Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot Program | OLDCC 22 F 0002

Opportunity Information: Apply for OLDCC 22 F 0002

The Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot Program (DCIPP) is a competitive grant program run by the Department of Defense through the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC). Its purpose is to help state and local governments fix off-base infrastructure problems that directly affect the readiness, resilience, and day-to-day operations of nearby military installations. The legal authority comes from 10 U.S.C. 2391(d), which allows DoD to award grants, enter cooperative agreements, and even supplement other federal infrastructure programs when doing so helps communities address infrastructure deficiencies that support a military base.

Projects must be located outside the boundaries of a military installation, but they have to clearly support that installation. The program is aimed at practical, community-owned infrastructure that military families, civilian employees, mission partners, and installation operations rely on. Eligible project types include transportation infrastructure (for example, roads, bridges, access routes, traffic improvements, transit connections, or other mobility upgrades tied to base commuting and access), community support facilities (such as hospitals, emergency response capabilities, police and fire facilities, and in some cases schools), and utility infrastructure (including water and wastewater systems, telecommunications, electric power, natural gas, and similar services). A key rule is that the project must be owned by a state or local government, or by a not-for-profit, member-owned utility service. The program is structured to strengthen the community systems that the installation depends on, rather than funding projects that are purely internal to the base.

Applications are competitively scored using selection criteria laid out in the official notice (referenced as Section E, paragraph 1). While the notice excerpt does not list every criterion verbatim, the important point is that proposals are evaluated against standardized factors and ranked, rather than funded on a first-come basis. A major required element of any proposal is an endorsement letter from the local installation commander for the benefiting installation. That endorsement is not a formality: it is expected to explain why the installation needs the project and to show that the installation is willing to support the community in executing it. The commander letter should also indicate a willingness to assist OLDCC with technical review related to any National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental planning documents that may be required for the project.

Funding for the FY 2022 cycle came from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (Public Law 117-103), which provided a total program allocation of $90 million. Individual awards could be as large as $20,000,000 (the listed award ceiling). A notable timing constraint applied to FY 2022 funds: they would expire if not obligated by September 30, 2022, meaning projects had to be ready to move through award and obligation quickly. The opportunity was posted May 9, 2022, with an application closing date of July 18, 2022, under funding opportunity number OLDCC 22 F 0002 (CFDA/Assistance Listing 12.600).

The program is designed to work alongside other federal funding streams, not just independently. OLDCC may supplement funds available under non-DoD federal programs, and (when allowed by statute) it may transfer funds to another federal agency so that agency can make the award to state or local governments. This flexibility is meant to reduce gaps where an installation-supporting project might be eligible under multiple programs but still face a shortfall or a coordination challenge.

Eligibility and pass-through rules are grounded in the Uniform Guidance at 2 C.F.R. Part 200. States and local governments (as defined in 2 C.F.R. 200.1) are the primary eligible applicants, and they can function as pass-through entities under 2 C.F.R. 200.331 through 200.333. This matters because certain infrastructure owners, especially not-for-profit, member-owned utilities, may receive funding as subrecipients through a state or local government rather than applying directly in all cases. When utility-owned projects are funded this way, they must comply with federal interest requirements spelled out in OLDCC grant terms and conditions, which generally govern issues like long-term public purpose, property or asset controls, and other protections tied to federal investment.

There is also an important limitation related to school construction. Even if a school project would otherwise qualify as community support infrastructure, it cannot be for public schools that appear on the Secretary of Defense 2018 Public Schools on Military Installations Prioritized List (approved in April 2019). In other words, the program draws a boundary around certain school construction needs that are handled through a different DoD prioritization pathway, and applicants must ensure any school-related proposal does not fall into that excluded category.

In practical terms, DCIPP is best understood as a tool for communities that host military installations and need to fix off-base infrastructure constraints that threaten mission assurance, access, public safety, housing and quality-of-life stability, or utility reliability. Strong applications are typically those that make a clear, evidence-based case that the infrastructure deficiency has a direct connection to installation performance and that the applicant is ready to execute, including environmental planning readiness, project ownership clarity, and documented installation support.

• The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.600.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-05-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-07-18. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $20,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for OLDCC 22 F 0002

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