Town to apply for $275,000 cybersecurity grant for water and wastewater systems

A town director (speaker 7) told the Friday Harbor Town Council on June 4 that the town intends to apply for the Washington State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program for Water, Wastewater and Critical Infrastructure Resilience.

The director said the town is seeking $275,000 and that the program is a federal‑state partnership in which the federal government provides 50% of funds and the state provides the match. He said the state legislature has already appropriated the matching funds so the town would not need to provide a local match for this application.

The director described a short application window: the deadline is June 12. He said the submission process is a template emailed to the grant administrators (there is no online portal), and that the town expects notification about awards in November or December with access to funds beginning in January of the following year.

Council members asked how the funds would be used and whether the town’s current cybersecurity budget would be offset. The director said the requested funds would help cover cybersecurity improvements for critical infrastructure — specifically water and wastewater treatment and distribution systems — and that some existing budgeted amounts have been applied to infrastructure modernization but are insufficient to complete all desired cybersecurity upgrades. He said some work will remain to bid or hire third‑party cybersecurity support after evaluating quotes.

No formal action to approve an application was recorded at the meeting; the director said that if an award were offered he would return to the council to seek a resolution authorizing acceptance and to detail any grant conditions.