Have questions? Contact me!
Ryan Corbett, Water Resources Manager
Wastewater Technical Assistance Program
EMAIL: rcorbett@hudsonvalleyrc.org
PHONE: 845-564-4075
Wastewater Hub
This Hub consolidates and simplifies resources to aid municipalities' throughout the planning and application for funding process for wastewater infrastructure improvement projects. The Hub features Webinar spotlights that break down important wastewater webinars with timestamps, notes, and important links. This site contains a collection of useful links to help municipalities understanding of:
- Funding availability through grants
- Creating a project timeline around grant and application deadlines
- The Clean Water State Revolving Fund
- Project scoring criteria and score improvements
- Listing and updating CWSRF projects
Wastewater Announcements
Upcoming Webinars & Events
Connecting with Your Community: Bridging the Gap Between Operations and Communication
Environmental Finance Center Network
Communication with community members can be challenging due to staff and time constraints and lack of resources; however, you can engage with your community about your utility in easy, efficient ways. Existing resources, basic understanding of communication techniques, and a little planning can strengthen your communication strategies. This session will build on the basis that an informed community will support the efforts of the utility to continue to provide the necessary service of clean, safe drinking water.
Date & Time:
Aug 6 @ 1:00 pm
Confident Solids Management in Your Wastewater Lagoon
Environmental Finance Center Network
This webinar describes new technology used by the Wichita State University Environmental Finance Center (EFC) to assist communities with sludge management. Topics include how to identify whether your community would benefit from a sludge survey, how the technology works, how to better support the people conducting your survey, and factors that could make a survey troublesome or unavailable.
Date & Time:
Aug 11 @ 2:00 pm
Community Assistance Teams Q&A
Environmental Facilities Corporation
The EFC will be joined by partners from the Departments of Environmental Conservation, State, Health, and Homes and Community Renewal. Staff members from each agency will be available to answer program questions that you may have regarding water infrastructure funding needs.
Date & Time:
Aug 12 @ 11 am
Aug 28 @ 11 am
Sept 9 @ 11 am
Sept 25 @ 11 am
Preparing for a Federal Grant: A Small Community Case Study
Environmental Finance Center Network
Large federal grants can be transformative, but small communities often have limited staff and resources to manage complex funding opportunities. This webinar will highlight how one small community is preparing for a major federal grant project by building partnerships, leveraging technical assistance, and coordinating with key stakeholders. Through this case study, participants will gain practical strategies to strengthen local capacity, prepare for project implementation, and position their communities for long-term success.
Date & Time:
Aug 18 @ 1:00 pm
Like Baskin-Robbins...Activated Sludge Has Many Flavors
Environmental Finance Center Network
The term “activated sludge” means nothing more than biological wastewater treatment provided by microorganisms suspended in wastewater by mixing and aeration systems. How the mixing and aeration take place along with tank configuration and influent wastewater feed can be very different. The presentation will take an historic look at some of the common activated sludge treatment schemes – from early treatment to modern granular sludge treatment – always remembering the key component involves aerating and mixing microorganisms.
Date & Time:
Aug 20 @ 1:00 pm
Seasonal challenges, Smart Solutions. Part 2: Biochemical Oxygen Demand in Wastewater Lagoons
Environmental Finance Center Network
Participants will gain a practical understanding of how microbial populations respond to warming lagoon temperatures and why some lagoon systems continue to experience elevated BOD levels despite favorable summer conditions. The webinar will also examine dissolved oxygen limitations, hydraulic retention time, short-circuiting, aeration strategies, and operational approaches to improving lagoon performance. Designed specifically for wastewater operators and managers, this session will provide practical examples and troubleshooting techniques to identify treatment bottlenecks and improve lagoon operations during the warmest months of the year.
Date & Time:
Aug 25 @ 1:00 pm
Wastewater System Solids Handling (Part 2)
Environmental Finance Center Network
Join us for part 2 of our two-part webinar on wastewater solids handling. This one-hour webinar is designed to train wastewater operators, utility board members, and municipal decision makers on biological digestion and the role it plays in wastewater treatment. We will review digester basics, discuss both aerobic and anaerobic digestion and better understand land application of sludge.
Date & Time:
Aug 27 @ 1:00 pm
Available Grants
Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA)
Environmental Protection Agency
The WIFIA program provides supplemental, flexible, low-cost credit assistance to public and private borrowers for wastewater, drinking water, and stormwater projects.
Application Deadline:
Rolling
Septic System Replacement Fund
Environmental Facilities Corporation
Focuses on improving water quality by providing funds to help homeowners replace cesspools and septic systems that are adversely impacting designated waterbodies.
**Open to Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester Counties**
Application Deadline:
Rolling
Water & Waste Disposal Predevelopment Planning Grant
US Department of Agriculture
This program helps eligible low-income communities plan and develop applications for proposed USDA Rural Development water or waste disposal projects.
Application Deadline:
Rolling
Forecasted Upcoming Grants
Engineering Planning Grant (EPG)
Environmental Facilities Corporation & Department of Environmental Conservation
Funding for the development of an engineering report required for CWSRF financing. This program helps ensure fiscally sound and well-designed projects are advancing to construction.
Expected Availability:
TBD
Green Resiliency Grant (GRG)
Environmental Facilities Corporation
Supports projects across NYS that utilize unique EPA-designated green stormwater infrastructure design and create cutting-edge green technologies, including: green stormwater infrastructure, energy efficiency, water efficiency and environmental innovation.
Expected Availability:
TBD
Green Innovation Grant Program (GIGP)
Environmental Facilities Corporation
Supports projects across NYS that utilize unique EPA-designated green stormwater infrastructure design and create cutting-edge green technologies, including: green stormwater infrastructure, energy efficiency, water efficiency and environmental innovation.
Expected Availability:
TBD
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
Homes and Community Renewal
CDBG Program is a source of federal funding to assist low- and moderate-income communities that can include everything from drinking water and sanitary sewer projects to grants for home repair, senior and community center improvements to grants to small business for start-up and expansion.
Expected Availability:
May thru end-July 2026
Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF)
Environmental Facilities Corporation
The CWSRF provides financial and technical assistance to communities needing to undertake critical sewer and wastewater projects.
Expected Availability:
To Be Announced
Understanding the Clean Water State Revolving Fund
The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) is an infrastructure bank that provides low-interest or interest-free financing for wastewater and sewer infrastructure projects throughout New York State. It is administered by the Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) in partnership with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Through the application and project scoring process, the EFC can finance projects that align with water quality goals important to New York.
Each year Congress appropriates funds to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to administer capitalization grants to each state. Additionally, New York State provides a 20% match to the CWSRF.
The EFC provides flexible low- interest financing to municipalities with eligible clean water projects. Upon completion of the project, the principal is repaid to become available to finance new projects, allowing the funds to "revolve" over time.
Each year, the EFC prepares and Intended Use Plan (IUP) to document how funding will be allocated during a federal fiscal year. Submitted projects will be scored using Project Scoring Criteria to determine which projects are likely to have the greatest impact on water quality improvement across the State.
Understanding the CWSRF Scoring Criteria
After an eligible is project submitted to the EFC for financial assistance, a project priority scoring system is used to score and rank projects. This list is compared to the funds available in the upcoming Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) system to determine the extent of financial assistance available for eligible projects. This process also allows the EFC to establish a Subsidy Line in certain cases to determine which projects may be eligible for subsidized Hardship Financing.
All successful submissions for projects that have expressed interest in receiving CWSRF funding are listed on the IUP Multi-Year List. The Annual List, a subset of the Multi-Year List, identifies projects that EFC may provide financial assistance to in the IUP Period. Projects that are on the Multi-Year List and not on the Annual List will not receive financial assistance in the current year. The Annual List is divided into the project categories based on municipal population, project type, and financial assistance eligibility.
WEBINAR spotlights
Introduction to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (opens in new tab)
Summary:
Posted: May 2024
Overview of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund from both the Federal and State Perspectives. Cohosted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC). Topics include funding history, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, eligible projects, and the EFC application process.
Timestamps
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
0:00 Introduction
2:16 Overview of Funding & Funding History
3:56 CWSRF Assistance Types
4:36 Benefits of CWSRF & Eligible Projects
8:45 Affordability Criteria
10:23 Case Studies
13:15 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
15:33 Getting Started
16:50 Resources & Links
Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC)
21:00 Introduction to the EFC
26:54 Types of Financing
28:46 Intended Use Plans
31:55 Project Priority Lists
34:46 Project Categories
36:28 How to Apply
38:37 Engineering Report Outline
44:30 Terms & Conditions
44:30 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
47:12 NYS Grants & Technical Assistance
51:50 Contact Information
Water Infrastructure Funding Webinar
Summary:
Posted: March 2026
Hosted by the Community Assistance Teams Program at the Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC), this webinar provides a discussion on water infrastructure funding in New York State. Experts from EFC and agency partners discuss the application process, requirements, and tips to access funding for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure.
Grants discussed in this webinar may have variable availability. Check agency websites for grant availability by clicking on the linked grant name in the Timestamp section.
Timestamps (Duration 1:08:29)
Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC)
00:00 Introduction & Agenda
00:41 About the EFC
02:59 EFC Opportunities Overview
04:03 State Revolving Funds (SRFs)
07:22 SRF Eligible Projects
11:26 Engineering Report Requirements
12:19 DWSRF Funding Pools
13:30 NYS Funding Opportunities Overview
14:18 Engineering Planning Grant (EPG)
15:17 Water Infrastructure Improvement Grant (WIIA)
16:46 Intermunicipal Grants (IMG)
17:56 Green Resiliency Grants (GRG)
18:45 Green Innovation Grant Program (GIGP)
19:38 Strengthening Essential Cybersecurity for Utilities and Resiliency Enhancement (SECURE)
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
23:39 Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) Program
28:25 Non-Agriculture Nonpoint Source Overview
31:36 Non-Agricultural Nonpoint Source Planning & MS4 Grant (NPG)
Department of State (DOS)
37:45 Local Government Efficiency (LGE)
43:51 Citizens Reorganization and Empowerment Grant (CREG)
45:41 Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC)
52:44 Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)
Home and Community Renewal (HCR)
57:15 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
1:08:11 Contact Information
2026 Wastewater Infrastructure Engineering Planning Grants Webinar
Summary:
Posted: April 2026
This webinar provides an in-depth look at the 2026 funding round for the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation's Wastewater Infrastructure Engineering Planning Grant (EPG) and newly announced Preliminary Inflow and Infiltration (PII) Study. Get a guided review of program requirements, eligibility, and the application process to help prepare strong submissions.
Timestamps (Duration 52:14)
00:18 Introduction
01:48 Agenda
02:40 About the EFC
04:40 EPG Program Overview
09:28 Preliminary Inflow and Infiltration (PII) Eligible Activities
11:41 EPG Eligible Activities
13:48 Funding Priorities
15:16 Application Portal & Tutorial
25:26 Application Tips
28:15 Program Requirements
34:00 PII Study Requirements
37:45 Engineering Report Outline
41:12 Important Reference Documents
44:20 Contact Information
45:00 Q&A from Webinar Recording
How to Use Project Listing and Update System (PLUS)
Summary:
Posted: June 2023
This three part webinar series, introducing the Project Listing and Update System (PLUS), provides a step-by-step walkthrough on how to create an account and navigate the website.
1. Getting Started
2. Listing a Project
3. Project Updates
Describes how to register, how to navigate the website, and how to use the Action buttons, upload, and edit forms.
Describes how municipal information is listed during the application process, how forms are edited, and how required project information is categorized.
Provides a walkthrough of how to identify required project updates and how to resubmit current project information.
Timestamps (Duration - 9:07)
0:05 Introduction & Series summary
1:26 Registering a PLUS account
3:30 Home screen and navigation
4.53 Contractor/Consultants authorization
6:22 PLUS forms
Timestamps (Duration - 8:28)
0:00 Introduction
1:38 Creating a new form
2:12 Form edit page & Project scope tab
3:36 Contact tab
3:58 Schedule tab
5:08 Equivalent Dwelling Units tab
5:36 Documents tab
6:06 Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE) & Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) tab
6:24 Acknowledgements tab
6:43 Form Validation & Submission
Timestamps (Duration - 5:17)
0:00 Introduction
1:10 Why are project updates required?
1:58 Identified project update forms
3:00 New information about PLUS updates
4:14 Validation and Submittal
WEBINAR extras
All About Intended Use Plans
Summary:
Learn about the purpose of the Intended Use Plans for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds; how to have your community's project listed in a plan; and what this listing means for funding your community's water infrastructure project. This webinar was presented by EFC's Community Assistance Teams.
Posted: April 2025
Duration: 26:13