Project Priority Lists and Public Notices

All projects submitted on an LOI form are reviewed for eligibility. Eligible projects are then prioritized to create a Project Priority List (PPL). The PPL is used by Business Oregon (BizOR) to invite project applications and is included in the Intended Use Plan (IUP) that the state must submit to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval.

Project priority lists are posted online for public comments semiannually for SIPP and Infrastructure Projects, and annually for DWSP and SSEA projects.

Sustainable Infrastructure Planning Project (SIPP) Priority List

The sustainable infrastructure planning project priority list reflects the final relative ranking of projects and activities reviewed for funding:

2025 (Q1) SIPP PPL

Public comments will be accepted for the proposed infrastructure planning PPL from Monday, November 18, through Wednesday, November 27, 2024.

Drinking Water Source Protection (DWSP) Project Priority List

The source protection project priority list reflects the final relative ranking of projects and activities reviewed for funding:

2024 DWSPF PPL

Public comments will be accepted for the proposed source protection PPL from Monday, July 22, to Wednesday, July 31, 2024.

Small System Equipment Assistance (SSEA) Project Priority List

The small system equipment assistance project priority list reflects the final relative ranking of projects and activities reviewed for funding:

2021 SSEA PPL

Public comments will be accepted for the proposed SSEA PPL from Wednesday, June 2, to Saturday, June 12, 2021.

Beginning in 2022, SSEA funding is postponed until further notice.

Infrastructure Project Priority List

The infrastructure project priority list reflects the final relative ranking of projects and activities reviewed for "Base" DWSRF and BIL-General Supplemental funding:

2024 (3Q2024) Base DWSRF & BIL General Supplemental (legal notice)
2024 (3Q2024) Base DWSRF & BIL General Supplemental PPL (spreadsheet)

Public comments will be accepted for the proposed infrastructure PPL from Monday, March 18, through Thursday, March 28, 2024.

For the infrastructure PPL, eligible projects are now ranked based on the following five rating criteria areas:

Risks to human health and health protection
Compliance with Safe Drinking Water Act
Consolidation or partnership of two or more systems
Water system size
Community affordability

Projects addressing risk to health, compliance, or consolidation place higher on the PPL. The criteria used to establish funding priorities were adopted by Oregon under the Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) process and were approved by EPA.

Eligible projects are combined with projects from previous years to create a Comprehensive PPL. Combining the projects allows Oregon to better manage the Loan Fund and to assure that ready-to-proceed projects can get financing quickly. The Comprehensive PPL now includes a more robust project description to meet the needs of OHA, BizOR, and EPA. This allows EPA to conduct a preliminary review and approve the PPL, so that BizOR can invite the highest ranked ready-to-proceed water systems to begin their funding processes earlier than usual.

Once projects are on the PPL, water systems will be contacted by Business Oregon Regional Project Managers who will describe fund availability and next steps.

2024 Infrastructure Project Priority List Results

For fiscal year 2024, twenty-seven (27) Letters of Interest (LOI) were submitted by water systems.
Approximately $130 million in DWSRF financial assistance was requested to fund needed infrastructure improvements throughout Oregon.
Twenty-four (24) of the 27 eligible projects (89%) are for small water systems serving fewer than 10,000 people.
Twenty-one (21) of the 27 eligible projects (78%) are for disadvantaged communities.

Emerging Contaminants and Lead Service Line Replacement Project Priority Lists

These two BIL project priority lists reflect final rankings for funding consideration for eligible project priorities focused on emerging contaminants (i.e., PFAS, Manganese, and Cyanotoxins) and lead service line replacement projects throughout Oregon.