$252 Million for Water Quality Improvements in Virginia

[Guest David Sternberg]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it is providing $13.9 million to the Commonwealth of Virginia to improve water quality.

 

This grant, along with $2.8 million in state match, is awarded to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to further capitalize its revolving loan fund which provides low interest loans for the construction of wastewater treatment facilities, nonpoint source and estuary projects, and other water quality management work.

 

“EPA is committed to helping communities get safe, clean water. These grants are important to maintaining public health, protecting and restoring healthy water quality, and combating pollution,” said Donald S. Welsh, regional administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region.

 

DEQ will leverage the funds to issue bonds, which combined with these grants will make $252 million available for water quality project loans. The funding includes the EPA grant, state match, state bonds, repayments from prior loans, interest earnings, and funds that have become available from prior years.

 

Projects supported by the Clean Water State Revolving Fund are vital to protect and improve water quality in our nation’s rivers, lakes, and streams, for drinking, recreation, and natural habitat.

 

In Virginia, more than $230 million will go to projects for enhanced treatment of wastewater to remove nutrients, ultimately benefitting the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Other projects to be funded will address sewer problems in local areas and a brownfield site in Alexandria.

 

Enhanced Nutrient Removal projects include:

 

$50,000,000 Arlington County

41,000,000 Prince William County

 

30,000,000 Hampton Roads Sanitation District

22,000,000 City of Richmond

34,000,000 Harrisonburg-Rockingham Regional Sewer Authority

15,000,000 Alexandria Sanitation Authority

8,000,000 Tazewell County

7,608,595 Alleghany County

6,075,000 Maury Service Authority

5,315,755 Stafford County

3,433,536 Town of Broadway

2,970,000 Town of Colonial Beach

2,870,165 Fauquier County (projects at 2 waste water treatment plants)

2,200,000 Town of Luray

$230,473,051 Subtotal for projects involving enhanced nutrient removal for Chesapeake Bay Restoration.

 

Other projects:

 

12,350,000 Continued funding for the City of Lynchburg to address combined sewer overflows.

3,200,000 Remediation of inflow and infiltration problems in Newport News

3,051,000 Expansion to address sanitary overflows at Town of Big Stone Gap

1,969,000 Remediation of inflow and infiltration problems in Western VA Water Authority

1,000,000 Brownfield project at ARC property in City of Alexandria

557,000 CWSRF program administration (within 4% cumulative allowance).

$252,600,051 Total

 

 

For more information on these clean water programs, visit: http://www.epa.gov/owm/cwfinance/cwsrf/index.htm