Environmental IIJA Programs

Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC)

Why It Was Created: Reduce overall risk to the population and building structures from future hazard events
Amount: $1 Billion until spent
Who Is Eligible to Apply: Municipalities, states
Match Requirement: 25%
What It Will Fund: Capacity building (personnel training/expertise), mitigation projects that reduce damage from natural hazards and climate change effects
Award Amounts: Up to $2 million for capacity-building, no minimum or maximum for projects
Website: https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/building-resilient-infrastructure-communities, https://www.pema.pa.gov/Grants/BRIC/Pages/default.aspx
Notes: Administered by FEMA.  Municipalities are considered subapplicants and must apply through the state’s emergency management association (PEMA).

Flood Mitigation Assistance Grants

Why It Was Created: Reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings and structures.
Amount: $3.5 Billion until spent
Who Is Eligible to Apply: Municipalities, states
Match Requirement: 25%
What It Will Fund: Projects that address community flood risk for the purpose of reducing National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) flood claim payments
Award Amounts: No maximum for construction projects, $100,000 for planning grants
Website: https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/floods
Notes: Administered by FEMA.  Projects must be located in an NFIP community and meet all environmental and historic preservation requirements.

Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid

Why It Was Created: To strengthen the nation’s electric grid from disruptive events
Amount: $5 Billion until spent
Who Is Eligible to Apply: Electric grid operators, storage operators, electricity generators, transmission owners and operators, and distribution providers
Match Requirement:
What It Will Fund: Any activity that supplements existing hardening efforts, prevents power lines from causing wildfires, and reduces the consequences of disruptive events.
Award Amounts:  Unknown.
Website: https://www.energy.gov/clean-energy-infrastructure/preventing-outages-and-enhancing-resilience-electric-grid-grants
Notes: Administered by the Department of Energy.

Battery Manufacturing and Recycling

Why It Was Created: To ensure that the nation has a viable domestic manufacturing and recycling capability.
Amount: $3 Billion
Who Is Eligible to Apply: Municipalities, colleges/universities, national laboratories, private enterprises
Match Requirement: Unavailable
What It Will Fund: Retrofit or retooling of existing facilities for battery component manufacturing, advanced battery manufacturing, and recycling
Award Amounts:  $50 million or $100 million minimum depending on the type of project
Website: https://www.energy.gov/bil/battery-manufacturing-and-recycling-grants.
Notes: Administered by the Department of Energy.

Clean School Bus Program

Why It Was Created: To replace existing gasoline/diesel school buses with clean and zero-emission models
Amount: $5 Billion until spent
Who Is Eligible to Apply: Municipalities, school districts, and contractors who sell school buses
Match Requirement: None
What It Will Fund: Zero-emission, compressed natural gas (CNG), and propane school buses
Award Amounts: Varies by bus type
Website: https://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus
Notes: This is a rebate program and it is administered by the US EPA.