Grant Information

The Tennessee Underground Damage Prevention Fund was created by the Tennessee General Assembly pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann.§ 65-31-117, funds of which may be distributed for two primary reasons:

Option A – Grants to assist small utilities with less than 5,000 customers with complying with mandatory notification center Tennessee 811, Inc.) required by Tennessee law;

Option B – Contract or Grant to provide public awareness, educational programs or materials related to Tennessee’s Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act and the promotion of safe excavation practices related to protecting underground utilities. Option B has no threshold restrictions for eligibility.  Option B grants are available to anyone with a goal to improve the safety of Tennessee’s communities by protecting underground facilities through public awareness, training and education, or incentive programs.

This is a reimbursement grant for new projects. Limited funds are available. This is a competitive grant process and applicants are not guaranteed to be awarded a grant.  There is a cap of $40,000.00 per grant proposal. The Board maintains the discretion to award less funding than requested or to exceed the initial cap.

The deadline for grant applications for Option A and Option B grants is March 15, 2024. Applicants should provide as much detail as possible in the application and submit a cost allocation plan/budget for the project. The Tennessee Underground Damage Enforcement Board is scheduled to consider and deliberate upon grant applications on April 09, 2024.

Grant Applications and attachments should be emailed to:  UUDEB.GrantProgram@tn.gov

A grant award by the Tennessee Underground Utility Enforcement Board is not final until the recipient has signed a grant  contract and the contract has been reviewed and approved by the Tennessee Central Procurement Office and the Tennessee Comptroller in a process expected to take a week.  A sample of a State of Tennessee grant contract is below. Boiler plate provisions in the sample provided are generally not negotiable and required for ultimate approval by reviewing state authorities.

Questions regarding this program may be sent to: brittany.j.shaw@tn.gov