NewsroomOpportunities through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) for Kansas Communities

• Blog

An EBH team member attended the Kansas Infrastructure Summit recently held in Wichita. The main goals of this Summit were to provide information and solicit feedback on what we (as the engineering community and municipalities) need to understand about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The Summit also addressed where we need to go from here.

There was a lot of information exchanged between the presenters and attendees, as well as from the attendees to the HUB. The HUB is a group of individuals from KDOT, KDHE, EPA, KCC, KDOC, USDA, KDA, and more, which have been tasked with joining together to understand the BIL and how it affects Kansas.

The BIL was passed in November 2021 and provides $1.2 Trillion dollars nationwide over the next five years. These funds are broken up between formula funds (direct allocations to particular states/departments) and competitive funds. Formula funds make up 60% of this and equates to $3.8 billion for Kansas over the next five years. The remaining 40% of the $1.2 Trillion will be utilized in competitive grants (can be utilized by any state/municipality/agency based on qualifications).

The main take-a-ways from the Summit include:

• Highly focused on regional projects or projects that combine multiple services, i.e. street projects that also change out water/sewer lines while also adding broadband lines at the same time.
• Principles the committee will base their project selection on:
  • Is the state/municipality/agency being stewards of the public dollar?
  • Is the state/municipality/agency using domestic sources and focused on economic competitiveness?
  • Will this project create new jobs in the area?
  • Is it equitable?
  • Does this project work towards climate resiliency?
  • Is this effective coordination?
• The Lead Service Line replacements still have a lot of grant funding available and is a major priority. (Inventories are due in October). More information can be found at the Lead Service Line Replacement website.
• Buy American, Build American (BABA) will apply to all projects, as well as Davis Bacon requirements.

In the breakout sessions, the HUB Team was very interested in getting information from the attendees. Here are some of the opportunities that were identified:

• There needs to be more communication from the state to municipalities on grant opportunities and how to complete the funding applications.
• A more user-friendly interface to identify which grants each municipality is eligible for and the requirements for each grant.
• For most of the grants, there is no funding to cover the grand administration costs, so State of Kansas could provide funding for these administration costs.

EBH Engineering is committed to helping our clients with their grant and funding applications for these federal grants along with the state grants that are available. As we learn more about the federal (BIL) funds and how it will impact Kansas, we will inform you on the grants available for Kansas municipalities. If you want to sit down with one of our experienced team members, contact us today.

Kansas Hosts Its First “Infrastructure” Summit Press Release