CASPER (WNE) — Wyoming will receive $63 million next year to support drinking water and wastewater projects as part of the more than $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Thursday.
In total, the action will distribute $437 million of the more than $50 billion allocated toward water management by the infrastructure deal to Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, the Dakotas and Utah.
The EPA expects to give out a total of $43 billion to states, tribes and territories over the next five years, beginning with $7.4 billion in 2022.
Close to half of the infrastructure funding will be provided in the form of grants or forgivable loans.
“In addition to creating jobs across our states, these funds will improve the health of our watersheds and expand access to safe drinking water for homes, businesses, schools, and childcare centers; including the disadvantaged communities who need it most,” EPA regional administrator KC Becker said in a statement.
The agency sent individual letters to each state governor, urging them to use the money to reduce lead contamination and address increasingly worrying PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” and to prioritize funding for historically underserved communities, which often experience the highest environmental burdens.
The infrastructure package is expected to bring nearly $2 billion in federal funding to Wyoming. The vast majority of the money will pay for highway work, but it will also fund bridge repairs, broadband coverage improvements and airport development.
