Illinois EPA Announces Lead Service Line Inventory Grants

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) Director John J. Kim announced Lead Service Line Inventory (LSLI) Grants to 48 communities to assist in meeting the requirements outlined in the Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act. The LSLI Grants, ranging from $20,000 - $50,000, will fund the creation of a complete lead service line inventory.

The Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act (Public Act 102-0613) requires owners and operators of community water supplies (CWS) in Illinois to submit a complete water service line material inventory for the Illinois EPA's approval no later than April 15, 2024. The complete inventory must report the composition of all service lines within the CWS's distribution system.

"This funding will provide many communities with the necessary funding to develop a complete inventory identifying the types of water lines that exist in their drinking water supplies," said Director Kim. "Illinois EPA received a tremendous response to this funding opportunity, receiving 101 grant applications from villages and cities throughout the state and exceeding the funding made available for this initial funding opportunity. Thanks to recent legislation passed by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Pritzker, we will be able to open a new funding cycle the coming weeks to assist even more communities."

The LSLI Grant Program utilizes a portion of Illinois EPA Public Water Supply Loan Program (PWSLP) loan support funds generated from loan repayments. Illinois EPA conducted a comprehensive review and scoring of all grant applications received to determine priority. Based on the scoring, Illinois EPA will fund 48 projects for a total of $2,000,000. Of the 48 projects funded, 40 were identified as being in areas of Environmental Justice concern. Funding was provided up to a maximum of $50,000 per grantee. Grantees may request supplemental funding in the form of a low-interest loan through the Illinois EPA's PWSLP in conjunction with funding to replace lead service lines.

With the appropriation of additional funding for the LSLI Grant Program, Illinois EPA anticipates another funding opportunity will be announced in the coming weeks. Additional information on the program is available on the Illinois EPA website at https://bit.ly/3Y4bSCm.