WaterSMART

Eligibility to Apply for Water and Energy Efficiency Grant Funding

Q. Who is eligible to apply for WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grant funding?
A.Under P.L. 111-11 §9502, applicants eligible to receive an award under this Funding Opportunity include:

Category A applications:

• States, Tribes, irrigation districts, and water districts;
• State, regional, or local authorities, the members of which include one or more organizations with water or power delivery authority; and
• Other organizations with water or power delivery authority.

All Category A applicants must also be located in the Western United States or Territories as identified in the Reclamation Act of June 17, 1902, as amended and supplemented; specifically: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

Category B applications:

• Nonprofit conservation organizations that are acting in partnership with, and with the agreement of, an entity described in Category A. Category B applicants must include with their application a letter from the Category A partner, stating that they are acting in partnership with the applicant and agree to the submittal and content of the proposal.

All Category B applicants must be located in the United States or the specific Territories identified above.

Q. What is the performance period for proposals that are funded by the WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grants?
A. In general, projects funded under Funding Group I should be completed within 2 years of award, and projects funded under Funding Group II and Funding Group III should be completed within 3 years of award.

Applications for projects requiring more time will be considered for funding only under limited circumstances. For example, some hydropower project installations may require additional time to secure necessary permits.

Proposal Development and Selection Process

Q. Will Reclamation advise a potential applicant on the merits of its proposed project?
A. No. Reclamation will not pre-screen, validate, or otherwise discuss the substantive aspects of a proposal. It is up to the applicant to determine whether a proposal aligns with the objectives and criteria of the grant.

Q. How do I determine which Funding Opportunity is the best fit for a proposed project?

Please review other related WaterSMART NOFOs, described below.

Small-Scale Water Efficiency Projects: Reclamation provides funding for small-scale water management projects (up to $100,000 in Federal funding for each project) that have been identified through previous planning efforts. Reclamation has developed a streamlined selection and review process to reflect the small-scale nature of these projects.

Drought Program: Reclamation provides funding to help build resilience to drought. Through Drought Contingency Planning, Reclamation supports developing drought contingency plans with participation from a diverse set of stakeholders. Reclamation also provides funding for Drought Resiliency Projects that increase water supply flexibility and improve water management to build long term resilience to drought and are supported by an existing drought contingency plan.

Environmental Water Resources Projects: Reclamation provides cost-share funding for projects that focus on environmental benefits developed as part of a collaborative process to help carry out an established strategy to increase the reliability of water resources. Project types may include efforts such as water conservation and efficiency projects that result in quantifiable and sustained water savings and benefit ecological values; water management or infrastructure improvements to mitigate drought-related impacts to ecological values; and watershed management or restoration projects benefitting ecological values that have a nexus to water resources or water resources management. The Federal share of the cost of an infrastructure improvement or activity may be up to 75 percent of the total project cost if certain conditions are met.

Planning and Project Design Grants: Reclamation provides cost-share funding for collaborative planning and design projects to support water management improvements. This includes funding for comprehensive Drought Contingency Plans; Water Strategy Grants to investigate and develop activities and projects supporting water marketing, water conservation, drought resilience, and ecological values; and Project Design Grants to conduct project-specific design for projects supporting water conservation, drought resilience, and ecological values. The Federal cost share of a project may be up to 50 or 75 percent depending on the project type.

For information on the NOFOs listed above, visit the WaterSMART Program website at www.usbr.gov/waterSMART.

Q. May an applicant that received funding last year submit a new proposal under the FY 2024/25 NOFO?
A. Yes, so long as the new proposal is not for the same work funded the prior year.

Q. If I submitted a proposal for funding in previous years that was not selected for funding, can I re-submit that proposal?
A. Yes. However, it is recommended that you review the FY 2024/25 NOFO and related guidance to ensure that your proposal meets the mandatory requirements and program objectives, including the evaluation criteria.

Q. Can I submit more than one proposal for funding?
A. Yes. Multiple applications for funding may be submitted for consideration (for example, an applicant may submit a proposal for funding under Funding Group I, and a separate proposal under Funding Group II or Funding Group III); however, no more than $5,000,000 in total FY 2024 WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grants funds will be awarded to any one applicant under this NOFO. In addition, each proposal will be reviewed and evaluated on its own individual merits, separate of other proposals.

Cost-Share Requirements

Q. Will proposals with less than 50% cost share be considered?
A. No. Under this Funding Opportunity, Applicants must provide at least 50% of the total project costs from non-Federal sources, either in cash or as in-kind contributions. Applications submitted under the Environmental Water Resources Projects Funding Opportunity that are focused on environmental benefits and that meet other requirements may be eligible for up to 75% Federal funding.

Note: this cost-sharing requirement is not applicable to American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands.

Q. Can costs incurred prior to grant award be counted towards the recipient's cost share?
A. Eligible pre-award costs associated with the proposed project must be incurred after the posting date of this funding opportunity and are limited to costs related to the planning and design of the project. Note: Ground disturbing activities, including any construction or installation activities, may not occur until environmental compliance is complete and a notice to proceed is issued.

Q. How should the recipient plan for Environmental and Cultural Resources compliance costs?
A. Every project funded under this program will have environmental and cultural resources compliance activities undertaken by Reclamation and the recipient. Depending on the potential impacts of the project, Reclamation may be able to complete its compliance activities without additional cost to the recipient. Where environmental or cultural resources compliance requires significant participation by Reclamation, costs incurred by Reclamation will be added as a line item to the budget during development of the financial assistance agreement and cost shared accordingly (i.e., withheld from the Federal award amount). Any costs to the recipient associated with compliance will be identified during the process of developing a final project budget for inclusion in the financial assistance agreement.

Q. Can an applicant use funding provided under the American Rescue Plan Act as cost-share?
A. In general, yes, funding provided to states, U.S. territories, and Tribal governments under the American Rescue Plan Act (42 USC §802(c) and 42 USC §803(c)) may be counted toward non-Federal cost-share requirements for WaterSmart and similar Reclamation grant programs. Each NOFO describes other requirements applicable to all cost-share contributions. Please contact program staff if you would like to discuss further.