Emergency Program
This program is for emergency projects that arise directly from a catastrophic event resulting in an immediate threat to public health, safety, and welfare and require immediate action. Immediate means a current or recent incident. Emergency funds are awarded at the director's discretion and reserved on a first-come, first-served basis, with funding requests accepted year-round dependent on funding availability, but are not an alternative funding source for infrastructure that has exceeded its weighted useful life. In making a funding determination, the director must consider: 1) the extent that other infrastructure can be used in lieu of the infrastructure posing the threat; 2) the capacity of the applicant to use it owns financial resources or that of other federal, state or local agencies; and 3) the degree to which the applicant is responsible for creating the emergency through neglect, inadequate maintenance, or failure to plan for the evolution of hazardous infrastructure conditions that could reasonably have been predicted.
Eligible applicants for this funding are those eligible under the State Capital Improvement Program (SCIP) which are counties, cities, villages, townships, and water and sewer districts. Infrastructure must be owned and maintained by the applicant and in public right-of-way. If you believe you have a project that qualifies as an emergency, then begin by contacting your program representative. Do not skip this step as it will save time and effort should the project not be considered eligible, and we can also verify if funds are available. The program representative will determine if you should submit qualifying documentation (below) for the director's consideration. The director will review and decide based on the nature of the emergency, the financial need of the community, the urgency, and other information supplied with the request. Based on the director’s review of this information a Letter of Approval/non-approval will formally notify the applicant of the outcome. If approved, an OPWC Application for Financial Assistance is required to issue a formal agreement with Authorizing Legislation, CFO Certification, and signed/stamped Engineer’s Weighted Useful Life Statement, if not previously provided. This information is provided to the program representative via email and is not a function in WorksWise, the OPWC web portal.
Other Sources
USDA Rural Development may be able to provide assistance to help eligible communities prepare, or recover from, an emergency that threatens the availability of safe, reliable drinking water with an Emergency Community Water Assistance Grant. Rural Communities with a population under 10,000 and median household income less than the State of Ohio non-metropolitan median household income may be eligible for a water transmission line grant up to $150,000 to repair breaks, leaks, or create extensions in existing water distribution lines. Water source grants up to $1 million also are available to identify a water source and construct intake or treatment facilities. NOTE: This program is administered by USDA Rural Development headquarters in Washington, D.C., and is subject to competitive scoring. Funding is limited. For more information, please contact Joshua Smith at Joshua.smith7@usda.gov or 614-255-2426.
The Ohio Emergency Management Agency administers various disaster assistance programs as well as those for hazard preparedness and mitigation.