Funding Database: Stormwater Infrastructure Investments

The Local Assistance for Stormwater Infrastructure Investments (LASII) grant uses American Rescue Plan Act funding to assist local governments in construction and planning projects to reduce flooding of streets and structures, improve and safeguard water quality, and build more resilient communities. These funds help local governments install, upgrade and repair stormwater systems to reduce impacts to impaired waters and handle increased water quantity.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NC DEQ), Division of Water Infrastructure (DWI) receives, reviews and scores applications according to the guidelines supported by the State Water Infrastructure Authority (SWIA). SWIA determines which applicants receive funding.

Annual program funding is dependent on state budget allocations.

Eligible Applicants

Eligible entities include city and county governments. A regional council of governments or nonprofit may be eligible if they apply as a partner with a city or county. DWI requires applicants to document stormwater quality or quantity issues and demonstrate that they would experience a significant hardship raising the revenue necessary to finance stormwater management based on income, unemployment, population trends and other data as determined by DWI.

The LASII Stormwater Administration Plan (PDF) provides guidelines for meeting the requirements for “documentation of stormwater quality or quantity issues” and “significant hardship raising revenue”.

Eligible Projects

LASII funds both planning and construction grants. A planning grant is available for research or investigative studies, alternatives analyses, preparation of engineering concept plans or engineering designs, and similar activities intended to help determine the best solutions for a stormwater quality or quantity issue and to engineer and permit the solutions.

A construction grant is available for the development and implementation of a new stormwater utility or stormwater control measure (SCM), rehabilitation of existing SCMs, retrofitting existing stormwater conveyances to provide SCMs for quantity and quality control purposes, and installation of innovative technologies or nature-based solutions to address stormwater issues.

DWI prioritizes projects according to the Priority Rating System for Stormwater Construction and Planning Projects. The LASII Stormwater Administration Plan (PDF) describes the criteria used for prioritization.

Funding Amount

DWI limits funding to $5 million per construction project or $400,000 per planning grant. Applicants may apply for up to $7.5 million per construction project or $500,000 per planning grant if applying with two or more units of local government.

LASII may fund development and implementation of a new stormwater utility as part of a Stormwater Planning Grant. The LASII Stormwater Administration Plan (PDF) provides guidelines on the allowable maximum funding for which an entity may apply for the development of a new utility.

Match Requirements

None.

Application Schedule

Applications open twice per year, after DWI hosts program training sessions around the state. Applications typically close around the end of May and September. Awards are determined after the project prioritization process. For the September round of funding, SWIA determines awards by the following February.

Application Process

DWI recommends that interested applicants attend a program training in advance of submitting their application. DWI offers these trainings around the state. 

DWI posts all required forms on the Application Forms and Additional Resources page. Applicants must complete the Application for Funding form and the Stormwater Funding Eligibility Certification Form.

Applicants must also provide a resolution by their governing body and include a narrative with documentation to support claims of the difficulty in raising the revenue necessary to finance stormwater management.

Applicants submit completed applications through NC DEQ’s grant submission portal linked to on the I Need Funding page.

Application Assistance

Questions and answers about the LASII program are provided in the FAQ document (PDF). Contact Antonio Evans for questions with the application process.

Funding Source

The NC General Assembly determines and allocates funding for the LASII program. The SWIA allocates this funding through the application process administered by the NC DEQ Division of Water Infrastructure.