DoD Approves $100 Million in Grants Under Pilot Program

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023 – Yesterday, the Department of Defense awarded seventeen Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot Program (DCIP) grants from the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation, totaling approximately $100 million. DCIP is a competitive program for states and communities to undertake infrastructure enhancements to support military value, the training of cadets at independent cover educational institutions, installation resiliency, and/or family quality of life that benefits their local installations.

On August 7, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment instructed the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation to invite grant applications for seventeen projects based on a competitive ranking of all proposed projects in response to a March 24, DCIP Notice of Funding Opportunity.

These awards derive from Fiscal Year 2023 appropriated funding and leverage an additional $39.8 million in non-federal and other federal funding for a total investment of $139.5 million.

“The Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot Program continues to be a critical program that demonstrates the importance of the relationship between installations and their surrounding communities in delivering critical infrastructure needs to support military service members, their families, and their communities,” said Dr. William A. LaPlante, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.

“Executing the mission during an emergency is only possible if our service members and civilians can get to their base. Since 2020, DCIP has leveraged partnerships at the local level to build a ‘one community’ approach to delivering infrastructure that enables the Department of Defense to execute its mission, supports our service members, their families, and civilians, and improves the resilience of the communities that our installations rely on,” said Brendan Owens, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment.

The grant awards are as follows:

$10,858,588 to the Municipality of Anchorage – Port of Alaska to undertake a $15,512,268 project to replace aged stormwater management infrastructure in support of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, alleviating flood and soil erosion issues.
$8,959,097 to the Northern California Power Agency, California, to undertake a $27,383,362 project to construct a new electric transmission line and substation upgrades in support of Sierra Army Depot, reducing the installation’s energy vulnerabilities and increasing its grid capacity.
$5,979,060 to Jacksonville Port Authority, Florida, to undertake $11,958,120 a project to construct a new fire station in support of Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island and the Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Southeast Regional Fuels Depot, reducing flood threats and emergency response times, and increase capacity to house modern fire and emergency response equipment.
$4,952,000 to the City of Pensacola, Florida, to undertake a project to construct a parking apron at the Pensacola International Airport in support of Naval Air Station Pensacola and Naval Air Station Whiting Field to park Navy training aircraft and promote mission sustainment across several aviation-training platforms.
$6,439,954 to Santa Rosa County, Florida, to undertake a $9,189,259 project to construct a taxiway to an aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility in support of Naval Air Station Whiting Field, reducing aviation down time and eliminating the need to move military aircraft over civilian roadways.
$861,025 to Lowndes County Board of Commissioners, Georgia, to undertake a project in support of Moody Air Force Base and its connection to the County’s public drinking water system, providing a redundant and more reliable water supply and expanding adequate water capacity to support modern firefighting systems implemented by the Air Force.
$6,886,183 to the State of Hawaii Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to undertake a $8,386,183 project to construct an emergency operations facility in support of the Pohakuloa Training Area, increasing the capacity for Army personnel, first responders, and community members to maximize resources and coordination when responding to emergency situations.
$900,000 to the Bayview Water and Sewer District, Idaho, to undertake a project in support of Naval Station Everett – Acoustic Research Detachment, improving a concrete water supply tank to improve the reliability and quality of local drinking water and expand availability for local fire suppression.
$4,930,000 to the City of Leesville, Louisiana, to undertake a project to extend a runway at the Leesville Airport in support of the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Johnson, providing the airfield redundancy and additional capabilities for the execution of missions at the installation.
$5,793,200 to Plaquemines Parish Government, Louisiana, to undertake a project in support of Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, rehabilitating a flood control basin and related stormwater management infrastructure to control flooding and improve airfield operability during severe weather.
$13,725,400 to Plaquemines Parish Government, Louisiana, to undertake a project to construct a joint multi-use facility in support of Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, providing a multi-agency emergency command center, an emergency provisions assembly staging and issuance point, and an early childhood healing and resiliency area.
$1,093,251 to Harrison Charter Township, Michigan, to undertake a $1,366,576 project in support of Selfridge Air National Guard Base, upgrading wastewater systems to handle higher wastewater flow rates from the installation and ensuring the station remains operational during power outages.
$9,285,576 to the Town of New Boston, New Hampshire, to undertake a project to construct a new fire station in support of New Boston Space Force Station, providing a modern fire station for the Town of New Boston to support fire, emergency, and HAZMAT services at the installation.
$8,028,000 to the Western Reserve Port Authority, Ohio, to undertake a $8,920,000 project to support Youngstown Air Reserve Station, resurfacing taxiways used by the installation for its mission and enabling improved training exercises, safer deployments, and more rapid emergency response.
$643,300 to the City of San Antonio, Texas, to undertake a $919,000 project to support Texas Army National Guard Martindale Army Heliport, reconstructing access to a main gate for safe and efficient access to the installation.
$2,369,284 to the City of Norfolk, Virginia, to undertake a $3,723,160 project to construct stormwater management system improvements on a main access road to Naval Station Norfolk, reducing flood constraints to allow better military and civilian personnel access for the local mission.
$8,007,388 to the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia, to undertake a $11,439,126 project to support Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story to replace deteriorated infrastructure at Creeds Law Enforcement Training Facility, enabling a modern training environment for civilian and military police and Navy forces, enhancing operational readiness, training efficiency, and the ability to accommodate total force requirements.