LIHWAP IM-2022-04 Guidance for Use of LIHEAP and LIHWAP Funds Appropriated in the ARP FY2022

Publication Date: August 26, 2022
Current as of:

Low Income Household Water Assistance Program

Information Memorandum

 

IM#:                                LIHWAP-IM-2022-04

DATE:                              August 26, 2022

TO:                                  Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) Grant Recipients

SUBJECT:                       The Office of Community Services (OCS) Guidance for Use of Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) Funds Appropriated in the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 117-2)  (PDF); Accompaniment to ACF-IOAS-DCL-22-01

ATTACHMENT(S):        N/A

The purpose of this Information Memorandum is to provide an overview of and guidance on Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) & Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) funds made available through ARP.

References

  • American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 117-2)
  • Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 116-260)

 

LIHEAP

Background

LIHEAP is designed to help households with limited incomes pay their home energy costs, prevent unsafe indoor temperatures, pay unmanageable utility arrearages that can lead to utility shut-offs, and provide households with energy-saving weatherization and minor home repairs.

Congress appropriated supplemental LIHEAP funds under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) of 2021 (Public Law 117-2)  (PDF), which the President signed into law on March 11, 2021. ARP provided $4.5 billion “for additional funding to provide payments” for LIHEAP.

OCS has awarded 100 percent of the LIHEAP funding available to grant recipients under this act. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, five U.S territories, and 144 Native American Tribes and Tribal organizations that were a fiscal year (FY) 2021 LIHEAP grant recipient received a supplemental award.

ARP allowed LIHEAP grant recipients to obligate any portion of these supplemental funds in FY 2021 or FY 2022, contingent upon their own rules for obligating funds (45 CFR 96.30(a)). All funds must be obligated by September 30, 2022. 

ARP will remain in the Payment Management System (PMS) for the usual period of availability. However, recipients may be required to provide supporting documentation to their Grants Management Officer prior to drawing down funds if such draw down requests are made one year after the close of the obligation periods under those accounts. 

45 C.F.R. § 96.30(a) and (b)(2)  also requires LIHEAP recipients to expend their award of federal LIHEAP funding according to the same rules, including the timeframe, required of their own funding.  Thus, if a state is required to expend or liquidate its own state funds within one year of appropriation or availability to a state agency, then that is the same expenditure deadline the state must apply to its federal LIHEAP funding. It is possible that each state, tribe, and territory has different expenditure definitions and deadlines, meaning there is no standard expenditure deadline for all LIHEAP recipients. However, it is unallowable for recipients to set expenditure deadlines for federal funding that are different from their own funding deadlines.

Guidance

Grant recipients may use these funds for any purpose normally authorized under the federal LIHEAP statute (42 USC 8621 et seq.), including heating, cooling, crisis, weatherization assistance, case management for the reduction of home energy burden, and administrative costs.

Additional Resources

Program Guidance

Reporting Requirements

Training/Technical Assistance and Other Program Information

Additional Resources

For Inquiries

Grant recipients may contact federal staff members with questions or inquiries. Contact information for LIHEAP staff is available here.

 

LIHWAP

Background

LIHWAP was established under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021  (PDF) with an initial authorization of $638 million in funding to assist households with low incomes with water and wastewater bills. ARP authorized an additional $500 million to assist households with low incomes with water and wastewater bills through LIHWAP. The funds provided by ARP brought total LIHWAP funding to $1.13 billion. LIHWAP funds were made available to states, territories, and Native American Tribes and Tribal organizations.  Authorizing language identified that three percent (3%) of the total appropriation should be set aside for funding for Tribes and Tribal organizations.

All guidance applies to all grant recipients without exception.

All funds must be obligated by September 30, 2023 and all obligated federal funds must be liquidated no later than December 31, 2023.

Guidance

LIHWAP funds may be used to ensure that households with low incomes maintain access to water and wastewater services through bill payment assistance. Allowable costs include benefit payments for household water and wastewater services, administrative costs, and costs for outreach and eligibility determination.

Per the authorizing language, benefits payment must be made directly to owners or operators of public water systems or treatment works on behalf of eligible households. In addition, per LIHWAP terms and conditions, grant recipients must not obligate more than fifteen percent (15%) of their grant awards for administrative costs, including those incurred by subgrant recipient organizations if they are being used to help administer this program. Grant recipients were given immediate access to the administrative portion of their LIHWAP award. The remaining portion of funding was restricted pending the submission and approval of the grant recipients LIHWAP implementation plan. All grant recipients have an approved LIHWAP implementation plan and have full access to the total award.

OCS established the following priorities for disbursing household benefits.

  1. Restoration of services to households that have had drinking water and/or wastewater services disconnected due to arrearages,
  2. Prevention of disconnection for households at risk of disconnection due to arrearages, and
  3. Reducing rates charged to households with low incomes where possible to help ensure affordable household water services.

Additional Resources

Program Guidance

Reporting Requirements

Additional Resources

For Inquiries

Grant recipients may contact federal staff members with questions or inquiries. Contact information for LIHWAP staff is available here.

Thank you for your attention to these matters. OCS looks forward to continuing to provide high-quality services to OCS partners.

 

/s/
Dr. Lanikque Howard
Director
Office of Commun