Maine DEP details SRF, principal forgiveness and PFAS funding options for wastewater and stormwater projects

Brandy Pierce, Clean Water State Revolving Fund program manager at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, told webinar attendees that the SRF program combines multiple funding sources — a base allocation, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds, repayment dollars and targeted grants for sewer overflow/stormwater and emerging contaminants — into a single pool for wastewater and stormwater projects.

“This year's allocation is a base program anticipated of getting 6,300,000, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is gonna give us roughly about $18,800,000,” Pierce said, and she explained that a substantial portion of those combined funds is set aside as principal forgiveness (grant-like money). She said approximately $12,700,000 is being reserved for principal forgiveness this year and that SRF loan repayment is recycled to fund future projects.

Pierce described eligible SRF uses: wastewater construction and collection-system replacement, stormwater projects, landfill capping, treatment works, and fiscal sustainability (asset-management) plans. She said wastewater construction typically ranks highest in funding priority but noted stormwater projects are increasingly prioritized because stormwater can capture emerging contaminants such as PFAS.

The DEP program offers targeted incentives: up to $50,000 in principal forgiveness for fiscal sustainability (asset-management) plans with a required local match, and up to $25,000 (no match) for climate-adaptation planning tied to sewer and stormwater systems. She said the agency is offering $1,640,000 in 100% principal-forgiveness funds for projects addressing emerging contaminants, and described eligible activities as lab purchases, engineering studies, source-water protection, stormwater treatment, biosolids handling and related work.

Pierce also described the Small Community Grant program to address failing subsurface wastewater systems: the program typically replaces or repairs 35–40 septic systems per year with approximately $750,000 in annual funding and historically used an income threshold of under $40,000 for eligibility; Pierce said the program is moving toward a percent-of-state-median-household-income threshold to expand eligibility.

In response to an attendee question, Pierce advised that PFAS contamination at former commercial sites is typically handled through DEP Brownfields funding, while the SRF emerging-contaminant funds are aimed at wastewater/stormwater/biosolids treatment and related responses. She closed by offering DEP assistance and contact help for communities seeking matched funding packages.