April 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 23

Clean Water State
Revolving Fund
The
Environmental
Protection
Agency's (EPA's) CWSRF is the
primary federal funding source for
green
stormwater infrastructure
projects. Funding for this program
is sent from the EPA to State Revolving
Fund programs managed
by state governments, and from
there
is
allocated via low-cost
loan financing to specific projects
based on the state's project priority
list, which ranks the importance
of projects based on a variety of
state-determined factors.
The BIL provided $11.73 billion
five years
over
for
the CWSRF
program, an average of $2.35 billion
per year. This injection of BIL funds
builds on the annual appropriation
of
roughly $1.6 billion for
the
program, essentially tripling the
amount of funding it is expected to
receive each year through fiscal year
2026. About 20 percent of these
funds have gone to congressional
earmarks in recent years, but as a
whole states are still receiving far
more funding than in years past.
A primary
purpose
of the
CWSRF program is to fund water
utilities and other entities to carry
out wastewater and stormwater
infrastructure
projects. However,
it is mandatory that states use a
minimum of 10 percent of their
allocation for projects that address
green infrastructure. This
setaside,
known as the Green Project
Reserve, presents an opportunity
for park departments to partner
with their local water utility or
other stakeholders, and apply for
funding from their state. Specific
examples of eligible projects noted
by EPA include bioretention cells,
trees and expanded tree boxes,
green roofs, permeable pavements,
and more - essentially any naturebased
solutions
that
improve
flood
mitigation and stormwater
management.
Urban and Community
Forestry Program
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA's) Urban and
Community
Forestry
Program
is a great source of funding to
support urban tree planting and
related initiatives. Funding for this
program is distributed as grants
from the USDA's Forest Service to
state, local and Tribal governments,
or
nonprofit
organizations.
The
program, which has received annual
funding of between $36-$40 million
in recent years, was allocated $1.5
billion over 10 years under the IRA.
The program has historically
been used to support a wide range
of activities related to urban forestThe
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Urban
and Community Forestry Program
has been used to support a wide range
of activities related to urban forestry.
ry, including tree planting initiatives
and related items - such as training
the next generation of forestry
professionals, improving tree cover
databases,
and
mitigating
wildfire
risk to urban areas. The Forest
Service's website touts case studies
highlighting how the program increased
access to green spaces in the
economically disadvantaged community
of South Tucson, Arizona,
and supported youth work crews in
Anchorage, Alaska.
With its new injection of funds,
the Forest Service will lean on local
partners, including park and recreation
departments, to carry out this
work to a much higher degree in
years to come.
Kyle Simpson is Director of Government
Affairs at NRPA (ksimpson@nrpa.org).
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April 2023 - Parks & Recreation

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