The U.S. Department of the Interior announced a $242 million investment that will bring clean, reliable drinking water to communities across the West through five water storage and conveyance projects. The projects in California, Colorado, and Washington are expected to add at least 1.6 million acre-feet of additional water storage capacity, enough water to support 6.4 million people for a year. The funding will also invest in a feasibility study in Arizona designed to advance water storage capacity once completed.

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced a $179 million investment for innovative water reuse projects that strengthen drought resilience across the West, increasing water security and resilience across western communities. Funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support four projects in California and Utah to help communities create new sources of water to support water reliability.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced that eight transit systems in eight states will receive a total of $343 million in federal funding. This investment, created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, has been awarded through the All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) to make rail stations more accessible and in line with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards by installing elevators, renovating platforms for level boarding, improving signage and enhancing visual and audio systems. 

The White House is launching a Federal-State Modern Grid Deployment Initiative, with commitments from 21 leading states. The initiative aims to bring together states, federal entities, and power sector stakeholders to help drive grid adaptation quickly and cost-effectively to meet the challenges and opportunities that the power sector faces in the twenty-first century.

One of the three Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) programs is the $7 billion Solar for All (SFA) program, which will provide grants to 60 awardees to create new or expand existing low-income solar programs all across the country. While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently negotiating agreements with SFA awardees, there are actions that advocates, community-based organizations and project developers, local and state government, and philanthropy can take now to maximize GGRF's impact in your community. 

Two Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) programs—the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) and the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA)—total $20 billion and will rely on eight nonprofit investment coalitions to create a national clean energy finance network that drives investment in projects that meet GGRF's program objectives. While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently negotiating agreements, there are actions that advocates, community-based organizations and project developers, local and state government, and philanthropy can take now to maximize GGRF's impact in your community.

CDFA Summer School is a 2-week long virtual series of courses designed to help you accelerate your development finance education, with a curation of seven different training courses to choose from. Don't miss the opportunity to learn from our expert practitioners and experience CDFA's most interactive educational event of the year! Register today!

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing over $300 million in grant awards to help states, tribal nations, local governments, and non-profit organizations assess and clean up polluted brownfield sites across the country. These investments through EPA's Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grant Programs and Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant Programs will help transform once-polluted, vacant, and abandoned properties into community assets and spur economic revitalization in overburdened communities.

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) introduced the Local Infrastructure Financing Tools (LIFT) Act, a bill that would expand commonsense bond financing opportunities for local governments and nonprofits. Specifically, the LIFT Act would: authorize the use of American infrastructure bonds, restore advance refunding of municipal bonds, and expand bank-qualified debt for small municipalities and nonprofits.

Rhode Island has been allocated $60.1 million in federal transit funding to enhance public transportation across the state. The funding has been released by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and includes funding from the historic Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, and the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund.

Join us on June 13 as we host experts from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to discuss the Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grant program, a $2 billion funding opportunity to advance environmental and climate justice projects in communities impacted by climate change, legacy pollution, and historical disinvestments.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selected approximately 530 school districts spanning nearly every state, Washington, D.C., and several tribes and U.S. territories to receive nearly $900 million in funds to replace older, diesel-fueled school buses that have been linked to asthma and other conditions that harm the health of students and surrounding communities.

Millions of federal dollars are heading to three rural communities in New Mexico to support disaster recovery and workforce development efforts. The U.S. Department of Commerce announced $2 million for the city of Raton, $1.1 million for Mora County, and $800,000 for Lincoln County. Raton's grant, matched with $500,000 in local funds, will help develop a media training center through equipment and building renovations. The work will create 35 jobs and generate $10 million in private investment.

The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), Clayton County, and the cities of College Park, East Point, and Hapeville, GA have received an additional $14.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to further develop the Flint River Gateway Trails, a planned 31-mile trail network in South Metro Atlanta. The $14.9 million in federal funds augments a $50 million grant the DOT awarded to ARC and the four communities.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the availability of $150 million in funding. This funding is designated for affordable housing projects benefiting low-income families in American Indian and Alaska Native communities through the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) Competitive program. HUD will award the $150 million through the IHBG Competition supporting Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs) to carry out affordable housing activities.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has supported the city of Hidalgo, TX by providing a $1.8 million grant assistance to assist with the development of a new industrial park, which will include water, wastewater, drainage, and road construction. This grant will be matched by $460,925, making the project $2.3 million, and the project will result in the creation of 280 jobs, sustaining 4 current jobs, and has the potential for $20.5 million of private capital investment.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced $67 million in grant and loan awards for 12 properties under its Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, bringing the total funding awarded under this program to more than $610 million. These grants and loans will support energy efficiency and climate resilience renovations to keep more than 14,000 homes at properties housing low-income individuals, families, and seniors safer and more comfortable.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its selection of training and technical assistance providers who will have $30.7 million to support water systems and private well owners in small and rural communities. This grant funding will support water systems with building technical, financial, and managerial capacity and will also assist private well owners with improving water quality, including actions such as testing for PFAS contamination.

Plug Power has received an up to $1.7 billion conditional loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Loan Programs Office, which the company will use to finance the development and construction of up to six hydrogen production facilities. The loan will support the creation of a commercial-scale clean hydrogen fueling network in several regions of the country, according to the DOE.

Register for CDFA's Intro Tax Increment Finance (TIF) WebCourse taking place on June 26-27. Join us to learn the guiding principles and appropriate application of TIF. Our panel of expert instructors will discuss TIF deal-making and best practices highlighted by projects from around the country.