EPA Celebrates Two Years Of Progress Under President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) marks the second year of progress in implementing President Biden’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law with the release of the second annual report detailing the agency’s investments to strengthen our infrastructure, make communities more resilient to climate change, and better protect human health and the environment. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is a key component of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, provides EPA with more than $60 billion over five years for a wide range of environmental programs, providing long overdue funding to America’s water infrastructure, environmental cleanups, and clean air protections, all while advancing environmental justice and combatting climate change in communities that need it most.  

“Today marks two years since President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s future to create millions of jobs, modernize our infrastructure, combat climate change, and build equitable and resilient communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “I’ve been visiting communities across the country to see firsthand how these investments are delivering the resources and relief that so many have been waiting for, for far too long. There’s still much more work to be done in the fight for a cleaner and healthier future for all, but with unprecedented resources from the President’s Investing in America agenda, we are moving further and faster than ever before.”

The Two Year Anniversary Report highlights progress the agency has made in implementing infrastructure projects across the country, benefiting communities for decades to come. Additional information on where EPA’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds are going, including location-specific project descriptions can be found on the agency’s newly updated interactive map.

Highlights from EPA’s progress under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

• Over the last two years, EPA has provided over $11 billion to support water infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to states, territories, Tribes, and local communities. Every state and Puerto Rico has received State Revolving Fund (SRF) grants that provide communities with low-cost financing for a wide range of water infrastructure projects from drinking water to sewage systems to lead pipe replacement.
  • $7.7 billion have been awarded for drinking water; funding 350 projects.

• • $3.4 billion have been awarded for clean water; funding 155 projects.
• The Biden-Harris Administration has made accelerating the removal of lead service lines a top priority, with a goal of replacing 100% of lead service lines. In April, the agency announced the availability of more than $6.5 billion in funding to find and replace lead pipes in states, territories, and Tribal communities. The funding that has been awarded so far will help replace hundreds of thousands of lead service lines.

• EPA’s Clean School Bus Program has already awarded nearly $1 billion and funded approximately 2,400 electrified and low emissions school buses that are beginning to hit our roads, further improving air quality in and around schools, reducing greenhouse gas pollution that is fueling the climate crisis, and helping to accelerate America’s leadership in developing and deploying clean vehicles of the future.

• EPA has obligated funding to clean up legacy pollution for 152 Superfund sites.
  • Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA has announced funding to clear the backlog of Superfund sites on the National Priority List.
  • In FY 2023, 76% of Superfund funding was obligated for sites with potential for environmental justice concerns.
• EPA awarded approximately $410 million to clean up legacy pollution through Brownfields Assessment, Cleanup, Revolving Loan Fund, Job Training, and Technical Assistance Grants, and $114 million in state and Tribal response program grants.
  • As of October 1, 2023, 167 brownfield properties have been assessed, and 36 sites have been made ready for anticipated use with Bipartisan Infrastructure Law resources.
• In September 2023, EPA selected 25 communities to receive grants totaling more than $73 million under the newly created Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling funding opportunity.
  • In addition, EPA made available approximately $32 million for states and territories to improve solid waste management planning, data collection and implementation of plans. These grants mark the largest recycling investment in 30 years under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. They also account for approximately 81% of the funding going to disadvantaged communities, far surpassing the Justice40 Initiative goal of 40%.

These and other Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding highlights from the last two years, as well as expected results for future investments, can be found in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Two Year Anniversary Report (pdf).

Additional Background:

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides EPA with over $60 billion for a wide range of programs to be made available over five fiscal years from FY 2022 through 2026. Of the $60 billion investment:

More than $50 billion is for clean water and drinking water projects, along with other water protection programs, the single largest Federal investment in clean water ever made. With these funds, EPA will make progress on President Biden’s pledge to replace 100% of the approximately 9.2 million lead service lines still in the ground across the country, address the threat of PFAS pollution facing communities, and broaden efforts to protect critical water bodies that are important to communities and the economy.

$5 billion is for decarbonizing the nation’s school bus fleet, improving air quality for more than 25 million children who ride the bus to school each day, and their surrounding communities.

More than $5 billion is for cleaning up longstanding pollution at Superfund and brownfields sites, and for improving waste management and recycling systems managed under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to restore the economic vitality of communities that have been exposed to pollution for far too long. Additionally, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law reinstated and modified the Superfund chemical excise taxes. Funds collected through this tax will be available for EPA to use during the fiscal year after they are collected. The Department of Treasury collected approximately $160 million last year that EPA has started to use to advance work, as authorized by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund). Tax collections for 2023 will be final at the conclusion of the tax year. These funds are in addition to the $3.5 billion appropriated for Superfund cleanups in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

$100 million is for the Pollution Prevention Program to increase access to safer and more sustainable products and services.¹

Visit EPA's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law page for more information.