WIIN Act Section 2107: Lead Testing in School and Child Care Program Drinking Water Tribal Grant Program
The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act established the Lead Testing in School and Child Care Program Drinking Water grant in 2016 to award funding to states, territories, and Tribes to assist local and Tribal educational agencies in voluntary testing for lead contamination in drinking water at schools and child care facilities. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted in November 2021 changed the grant program to Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program and allowed grant funding for lead remediation in addition to testing.
Participation in the Tribal program requires use of the EPA’s 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water guidance to implement the principal objective of providing assistance to schools and child care programs to test for lead in drinking water, utilizing the EPA's 3Ts for Tribal Schools: Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities guidance or applicable regulations regarding reducing lead in drinking water in schools and child care programs that are not less stringent.
Under this program, the Tribal consortia, on behalf of Tribes, are eligible applicants for funding to assist local education agencies to test for lead contamination in drinking water at schools and childcare programs.
Basic information about the Lead Testing in School and Child Care Program Drinking Water Tribal Grant Program is below. For information about the funding that is available to states, please see the state Lead Testing in School and Child Care Program Drinking Water Grant Program website.
In this section:
- Background
- Funding
- Eligible Applicants
- Eligible Projects
- Timeline
- How to apply
- Tribal Consultation
- Additional Resources and Contacts
Background
The Lead Testing in Schools program was established as a non-competitive program, prioritizing disadvantaged and low-income communities. The Tribal grant program is designed to assist Tribal public water systems with lead testing in school and child care facilities in collaboration with Tribal consortia.
The grant program uses the EPA’s 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water guidance to implement lead testing programs and develop monitoring, maintenance and/or sampling plans that protect children from lead exposure now and in the future.
Participation in the program requires use of the EPA’s 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water guidance to implement the principal objective of providing assistance to schools and child care programs to test for lead in drinking water, utilizing the EPA's 3Ts for Tribal Schools: Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities guidance or applicable regulations regarding reducing lead in drinking water in schools and child care programs that are not less stringent.
In November 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) amended Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) §1464(d) and included expanding eligible grant work and/or activities to include compliance monitoring and reduction/remediation in addition to testing.
Available Funding
EPA dedicated $1.7M for FY 21 to assist Tribal public water systems with lead testing in school and child care facilities.
Eligible Applicants
Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law SDWA §1464(d) amended to include the following entities as eligible for funding:
‘‘(ii) tribal consortia to assist tribal education agencies (as defined in section 3 of the National Environmental Education Act (20 U.S.C. 5502)), public water
systems that serve schools and child care programs under the jurisdiction of those tribal education agencies, and qualified nonprofit organizations in voluntary testing or compliance monitoring for and remediation of lead contamination in drinking water at schools and child care programs under the jurisdiction of those tribal education agencies.”
Beneficiaries of the program must be members of a federally-recognized Tribe. Any school or child care, public or private, that serves federally recognized Tribal populations, and is not BIA, is eligible. Please note funding for Alaskan Native Villages is administered as part of the Alaska state program separately and is not included in the total $4.3M under the announcement. Alaskan Native Villages interested in the approximate $184,000 allotted funding assistance for testing lead in school and child care drinking water should coordinate with the appropriate state agency. Schools administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs are ineligible for assistance under this grant program.
Seven Tribal consortia are participating in the grant program. They are as follows:
- The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
- Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council
- Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona
- Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan
- Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board
- Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council
- United South and Eastern Tribes
The above seven entities received a total of $4.4 million in funding from fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020.
Eligible Projects
The following implementation document describes the process for testing for lead in drinking water in schools and childcare facilities.
Implementation Document (pdf) (494.75 KB)
To learn more about these elements, please visit https://www.epa.gov/safewater/3Ts
Timeline
In July, 2020, EPA announced the funding available to Tribal consortia in the amount of $4.4M. Tribal consortia were invited to submit a notice of intent to participate, with an estimated number and location of facilities to test. Prior to receiving awards consortia had to submit draft workplans to their respective EPA Region. When reviewing the draft workplans, EPA Regions must be able to determine that activities conform to all applicable requirements of the grant. Participating consortia submitted their final application package via grants.gov. EPA Regional offices are the primary points of contact to approve grant applications and award funding.
Each fiscal year’s funding should be obligated by the consortia no later than two years from the beginning of the project period. It is anticipated that project/budget periods will be no more than four years.
How to Apply
Eligible entities submit a notice of intent to participate (to EPA) and submit final applications to Grants.gov.
Tribal Consultation
An initial Tribal consultation on this grant program was conducted September 21, 2018 to October 22, 2018. A second Tribal consultation was conducted November 18, 2019 to December 20, 2019.
- 2018 Tribal Consultation Letter
- 2018 Tribal Consultation Summary
- 2019 Tribal Consultation Letter
- 2019 Tribal Consultation Summary
Additional Resources and Contacts
Contact Information
- Please contact Gabriella Neusner (neusner.gabriella@epa.gov) with any questions about this program