) staff on a training webinar reviewed administrative and technical requirements for public water systems awarded funds under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities (ECSDC) grant program and described technical-assistance resources available through UMass Amherst.

The ECSDC grant program, funded by the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provided Massachusetts $38,204,000 for federal fiscal years 2022–2023 and $19,249,000 for fiscal year 2024; MassDEP said projects funded by the 2022–2023 allocation run through September 2029, while 2024 awards run through 2030. "ECSDC provides states and territories with grants to public water systems in small or disadvantaged communities to address emerging contaminants," said Abby Jacobs, ECSDC grant program manager for MassDEP’s Drinking Water Program.

Why it matters: the webinar covered steps grantees must take to move from award letters to reimbursement, documentation that must accompany invoices and reports, federal compliance rules that may apply to some construction projects, and technical services available to grantees to support pilot testing and design.

MassDEP walked grantees through the contract and invoicing process, including a new project-specifications document that will summarize each project and an invoicing cover sheet grantees must submit with…