Engagement Opportunities

TDEC ARP Non-Competitive Grant Milestones Q&A

In the Town Hall on March 7, TDEC announced new milestones that non-competitive grantees are expected to meet to demonstrate making sufficient progress on grant contracts and projects. These milestones are described in the slides from the March Town Hall.

Understanding that many grantees may have concerns about meeting the new critical milestones due to various challenges, TDEC hosted a virtual Q&A on March 14th. There were no slides presented at the virtual Q&A.

Past Materials

• April Town Hall Presentation (added 4/12/2024)
• March Town Hall Presentation (added 3/8/2024)
• February Town Hall Presentation (added 2/23/2024)

Past Dates

• Thursday, April 11th | 1:00-2:00 pm CST
• Thursday, March 7th | 3:00-4:30 pm CST 
• Thursday, February 8th | 3:00-3:30pm CST

Grants Management System (GMS) Procurement & Reimbursement Virtual Workshop

TDEC hosted a virtual Grants Management System (GMS) Demo to walk through the procurement and reimbursement functionalities on GMS.

• Workshop Slides & Workshop Recording

Competitive Grant Workshops

TDEC hosted virtual workshops for each of the three grant programs to discuss the grant application process for potential applicants. Please find the recordings and slides from the workshops below.

• Regionalization: Workshop Slides & Workshop Recording
• Water Reuse: Workshop Slides & Workshop Recording
• Resource Protection: Workshop Slides & Workshop Recording

The workshops were held on the following days and times:

Competitive Grant Webinars

TDEC hosted two webinars in April to provide a better understanding of the grant programs to potential applicants. These sessions will take place Tuesday, April 11th from 2:00-3:00 PM CT and Wednesday, April 12th from 10:00-11:00 AM CT. These sessions were identical.

• Workshop Slides
• Workshop Recording

Non-Competitive Grant Workshops

TDEC is excited to have hosted our next series of ARP Non-Competitive Grant Workshops! These workshops focused on key information for grant awardees, including The ARP Non-Competitive grant contract, implementation guidance, reimbursement, procurement, reporting requirements, and more!

• Workshop Slides
• Workshop Recording

The dates and locations for the workshops were:

The virtual workshop was recorded and made available online on this page. Workshop materials, including the presentation, are also available online.

We encourage all grant applicants and affiliated personnel to attend these workshops, even if the application is not fully approved or under contract. However, for those who feel they may not be far enough along in the process, one additional virtual workshop covering the same material will be held in the spring. Details will be released when available.

Please reach out to tdec.arp@tn.gov with any questions. The TDEC State Water Infrastructure Grants Team looks forward to seeing you there! 

TDEC hosted an Engineering Document Submittals Virtual Workshop to explain best practices for submitting engineering documents, such as engineering reports and construction documents, to TDEC for review and approval. It included critical information for engineers and applicants pursuing drinking water and wastewater projects.

• Workshop Presentation
• Workshop Recording

In anticipation of ARP State Water Infrastructure Grant (SWIG) Program Non-Competitive Grant application approvals and subsequent contracting, TDEC hosted a series of Non-Competitive Grant Applicant Workshops in December (December 14, 15, and 19) 2022. Only those individuals associated with an ARP Non-Competitive Grant application (e.g., applicant, city or county mayor, grant administrator, finance representative, and contract legal signee, utilities participating in projects on the application, partner entities, and consulting firm(s) interested in participating in the bid process or those that have already been competitive procured) needed to attend these workshops.

• View the slides for the Workshop
•  View the recording of the Workshop

Please Note: The recorded presentation misspeaks about "baby Davis bacon" compliance. ARP legislation states that Davis-Bacon applies for contracts greater than $10,000,000, not less than. The guidance also states that although you do not have a Davis- Bacon clause in contracts funded by ARP for less than $10M, if you combine ARP funds with other federal funds on prime construction contracts above $2,000, Davis- Bacon may be triggered if the rule is applicable for that source of funding.

TDEC hosted a virtual session (via WebEx) on Friday, October 14 from 10-11 CT/11-12 ET to go over some Frequently Asked Questions and respond to questions live. 

• View the recording of the Virtual Q&A Session
• View the slides for the Virtual Q&A Session

TAUD, in partnership with TDEC will be hosting a fourth round of training workshops on the American Rescue Plan.  With most systems having completed the Tennessee Infrastructure Scorecard 2.0, focus will be given to the application process for utilities, counties, and cities looking to receive funding through the ARP Grant.  Personnel will have the opportunity to ask questions to the TDEC and TAUD team and will be given an overview of the Grant Management Systems portal.

This class will be held in person and through webinar. Interested individuals may register online.

Webinar details will be sent to each registrant.

TDEC hosted an update and Q&A session covering the ARP Non-Competitive Grant on Thursday, July 7 from 9-10 am CT.

• View the slides for the ARP Non-Competitive Grant Update

TDEC held a virtual session on Wednesday, May 4 from 1-2:30 pm CT/2-3:30 pm ET to provide a demonstration and walkthrough of the ARP non-competitive grant application on TDEC’s Grant Management System (GMS). The GMS is the platform that applicants will use to submit their non-competitive grant application. There is no registration required to attend the walkthrough. Please see the information below to access the training session.

• View the recording of the Non-Competitive Grant Application Demonstration and Walkthrough

TDEC is pleased to host workshops covering the non-competitive grant manual and application. The workshops will cover the grant manual (updated 04/18/2022), grant application requirements and the application review process, and include a demonstration of the grant management system. There will be plenty of opportunity provided to workshop attendees to ask questions. All workshops will present the same information.

These workshops will be held in person around the state to promote engagement. If you are unable to attend in person, TDEC will host one virtual workshop. You may find date, time, and location information for the workshops below. Please register for the workshop that best fits your schedule and location.

Attendance is encouraged but not required to submit a grant application for the non-competitive grant program.

• View the slides for the Non-Competitive Grant workshops
• View the recording of the virtual Non-Competitive Grant workshop
   

April 2022 Workshop Details

Tennessee Association of Utility Districts E-mail Notification

TAUD, in partnership with TDEC will be hosting training workshops on the Tennessee Infrastructure Scorecard ver. 2.0. The Scorecard is designed to benchmark technical, operational, managerial, and financial performance of utility systems. Results from the Scorecard identify critical needs in several areas including asset management, water, wastewater, and stormwater. Instructors will provide a comprehensive review of how to complete a Scorecard and interpret the results. We will also cover the advantages of completing a Scorecard, including how results can help demonstrate infrastructure needs for loans or grants.

Attendees should prepare to work in class on their utility’s scorecards. Attendees should bring a laptop computer to work through the online scorecard. Please limit attendees to two per utility.

In addition to in-person, all classes will be offered virtually.
Webinar details will be sent to each registrant.

TDEC webinar series covering the Water Infrastructure Investment Plan. TDEC presented the plan, engaged in Q&A, and provided updates. Webinars were recorded and posted below.

• View the slides for the webinar series
• View the January 18, 2022 Webinar Recording
• View the January 19, 2022 Webinar Recording
• View the January 20, 2022 Webinar Recording

• TDEC Presentation: Water Infrastructure Investment Plan Virtual Town Hall