On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) into law. Referred to by the Administration as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the five-year, $1.2 trillion comprehensive infrastructure bill represents a historic investment in the nation’s infrastructure and includes funding for transportation (roads, bridges, ports, airports, transit, and rail), water, the electric grid, broadband, and resiliency. Broadly, this memo (1) explains how the majority of funding will be distributed; (2) highlights major competitive grant programs; (3) identifies major formula grant programs; and (4) describes how potential applicants should pursue funding opportunities. For a complete list of all of the programs in the BIL, please see Appendix A.

Notably, the BIL includes significant funding for competitive programs, which gives the Biden Administration additional influence over how the programs are administered. While there is statutory language guiding these programs that the various departments must adhere to, the administering agencies have discretion to include factors related to President Biden’s top policy priorities, including: equity, including racial justice; resiliency; economic transformation and job creation; and supply chain solutions. Project applicants should keep these priorities in mind as they identify potential projects, as projects that do not address some or all of these issues will generally not be considered as competitive.

The bulk of BIL funding is distributed via two methods:

Most of the formula and discretionary funding in the BIL is directed towards public entities – states, localities, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), Tribes, etc. While there are very few programs where private companies can receive direct federal funding, there is ample opportunity for such entities to partner with public entities to access funding – and oftentimes, working directly with the private companies while putting together an application can make it stronger and more competitive.

The BIL represents a major investment in infrastructure. While many of the competitive opportunities for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 have closed, the BIL is a five year bill – meaning all of these opportunities will reopen in FY23.

The majority of the funding in the BIL – $550 billion – is directed to the Department of Transportation (DOT). It includes $318.9 million for roads, bridges, and major projects; $66 billion for rail (with most going to Amtrak); $87.7 billion for transit; and $25 billion for airports. While most of that will be distributed via formula to the states, there is over $100 billion in competitive grant funding – a significant increase over past years.

The BIL includes funding for delivering clean power ($21.3 billion), clean energy demonstrations ($21.5 billion), energy efficiency and weatherization retrofits ($6.5 billion), clean energy manufacturing/workforce development ($8.6 billion), nuclear power ($6 billion), and hydropower ($700 million). The funding is intended to modernize the electric grid, reduce energy costs, and facilitate the expansion of clean energy. New programs created by the BIL will support the development and deployment of clean energy technologies, while also aiming to supportgood paying jobs in the transition to a net-zero economy.

The BIL includes $55 billion for “water, wastewater, water reuse, conveyance and water storage infrastructure.” Major competitive programs include:

The BIL invests more than $50 billion to “protect against droughts, heat, floods, wildfires, and cyber threats, in addition to a major investment in weatherization.” Major competitive programs include:

The BIL invests $21 billion in environmental remediation. Funding is directed to projects that will “remediate environmental harms, address the legacy pollution that harms the public health of communities, create good-paying union jobs, and advance long overdue environmental justice.” Major competitive programs include:

The BIL includes $65 billion to “help ensure that every American has access to reliable high-speed internet through a historic investment in broadband infrastructure deployment.” Major competitive programs include:

The majority of the funding in the BIL will be distributed via formula. While private companies will not directly benefit from any of these programs, they can still partner with the entities receiving funding. More information on these programs can be found in Appendix A.

While many of the FY22 competitive opportunities have passed, there are still a number of things those interested in applying for any of the BIL funding (whether directly or with a partner) should be doing. In preparation for the remainder of the FY22 opportunities and FY23 opportunities opening, potential applicants should be identifying lists of priority projects while keeping in mind the Biden Administration’s priorities: equity, resilience, job creation, and the supply chain. Projects that advance these goals will likely rank higher than those that do not. Additionally, potential applicants should consider:

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

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