The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has accelerated investment in the nation’s aging water infrastructure.
“EPA is delivering on President Trump’s promise to jump-start critical infrastructure projects that will not only enhance environmental protections but also grow the economy,” said Andrew Wheeler, EPA Acting Administrator. “Under President Trump, EPA has issued seven WIFIA loans to help finance over $4 billion in water infrastructure projects that will improve water quality and create up to 6,000 jobs. By clearly defining where federal jurisdiction begins and ends, our new proposed Waters of the U.S. definition will provide states and the private sector the regulatory certainty they need to develop and streamline projects that will modernize our nation’s aging infrastructure.”
According to an EPA release, they have moved President Donald J. Trump’s infrastructure agenda forward by working to get the financing, tools and resources EPA’s state, local, tribal and other partners need to modernize outdated water infrastructure while improving local water quality, creating jobs and better protecting public health.
One accomplishment of significance is the use of Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs), which play an integral role in EPA’s efforts to help communities replace or upgrade aging or inadequate drinking water and wastewater infrastructure through low-interest loans. According to the EPA, the SRFs committed $9.6 billion in drinking water and clean water infrastructure loans and refinancing and disbursed $8.8 billion for drinking water and clean water infrastructure.
In West Virginia, EPA’s water infrastructure funding is supporting small towns and rural communities in need of upgrades to their wastewater and drinking plants, such as the Town of Pennsboro in Ritchie County.
In the mid-Atlantic Region, EPA’s largest SRF project undertaken to date is a upgrade of the sludge handling facility for the City of Reading’s wastewater treatment plant in Reading, Pa. Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority financed this CWSRF project for $149 million at 1% interest for 20 years, which produced a calculated subsidy value of more than $21 million.
The EPA is also funding regional projects in Grand Forks, N.D., Yankton, S.D., Logan City, Utah, Durango, Colo., and many more.
The EPA Region 6 is also continuing to partner with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Together, they have ensured new large water-supply project would move forward.