Established under Title VI of the Federal Clean Water Act and Chapter 46-12.2 of the Rhode Island General Laws, is a subsidized loan program for local government units to finance wastewater infrastructure projects. The purpose of this program is to provide financial assistance to local governmental units for water pollution abatement projects in the form of loans with below market interest rates or interest rate subsidies which reduce the cost of financing these projects by at least 33%. In order for a project to be eligible for funding, the project must be on DEM's Project Priority List (PPL) and have a Certificate of Approval (CA) from DEM. The PPL is updated on an annual basis. Since the inception of the CWSRF, loans have been made to various municipalities and NBC.

Funding for the program is available from four sources: federal capitalization grants, state match monies, Agency revenue bonds, and revolved capital. The program works as follows:

Federal Capitalization Funds. Federal funds are made available under Title VI of the Federal Clean Water Act that established the loan program. A state match of 20% of the total grant award is required. The annual grant award to the State of Rhode Island is based on a specific percentage of the total made available by Congress for the program. It is not based on project needs in any given year. The Agency has two years to apply for a federal grant after the funds have been appropriated. The Funds can be drawn down over a ten-year period of time.

Recipients of loans must comply with all applicable state laws and regulations. Recipients of loans from the Water Pollution Control Revolving Loan Fund must also comply with all requirements of Title VI of the Federal Clean Water Act and regulations issued thereunder in addition to any other applicable federal laws and regulations.