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Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

UNPACKING THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also referred to as “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law” or “BIL” for short, was passed by Congress and signed by President in November 2021.

The IIJA, combined many of what had been previously stand-alone federal infrastructure bills into one. $550 billion in new funding, with the rest of the package comprised of previously approved funding totaling $1.2 trillion to be distributed between 2022 and 2026 with a high probability for the bulk of the spending to take place in 2025-2027.

Funding authorized through this bill will be awarded by many different entities.

Federal DOTs
State DOTs
State Environmental Agency
Individual Large MPOs
Others

Allocation by Project Type

The new funding is primarily designated for a dozen key categories where infrastructure investments were deemed most needed.

Transportation emerged as the big winner, with roads and bridges, rail, transit and airports garnering nearly half of the new funding. Power, broadband, water and environmental remediation also received large amounts. Here’s a rundown of the new funding, followed by some highlights.

Transportation

Highways, city streets, bridges, bike/ped, electric vehicles.

KDOT’s desired outcomes: save lives, reduce transportation costs for people and goods, innovate infrastructure to strengthen communities.

Expands eligibility of long-standing funding programs from state system only to local systems.

Drinking Water

Reauthorizes the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (2022 – 2026)

$15 billion through the DWSRF to replace lead service lines
$9 billion to address emerging contaminants, including PFAS, in drinking water
$510 million over five years for a new Assistance for Small and Disadvantaged Communities Drinking Water grant program

Wastewater

Reauthorizes Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) for five years (2022 – 2026).

$1.4 billion over five years for Sanitary Sewer Overflows and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants
$1 billion through CWSRF to address emerging contaminants

Electric Grid

Provides $73 billion to rebuild the electric grid, including:

$5 billion for grid hardening and modernization activities
$5 billion in competitive grants for development of innovative technologies
$1 billion to modernize and improve rural grid resilience
$10 billion to establish a transmission facilitation program

Provides Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authority to overrule state regulators who deny project permits in DOE-designated transmission corridors.

Dams

$2 billion for dam safety
$67 million for FEMA operations and support for dam safety activities under the National Dam Safety Program
$733 million for FEMA federal assistance$148 million for dam safety programs
$585 million for High Hazard Dam Rehabilitation Grants, including $75 million for dam removal
$1.15 billion for rehabilitation, retrofitting, and removal activities across multiple agencies

Schools

$500 million grant program over five-years to provide energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements in public schools

REGULATIONS

Many of the details will get ironed out in the “rule making” process, where each federal cabinet will take to the IIJA Legislation and develop regulations. In addition, the state and federal agencies charged with administering the federal funding will also have their own rules and regulations for each program.

While the federal government has doubled down on its long-time commitment to capital investments in backbone infrastructure for state communities, states, and local governments have and will continue to pay for the majority of transportation, water, and wastewater infrastructure capital and operations.