On March 14, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program (CFI). Funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), this program makes $700 million (combination of FY 2022 and FY 2023 funding) available through a competitive grants to support the deployment of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, as well as hydrogen, propane and natural gas fueling. Counties are directly eligible to apply for this program through USDOT until 11:59 PM ET on the May 30, 2023, deadline.

The CFI will mainly provide funding for Level II chargers in publicly accessible areas in and around local communities through two components:

$350 million for Community Charging and Fueling Grants

• Funds project on any public road or publicly accessible location that must also be accessible to individuals with disabilities
• Allows contracting with a private entity
• Minimum award = $500,000; Maximum award = $15 million
• Must address environmental justice and is encouraged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

$350 million for Corridor Grants

• Must be publicly accessible and located along a designated Alternative Fuel Corridor
• Minimum award = $1 million; No maximum award
• Must be used to contract with a private entity and address environmental justice

Generally, the federal share for this program is 80 percent. Notably, under both the Community Grants and the Corridor Grants, a county contracting with a private entity must include a condition requiring that entity to cover the 20 percent local match requirement.

Unlike the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVI), CFI awards can be used to place chargers in a more discretionary manner; however, the BIL still requires recipients of CFI funds to follow certain minimum standards and requirements outlined in the NEVI guidance. Additionally, as part of President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, this program has an emphases on investing in rural, underserved and disadvantaged communities.

USDOT will host two webinars on CFI, March 21, 1 PM ET and March 22, 2 PM ET. NACo will also host a webinar on March 24, 11 AM ET. Register here.

Counties play a major role in America's transportation and infrastructure network, owning and operating 44 percent of public roads and 38 percent of bridges -- more than any other level of government. Federal funding opportunities like CFI allow counties to continue to modernize our infrastructure while building a more sustainable future.