Last Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it was giving Wyoming $248,000 to improve stormwater and sewage collection systems. This grant is part of the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grant Program (OSG).

The program was created by the Clean Water Act, but it initially only included funding for sewage management. In 2018, the America’s Water Infrastructure Act amended the program’s parameters to include funding for stormwater management as well.

The OSG is intended to curb water pollution by ensuring stormwater and sewage are properly contained. If they aren’t, they could wash pollutants, like trash, chemicals, oil, and sediment, into nearby waterways. These effects can also compound each other, since overflowing stormwater can in turn cause sewage to overflow.

Now that the EPA has awarded the money to Wyoming, it’s up to the state to decide which exact projects to fund. Those projects could include combined sewer overflows, sanitary sewer overflows, and more.

Twenty percent of the funding must go toward green projects, environmentally innovative activities, or water and energy efficiency improvements. Additionally, 25 percent of the funding must go toward rural or financially distressed communities, which includes much of the state. This requirement is due to the 2022 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

This funding is part of about $50,000,000 being awarded nationally through OSG.