WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) announced he secured a $61,715,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address emerging contaminants, like Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), in drinking water in North Carolina. The grant comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package that Senator Tillis helped negotiate and pass into law. 

This investment, which is allocated to states and territories, will be made available to communities as grants through EPA’s Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities (EC-SDC) Grant Program and will promote access to safe and clean water in small, rural, and disadvantaged communities while supporting local economies. 

“This grant will give our communities the tools they need to ensure all North Carolinians have access to clean, safe drinking water they need and deserve,” said Senator Tillis. “I applaud the EPA for investing in our great state and I am proud to have worked on the bipartisan infrastructure bill to make this grant possible.”

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $5 billion over five years to help communities that are on the frontlines of PFAS contamination reduce PFAS in drinking water. EPA announced the funds for North Carolina as part of an allotment of $2 billion to states and territories that can be used to prioritize infrastructure and source water treatment for pollutants, like PFAS and other emerging contaminants, and to conduct water quality testing.

EPA is also releasing the Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities Grant Implementation document. The implementation document provides states and communities with the information necessary to use this funding to address local water quality and public health challenges. These grants will enable communities to improve local water infrastructure and reduce emerging contaminants in drinking water by implementing solutions such as installing necessary treatment solutions. 

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