Infrastructure Protection Funding (IPF) for Existing Water, Waste Water, and Solid Waste Facilities

IPF Project Lists

IPF Project List Q4 2019 (PDF)

Background

The 2018 Legislature approved an increase of $4 million in general funds, above and beyond the required State match for federal awards to the SFY2019 VSW appropriation designated for Expansion, Upgrade, and Replacement of Existing Service. The VSW program will use the additional funds for construction project necessary to address critical needs associated with operating and maintaining existing water, waste water, or solid waste systems in small communities across Alaska.

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Overview of IPF Program

The goal of the funding allocation system is to award 10 – 20 construction projects per year, with individual project funding amounts between $15,000 and $150,000. In order to achieve this, the eligibility and scoring criteria has been defined, but then adjusted if necessary.

Eligible communities can apply for an Infrastructure Protection grant at any time, and applications will be scored and prioritized. Funds will be awarded on a quarterly basis, and projects will typically be administered by either VSW or the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC).

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Community Eligibility

In order to be eligible for funding, a community must meet the following criteria:

Eligible for VSW funding according the VSW Act;
Have a current Operation and Maintenance Best Practices score of at least 30 total points.

For water and sewer system improvements:

The community must own and operate either a community water or sewer system, or both. (Communities where homes are served by individual wells and septic systems are not eligible.)

And, the community must be either:

A community with households served by a piped system (more than 55% of households have indoor running water and wastewater service) with a household user rate considered either Unaffordable or Mid-Affordable according the Affordability Indicator maintained by the VSW Program (Rates which are considered Very Affordable should be raised in order to help pay for needed operation and maintenance improvements.); OR
An unserved community (less than 55% of households have indoor running water and wastewater service); OR
A community with households served by a community water and/or sewer haul system (truck or trailer haul)

For solid waste improvements:

A community must own and operate a solid waste landfill

In addition, a community is only eligible to have one application considered at a time.

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Project Eligibility

To be eligible for funding, the project scope must address an urgent need associated with the continued operation and maintenance of an existing water, wastewater, or solid waste system. Improvements associated with longer-term needs such as future growth will not be funded.

In addition, the total funding requested cannot exceed $150,000.

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IPF Scoring Criteria

Category	Criteria	Points
Health Impact (limited to one)	Project would address a significant health risk currently associated with an existing water, wastewater, or solid waste system.	65
	Project would prevent an imminent emergency associated with existing water, wastewater, or solid waste system.	60
	Project would make significant improvement(s) to water quality or reliability of existing water source, including compliance with water treatment regulations.	45
	Project would address a significant long-term problem which is currently affecting the operation and maintenance of an existing water or wastewater system.	40
	Project would correct an anticipated failure associated with an existing water, wastewater, or solid waste system.	30
	Project would address a significant long-term problem which is currently affecting the operation and maintenance of an existing solid waste system.	25
	Project would prolong the life of the existing water, wastewater or solid waste system by at least several years.	15
	Desired Upgrades: Upgrade to existing water, wastewater, or solid waste system that is not considered any of the above.	0
Local Capacity	Best Practices score of 30 - 39: 0 points Best Practices score of 40 - 49: 5 points Best Practices score of 50 - 59: 10 points Best Practices score of 60 - 69: 15 points Best Practices score of 70 – 100 points: 20 points (Less than 30 Best Practice points is not eligible.)	0 - 20
In-Kind Contribution	Community will make in-kind contribution (labor, equipment, materials, etc.) for a percentage of total project cost. Each percentage point counts as one point, in increments of 5, up to 15 points maximum.	0, 5, 10 or 15 points
	Total Possible Points	100

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Applications

Funding applications can be submitted at any time, and will be scored on a quarterly basis.

Emergency funding applications, which cannot be delayed until the next quarter, will be scored upon verification of emergency situation.

The application deadlines for 2020 are:

January 31, 2020
April 30, 2020
July 31, 2020
October 30, 2020

Quarter scoring will take place shortly after the application deadlines, with funded projects announced soon thereafter.

Applications will be retained on the list for one year and then removed. A new application will be required after one year. New or revised applications will be accepted at any time to replace existing or expired applications.

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Grant Administration

Grants for Infrastructure Protection projects will be administered in the same manner as regular VSW grants. If VSW is assigned as the lead agency for the community, a grant agreement will be prepared and signed by both the community and DEC. If ANTHC is assigned as the lead agency for the community, a Funding Transfer Agreement will be prepared and signed by both the Indian Health Service and DEC.

Grants will be made with a performance period not to exceed one year after the funding agreement is finalized. Quarterly progress reports and a brief close out report will be required.

Please note that all expenses must meet grant conditions. Any expenses incurred before the grant award are at the grantees own risk and may not be eligible for reimbursement.

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Project Administration

Infrastructure Protection projects will be administered by either VSW Program or ANTHC, depending on which agency is assigned as the lead agency for the community’s water and wastewater infrastructure improvement needs. In some cases, VSW or ANTHC may work with the Remote Maintenance Worker Program to administer the project.

A cost estimate will be required as part of the project application. At the time of scoring, the cost estimate will be evaluated, and adjusted, if necessary. The adjusted cost will be used to determine project eligibility. The cost of administering the project by VSW or ANTHC is an eligible project cost, will be determined on a project specific basis, and will be independent of project funding limitations.

Please note that all expenses must meet grant conditions. Any expenses incurred before the grant award are at the grantees own risk and may not be eligible for reimbursement.

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Apply for Funding: 3 Steps

Ensure your community is eligible

Carefully review the Eligibility Requirements, and make sure that your community meets all the requirements at the application deadline.

Only application submitted by eligible communities will be considered; applications submitted by entities that do not own or operate the utility will not be accepted.

Prepare and sign a letter from the community requesting the project

The letter must be from the community requesting the project. Letters from entities that do not own or operate the utility will not be accepted.

The letter must include both the name and the estimated cost of the project being requested. View an example of an IPF Community Letter.

Complete and submit the application before the deadline

You can access PDF versions of the application below under the Application Links section.

There are THREE WAYS the application package can be submitted:

In person - Drop off a paper application package, including all attachments, at the VSW Program office in Anchorage
Mail a paper application package, including all attachments, to the VSW office
Email a scanned copy of the application and all attachments to the VSW Program office

Faxes will not be accepted.

Applications and all required attachments must be received by VSW before 5:00 p.m. on the quarterly application deadline.

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Useful Links

Additional information about Infrastructure Protection Funding from the Village Safe Water Program can be found at the following sites:

General Information

Application Links

Print-Only Application (PDF)
Fillable Application (PDF)
Example of community letter requesting Infrastructure Protection Funding (Coming soon)

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