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    The Public Works Board (Board) is authorized by state statute (RCW 43.155). Its purpose is to loan and grant money to counties, cities, and special purpose districts to repair, replace, or create infrastructure. 

    How to apply for funding

    The PWB accepts applications for all funding programs through ZoomGrants. Paper copies are not accepted at this time.

    If you have a ZoomGrants account, log in and follow the instructions. If you are a new user, complete the required information for a new ZoomGrants account to create a profile. Please do not use “The” as the first word in the agency name. Once the agency profile has been created, select the Public Works Board funding you wish to apply for, check the “apply” button, and start your proposal. Answers are automatically saved.

    Eligible applicants

    Eligible applicants include:

    • Cities
    • Counties
    • Special Purpose Districts
    • Quasi-Municipal Organizations

    Note: Tribes, school districts, and port districts are ineligible for this program.

    Eligible infrastructure systems include:

    • Domestic Water
    • Roads/Streets
    • Bridges
    • Sanitary Sewer
    • Solid Waste/Recycling/Organics
    • Stormwater

    Application resources

    Funding opportunities

    The Construction Funding Program focuses on the activities that repair, replace, or create a facility. A construction project may comprise any combination of pre-construction and construction elements. The Public Works Board awarded funding for its most recent construction cycle at its Board meeting on September 6, 2024. View the full list of awardees and applicants (Box.com) and overview of awardee demographics (Box.com). 

    The most recent funding cycle opened on April 8, 2024 and closed on June 28, 2024. 

    The PWB will announce the next Construction application cycle once it is clear that the legislature will appropriate funding from the Public Works Assistance Account for the 2026-27 biennium. No additional information is available at this time.

    Pre-Construction activities include but are not limited to: design engineering, bid-document preparation, environmental studies, right-of-way acquisition, value planning, permits, cultural and historic resources, and public notification. Pre-construction funding may also be used for capital facilities planning.

    Pre-construction applications are open continuously, and pooled and awarded quarterly until all funds are expended.

    View the most recent list of awardees in Box.

    • Summer 2024: Awarded September 6, 2024.
    • Fall 2024: Awarded November 1, 2024.
    • Winter 2025: Awarded January 31, 2025.
    • Spring 2025: Review of applications received as of March 31, 2025 with an anticipated award date of May 9, 2025.

    Apply for PWB Pre-construction Funding (ZoomGrants)

    The Emergency Construction Funding Program focuses on the activities that repair, replace, and/or reconstruct a facility that will restore essential services and are made necessary by a natural disaster, or an immediate and emergent threat to the public health and safety due to unforeseen or unavoidable circumstances. 

    The Board may make low-interest or interest free loans or grants to local governments for emergency public works projects. The emergency funding program is to financially assist eligible communities experiencing the loss of critical public works services or facilities due to an emergency, and that can demonstrate a substantial fiscal need.

    Applications are accepted continuously until funds are expended.

    Apply for PWB Emergency Funding (ZoomGrants)

    Resources

    The Traditional Programs Interactive Hardship Map highlights distressed and severely distressed counties. The PWB Hardship Methodology considers county unemployment rate for the previous three years and Median Household Income. In non-distressed and distressed counties, the census tract levels can be viewed by scrolling or zooming in. Projects that serve distressed or severely distressed areas are eligible for reduced interest rates and grants.

    Open interactive hardship map in new window

    In order to protect the rich cultural heritage in Washington, Governor Jay Inslee signed Executive Order 21-02 (GEO 21-02). Recipients of state capital funds must consult with the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) and any federally recognized Indian tribes that may have cultural and/or historic interest or concerns in the project’s vicinity. However, if the project is subject to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act through federal involvement (such as the use of Federal funding or the need to acquire Federal permits), then the Governor’s Executive Order (GEO) 21-02 process is unnecessary.

    Recipients will not move forward with any pre-construction or construction activities that will disturb soils (such as, drilling test wells, completing geo-tech work, grading, clearing, etc.), or construction activities until GEO 21-02 is completed (and/or both the SERP and 106 processes, if applicable) and the PWB has issued a final compliance letter. If ground-disturbing activities occur prior to the Recipient receiving the final compliance letter, the PWB loan funding will be jeopardized.

    A government-to-government relationship is required for the cultural review. As such, it is the PWB’s responsibility to contact the tribes and the DAHP. The PWB will notify the Recipient when a cultural resources survey is necessary. It is the Recipient’s responsibility to hire a qualified archaeologist to conduct the survey and submit a draft of the survey to the PWB for final approval.

    The GEO 21-02 process requires award recipients to define the construction project area for potential impact and identify any building or structures 45 years or older that are located within the project site. For projects that plan to alter structures 45 years of age or older, an online inventory survey must be completed. The DAHP can issue a broad range of responses to the submittal. A common response is a “No Effect Upon Cultural/Historic Properties” letter. If you receive such a letter, you have completed the DAHP portion of the review.

    If the DAHP requires more information (completion of additional forms, cultural survey, inadvertent discovery plan, etc.) you must comply with the request. It is possible that you will need to hire a professional archaeologist to address this. Only when the DAHP concurs with the additional materials provided is the DAHP portion of GEO 21-02 complete. For projects that plan to alter structures 45 years of age or older, an online inventory survey must be completed.

    Tribal consultation is initiated by the PWB Program Director and Tribal Liaison sending a letter to the potential affected federally recognized tribe(s). The letter details any project information describing the location and extent of the project, along with a map of the impacted area. The tribe(s) will be allowed at least 30 days to respond. There may be no response, or there may be a wide range of responses to the information provided. As with the DAHP, if additional materials are required, they must be provided to the tribe(s) and they must concur with the findings.

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    Public Works Board