Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the state $499,385,000 to help communities impacted by Hurricane Helene strengthen the resilience of drinking water and wastewater infrastructure and respond to water-related emergencies. This funding is a result of the 2025 American Relief Act and will be administered by the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA).
“As communities across Georgia continue to recover from the most destructive storm in state history, these funds will help accelerate that ongoing work,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “Georgia will be better able to weather future storms and ensure the well-being of its residents, and I want to thank EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, the Trump administration, and all those who supported the Helene Resilience Funding package.”
To be eligible for Helene Resilience Funding (HRF), communities must demonstrate impacts from Hurricane Helene and propose an eligible project designed to reduce the risk and vulnerability of flood damage or enhance the resilience of drinking water and wastewater systems to rapid hydrologic changes or natural disasters.
In preparation for the final award of the funding, GEFA issued a call for projects in the fall of 2025. A list of submitted and fundable projects is available on GEFA’s website. GEFA also received funding under the American Relief Act to assist communities in responding to drinking water and wastewater emergencies.
The total Helene-related funding awarded to GEFA is distributed across five funding categories:
- HRF wastewater: $124.9 million
- HRF decentralized wastewater (septic systems): $8.96 million
- HRF drinking water: $359.5 million
- Emergency wastewater: $3.3 million
- Emergency drinking water: $2.75 million
The first group of individual project awards will be presented to the GEFA board of directors for consideration at its November meeting. For more information, email helenefunding@gefa.ga.gov.
