Support for EPA’s Community Grants Program

In fiscal years 2022 and 2023, Congress appropriated funding for a new congressionally directed spending program under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that included funding for 2,220 community grants. These grants will fund infrastructure projects in local communities to address drinking water, wastewater, stormwater infrastructure, and water quality protection needs, providing significant benefit to communities and the environment. To implement this grant program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency needs to ensure that all 2,220 projects comply with applicable federal requirements. EPA selected ERG to provide support. 

ERG formed a diverse team of professionals with expertise in the wide range of applicable federal requirements, including requirements concerning the National Environmental Policy Act, procurement, payment requests, and cost sharing. On a rolling basis, grant recipients provided documentation supporting their grant application to one of EPA’s ten regional offices. The EPA regional offices, in turn, provided the documentation to the ERG team, who reviewed the documentation for compliance with applicable requirements and responded to confirm compliance or describe the types of changes needed to ensure compliance. Due to the significance of these grants for communities, EPA often needed ERG to deliver products on a tight schedule. The ERG team successfully met all quick-turnaround deadlines.