Introduction

Section 606 of the Water Quality Act of 1987 requires the State to develop an Intended Use Plan (IUP) that identifies the uses of its Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund and to prepare a list of projects targeted for funding assistance. Following public comment and final Board action, the list of targeted projects for financial assistance becomes the state’s yearly Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund Project Priority List (PPL) in the IUP.

Funds Available

With substantial revenues coming in from our large loan portfolio and continued federal and state match funding, the VCWRLF continues to maintain very healthy account balances. Therefore, the accumulation of funds that have and will occur in the Fund through loan payments, interest earnings, and de-allocations from leverage accounts, plus additional leveraged dollars should result in enough funding being available during the FY 2027 funding cycle to fund the applications recommended for inclusion on the Project Priority List. Final Board approval of the full project list will be requested at the fall meeting of the Board.

FY 2027 Program Development

On June 9, 2026, the solicitation period for the RLF was opened to wastewater improvement applications from the Commonwealth’s localities, wastewater authorities as well as potential land conservation, living shoreline, and brownfield remediation applicants. July 29, 2026, was the established deadline for receiving applications. DEQ received 20 wastewater improvement applications requesting $117,110,607 and three emerging contaminants applications requesting $4,156,875. In total, DEQ received 23 applications totaling $121,267,482.

DEQ staff evaluated the emerging contaminants and wastewater applications in accordance with the program's Funding Distribution Criteria described in the Virginia Wastewater Revolving Loan Fund Design Manual (Design Manual). Staff also reviewed project type and impact on state waters, the locality's compliance history and fiscal stress, as well as the readiness-to-proceed of the project.

DEQ has deemed all 23 applications to be of good quality and for projects that should provide significant water quality and/or environmental improvements. Appendix B of the IUP lists the applications in priority funding order based on the prioritization criteria for each project type.

CWFAP staff reviewed an updated capacity assessment of the VCWRLF, completed by Virginia Resources Authority (VRA), to determine the level of authorizations the fund could manage while maintaining the ability to provide funds for requests in future years. Based on this assessment, VRA and CWFAP staff determined that all projects could be funded by the VCWRLF.

Public Participation

DEQ is presenting the draft IUP list of targeted FY 2027 loan recipients for public review and comment. More information on the FY 2027 project list can be found on the VCWRLF website here: https://www.deq.virginia.gov/water/clean-water-financing-and-assistance/virginia-clean-water-revolving-loan-fund-vcwrlf.

The public review and comment period will end on Thursday, November 12, 2026.

Comments or questions should be directed to Lauren Linville, Department of Environmental Quality, Clean Water Financing and Assistance Program, 1111 East Main Street, Suite 1400, Richmond, Virginia 23219, phone number (804) 653-2486, or e-mailed to cwfap@deq.virginia.gov. Written comments should include the name, address, and telephone number of the commenter.