LOCAL ASSISTANCE AND OTHER STATE PROGRAMS (15% SET-ASIDE)
The Wellhead Protection - Financial Assistance Program (WHP-FAP) provides funding to qualified recipients for developing and implementing wellhead protection plans and projects. Under this program, qualified recipients include community public water systems and non-transient non-community water systems who can plan, develop, and implement protection projects. State and County agencies, community groups, planning agencies, and schools may also be qualified recipients if their protection project is part of a public water system protection plan or the public water system is a partner in the project.
The proposed work must benefit active and future drinking water sources. Planning, educational, and inspection activities are fundable activities and should be implemented on a county-wide/system-wide basis. Eligible protection activities must directly link back to a source water assessment or wellhead protection effort. Protection activities must be considered mitigation measures for identified risks to a source water area. Infrastructures, construction, and land acquisitions are not eligible activities for funding under the WHP-FAP.
This program was developed in support of the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments and the Safe Drinking Water Branch’s Source Water Assessment and Protection Program. Funding is provided from the Hawaii Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) 15% Set-Aside.
Excerpt from the SFY 2020 Intended Use Plan, Amendment 1, dated July 2019
Section 1452(k) of the [Safe Drinking Water] Act allows up to 15 percent of the DWSRF Capitalization Grant to be set-aside to support Local Assistance and Other State Programs.
Activities under this set-aside include, but are not limited to, wellhead protection and related source water protection activities (such as, reducing water loss through the use of audits and identification of potential improvements using DWSRF funding, creating local source water protection advisory committees, development of source water protection plans and strategies, and implementing protection activities including outreach and educational programs); technical, financial and managerial capacity development and related activities (which may include vulnerability assessments, contingency and emergency response plans, and security for protecting drinking water sources); technical assistance via sanitary-survey followups and direct on-site assistance to address any necessary improvements to the water system; and a Circuit Rider program to address any necessary improvements to the water system. None of the individual activities listed will exceed ten percent of any particular year's capitalization grant.
The projects or subawards to utilize the funds within two (2) fiscal years include [the] Wellhead Protection Financial Assistance Program (WHP-FAP): Revise WHP-FAP application, advertise and receive applications, develop and award contracts for the implementation of Source Water Protection Projects and/or Activities. Budget of $200,000.00 in SFY 2020 for initial funding of contracts executed by October 1, 2020 and estimated to begin disbursing in SFY 2021.
The selection process will identify and rank high-priority, effective, and eligible projects that are ready to hit the ground running by spending the award within 24 months of receipt to avoid Unliquidated Obligations (ULOs).