Welcome to the Friday Update from the Federal Funding Hub!
This message shares news and resources so that our region can make the most of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and other federal funding.
How does the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) change the game for economic developers? Check out the webinar about this below.
News from MSP Cities and Counties
Brooklyn Park: Brooklyn Park created a snapshot of ARPA Investment Strategy on their website. The infographic details how ARPA funds were invested by the city of Brooklyn Park as of September 2022. Click here to view it as a PDF.
Savage: When the City of Savage asked for community input on how to use its $3.53 million in American Rescue Plan Act spending, they told city officials there was a need for free, local mental health resources. So, the City of Savage has provided a grant to NAMI to host a series of mental health workshops. More workshops are to come in 2023.
National ARPA News
Brookings: March 2022 marked the first anniversary of the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Now, we have data on how cities and counties allocated these funds across that first year. Our Local Government ARPA Investment Tracker has been monitoring how large cities and counties are using flexible State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) dollars, and the latest update highlights a few key trends for projects funded through March 31, 2022.
USDA: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today a more than $71 million investment to help underserved communities. Funding is made possible through two key USDA programs: USDA’s 2501 Program and the American Rescue Plan Technical Assistance Investment Program. These investments are part of USDA’s commitment to take aggressive action to advance equity for all, especially for farmers and producers in underserved communities.
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) News
The Infrastructure Law: ‘Hitting Timelines Without Cutting Corners’: Biden administration officials are pushing for projects to move quickly, while also meeting goals like benefiting disadvantaged neighborhoods and strengthening the nation’s workforce. State and local officials can build ambitious projects paid for with the federal government’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure law while containing costs, keeping on schedule and delivering other benefits to the public, Biden administration officials assured industry experts Thursday.
$1B Cybersecurity Grant Program Still Coming Into Focus: State and local governments are preparing to use $1 billion from the federal infrastructure law to improve cybersecurity. It marks the most significant federal support yet for protecting the computer networks and data of smaller governments. The new federal initiative is in its early stages, with questions about how the money will be spent and how much control localities, versus states, will have over it.
$350M in New Funding for Wildlife Crossings: To prevent dangerous highway crashes and protect animals, Congress included hundreds of millions of dollars in the bipartisan infrastructure law for projects to help wildlife safely cross highways. The Federal Highway Administration expects to issue a notice of funding opportunity in early 2023 for the pilot program.
FHWA Selects Winners of $18M in IIJA Planning Grants for Bridge Work: In a move to give a lift to early-stage bridge infrastructure work, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration has selected 23 projects to share a total of $18.4 million in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act-funded bridge planning grants.
With IIJA Nearly a Year Old, White House Seeks to Speed Up Projects: As the Biden administration continues to release more funds from the $1.2-trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), top officials also are putting a spotlight on finding ways to step up the pace for IIJA projects' delivery, from planning and permitting through engineering and construction.
States Divided on Setting Targets for Curbing Highway Emissions: A proposal from the Biden administration is drawing backlash from Republican states who criticize it as federal overreach. It does not include any punishment mechanism for states that don’t comply, although many state agencies suggested that federal regulators could sanction them for not meeting the goals.
The White House: President Biden is announcing that the Department of Energy is awarding $2.8 billion in grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to 20 manufacturing and processing companies for projects across 12 states.
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) News
Canada promises industry it will respond to U.S. inflation act: Canada must strengthen its incentives meant to help industry scale up clean technologies after the United States passed massive investments in August to accelerate the green transition there, the finance minister said on Wednesday The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden and contains incentives for consumers and businesses as the United States seeks to drastically cut its carbon emissions. .
CHIPS Act News
Beijing: Beijing has roundly decried Washington’s recently passed CHIPS for America Act. Chinese spokespeople have promised retaliation, though China’s leadership have not yet revealed what steps they plan to take, if any.
The U.S. Said It’d Give Billions to Chipmakers Like Intel. Now Come the Layoffs: When a group of semiconductor companies, including Intel Corp., lobbied Congress to pass the $52 billion chip-stimulus bill earlier this year—one of the biggest federal investments in private industry—they argued in part that the subsidies and tax breaks would protect American jobs. But now just months before the funding applications open, the nation’s largest semiconductor company is reportedly planning a major reduction in its workforce—yet could still receive billions in federal subsidies.
Upcoming Webinars
DOE Virtual workshop to gather information and structure funding opportunity: Stakeholders are invited to participate in a Clean Energy on Mine land workshop. This workshop, hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) , is to inform the Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land in preparation for a future funding opportunity announcement.
October 25-26, 2022. Virtual workshop (10-5 CDT) Register by October 23rd by clicking on the link on seminar dates.
Infrastructure Support: Join Biden Administration officials, mayors, and policy experts for a conversation about how U.S. cities can develop competitive applications for SMART transportation grants established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The session is on October 25 at 1:00 pm CT. Register here.
How the Inflation Reduction Act Changes the Game for Economic Developers: Join Aaron Brickman & Lachlan Carey from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) on October 26th from 1:30 pm-3:30 pm to tell us what we need to know about the Inflation Reduction Act. This legislation, passed by Congress in August, is a historic investment in the communities and companies developing cleantech industry clusters around the United States. They will connect the dots between the Inflation Reduction Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act through the lens of regional economic development and the accelerating clean energy transition and share concrete steps you can take in your organization to make the most of momentum in these important areas. Register here.
DOE Virtual workshop to gather information and structure funding opportunity: Stakeholders are invited to participate in an Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) workshop. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) has planned three workshops to inform the ERA program in preparation for a future funding opportunity announcement.
November 1-2, 2022. Virtual workshop
Resources
Great Lakes Federal Grant Navigation Program: NLC (National League of Cities) launched a free grant navigation program called the Great Lakes Federal Grant Navigation Program to assist local government staff with collecting the necessary data and applying for federal grants. Sign up here.
Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program: The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program provides credit assistance for qualified projects of regional and national significance. The TIFIA credit program is designed to fill market gaps and leverage substantial private co-investment through supplemental, subordinate investment in critical improvements to the nation's transportation system.
Key Links:
Upcoming Funding Deadlines
Clean Hydrogen Production, Storage, Transport, and Utilization to Enable a Net-Zero Carbon Economy due October 25, 2022, by 10:59 pm CDT
ReConnect Loan and Grant Program due by November 2nd
Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs Due November 7, 2022
State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program due November 15, 2022
Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program due November 21, 2022, by 3:00 pm CT
Rare Earth Element Demonstration Facility (DOE) due November 21, 2022,
Multipurpose, Assessment, RLF, and Cleanup (MARC due November 22, 2022
The types of awards are as follows:
Assessment Grants provide funding for brownfield inventories, planning, environmental assessments, and community outreach.
Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants provide funding to capitalize loans that are used to clean up brownfield sites.
Cleanup Grants provide funding to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites owned by the applicant.
Multipurpose (MP) Grants provide funding to conduct a range of eligible assessment and cleanup activities at one or more brownfield sites in a target area.
Job Training (JT) Grants provide environmental training for residents impacted by brownfield sites in their communities.
State and Tribal Response Program Grants provide non-competitive funding to establish or enhance State and Tribal Brownfields response programs.
Carbon Capture Technology Program, Front-end Engineering and Design for Carbon Dioxide Transport due November 28th
Hydrogen Shot and a University Research Consortium on Grid Resilience due December 1st, 4:00 pm CT
Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program due on December 1, 2022
Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response Research, Development and Demonstration Funding Opportunity due December 5th, 7:00 pm CT
The Thriving Communities Program due December 6th,2022
Small Surface Water and Groundwater Storage Projects due December 9, 2022
Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization due December 20th, 2022, by 4pm CT
Notice of Intent (NOI)
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE): The DOE launched more than $28 Million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for research and development (R&D) projects that will advance and preserve hydropower as a critical source of clean energy. This Notice of Intent (NOI) will offer three funding opportunities this fall to support research, development, and deployment of hydropower, including pumped storage hydropower, which can play a key role in integrating variable renewable energy sources on the electric grid.
Have a great weekend, all!
Allison