EPA Awards Recovery Funds to 7 More States
In the first two weeks of June, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for seven states.
The recipients and their awards include:
- Missouri Department of Natural Resources, $1,097,400 for Water Quality Management Planning (WQMP) grants;
- Iowa Department of Natural Resources, $535,800 for WQMP;
- Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority, more than $25 million for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program;
- Oklahoma Office of the Secretary of the Environment, a partial award of $191,880 for WQMP. (Oklahoma has also been approved for an additional $127,920 in WQMP funding, which will be awarded soon. These funds were approved after the state met further grant requirements.)
- Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, $435,200 for WQMP.
- Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, $66,261,000 for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program, and $54,775,000 for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program.
- Maryland Department of the Environment, over $121.6 million for the state revolving fund programs. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund program will receive $94.78 million, and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program will receive $26.83 million.
Planning is an important step in EPA’s goal to improve water quality in America’s lakes, rivers and streams. WQMP grants support a broad range of activities, such as setting standards, monitoring the quality of the water, developing plans to restore polluted waters, and identifying ways to protect healthy waters from becoming polluted. States are also encouraged to use these funds for more innovative planning activities like developing plans to adapt to climate change, analyzing trends in water availability and use, and creating low-impact development programs. Grants are awarded to state agencies and some of the funds can be awarded to regional and interstate planning organizations.
The Clean Water State Revolving Fund program provides low-interest loans for water quality protection projects for wastewater treatment, non-point source pollution control, and watershed and estuary management. At least 20 percent of the funds provided under the Recovery Act are to be used for green infrastructure, water and energy efficiency improvements and other environmentally innovative projects.
The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program provides low-interest loans for drinking water systems to finance infrastructure improvements. The program also emphasizes providing funds to small and disadvantaged communities and to programs that encourage pollution prevention as a tool for ensuring safe drinking water. An unprecedented $2 billion dollars will be awarded to fund drinking water infrastructure projects across the country under the Recovery Act in the form of low-interest loans, principal forgiveness and grants. At least 20 percent of the funds provided under the Recovery Act are to be used for green infrastructure, water and energy efficiency improvements and other environmentally innovative projects.
President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on February 17 and has directed that the Recovery Act be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability. To that end, the American people can see how every dollar is being invested at www.recovery.gov.