Blog: Competitive Infrastructure Funding Opportunities for Local Governments
The recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will provide billions of dollars in competitive funding to local governments across the country, and many of those funds can be used to mitigate the impacts of climate change, restore watersheds and improve access to clean water, and help pave the way for the electrification of vehicle fleets and transportation systems.
HECHO strongly supports these investments and encourages local governments across the country to take advantage of these historic opportunities offered by the federal government. Local Hispanic government leaders in particular have a chance to help lead the way to a greener and cleaner future by leading the efforts to acquire these one-time funding opportunities.
Below are some of the programs and funding sources that HECHO encourages community leaders to apply for. Click on the link to learn more about each opportunity and see if it would be a good fit for the needs of your community:
Rebuilding American Infrastructure Sustainably and Equitably (RAISE) Grants– This program will provide nearly $15 billion in funding for road, rail, transit, and other surface transportation of local and/or regional significance.
Bus & Bus Facilities Competitive Grants – Public transportation is the future. This $2 billion program provides capital funding to replace, rehabilitate, purchase, or lease buses and bus related equipment and facilities for low- or no-emissions bus projects.
Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grants – This $7.5 billion discretionary grant program will fund the strategic deployment of publicly accessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure, as well as hydrogen, propane, and natural gas fueling infrastructure, along designated alternative fuel corridors and in communities.
Clean School Bus Program – This new $5 billion competitive grant program will provide funding to replace existing school buses with low- or zero-emission school buses.
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program – This program will distribute $1 billion to support communities undertaking hazard mitigation projects to reduce the risks they face from disasters and other natural hazards.
Flood Mitigation Assistance – $3.5 billion from this existing program can be used for projects that reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured by the National Flood Insurance Program.
Brownfields Remediation Program – This existing EPA program will provide $1.2 billion in grants and technical assistants to communities to assess and safely clean-up contaminated properties and offer job training programs.
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants – This block grant program will provide $550 million to states, local governments, and tribes for projects that reduce energy use, increase energy efficiency, and cut pollution.
Energy Improvement in Rural or Remote Areas – This new program will provide $1 billion to entities in rural or remote areas to increase environmental protection from the impacts of energy use and improve resilience, reliability, safety, and availability of energy.
Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program – This new $1 billion program will provide grants to communities at risk from wildfire to develop or revise their community wildfire protection plans and carry out projects.
Many more programs from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are already, or will become available to apply for funding for a variety of other infrastructure needs for states and local governments. We encourage you to take a look at the White House Fact Sheet on emerging opportunities to learn more and be a climate leader in your community.