§1302 Wastewater efficiency grant pilot program

Summary

If money is available, the Administrator must set up a pilot grant program to give money to owners or operators of public wastewater treatment plants. The grants pay for projects that make or improve systems that turn sewage and sludge into energy. To get a grant, a plant owner must apply when and how the Administrator asks. The Administrator will pick no more than 15 winners. Each grant can be at most $4,000,000. Funds may pay for things like sludge handling, anaerobic digesters, methane capture and transfer, facility upgrades, and other proven waste-to-energy technologies. Recipients must send a report no later than 2 years after getting a grant and every year after while the program has funding. The report must describe how the project affected people living within 3 miles of the plant. The Administrator must send Congress a report within 1 year after the first grants are given and each year after while money is available, showing the applications received and the projects funded. Congress authorized $20,000,000 for each fiscal year 2022 through 2026, and up to 2% of that money can be used for the Administrator’s costs.