The Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (otherwise known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or BIL), which was signed into law by President Joe Biden on November 15, 2021, has made historic investments in America’s infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI)’s various grant programs for land management and environmental resilience have received substantial new financial support under BIL. The new resources that the DOI has obtained through BIL include:
- The law provides $8.3 billion for water and drought resilience. BIL’s investments will fund water efficiency and recycling programs, rural water projects, WaterSMART grants and dam safety to ensure that irrigators, Tribes and adjoining communities receive adequate assistance and support.
- The law provides $1.5 billion for wildfire resilience. These funds will specifically invest in forest restoration, hazardous fuels management and post-wildfire restoration activities across America’s national parks, forests/grasslands, and federal firefighters.
- The law provides $1.4 billion for ecosystem restoration and resilience, including funding for stewardship contracts, ecosystems restoration projects, invasive species detection and prevention and native vegetation restoration efforts.
- The law provides $466 million for tribal climate resilience and infrastructure. These funds will invest in projects including climate adaptation planning, ocean and coastal management planning, capacity building, and relocation, managed retreat and protect-in-place planning for climate risks. They will also help fund construction, repair, improvement and maintenance of irrigation and power systems, safety of dams, water sanitation and other facilities in Tribal communities.
- The law provides $16 billion for legacy pollution clean-up, such as plugging orphan wells and reclaiming abandoned mine lands, which will help communities eliminate dangerous conditions and pollution caused by past coal mining.
- The law provides $2.5 billion for Indian water rights settlements.
A full list of outstanding notice of funding opportunities for the DOI’s grant programs can be found below. These programs typically fall into several distinct categories that often repeat by state, which include:
- Forest and Woodlands Resource Management
- Plant Conservation and Restoration Management
- Cultural and Paleontological Resources Management
- Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management
- Invasive and Noxious Plant Management
- Threatened and Endangered Species
- Wildlife Resource Management
- Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance
The DOI mostly distributes funds in the form of grants. However, the DOI’s Bureau of Indian Affairs also provides loans through its Indian Loan Guarantee and Insurance Program (IGLP) and its Indian Loans Economic Development Program.
Through the Indian Loan Guarantee and Insurance Program (ILGP), the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Division of Capital Investment helps American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) tribes and individuals get reasonable interest rates on business loans.
This program provides assistance to Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments, Native American Organizations, and individual American Indians in obtaining financing from private sources to promote business development initiatives to improve the economies of Federally Recognized Indian Reservations. However, this program does not appear to have any funding available at this time.
*Faegre Drinker Policy Assistant Andrew Bryant contributed to this article.