News
EPA Awards $346.8 Million for Infrastructure to Protect Surface Waters and Drinking Water in the Pacific Southwest Region
Oct 26, 2020
SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is awarding $346.8 million in State Revolving Funds (SRFs) for the Pacific Southwest Region of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and the U.S. Pacific Island territories. SRF funding assists states, tribes and territories with infrastructure projects that help protect surface water and provide safe drinking water to communities across the United States.
“EPA is delivering on its commitment to modernize water infrastructure and improve public health and environmental protections in the Pacific Southwest,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator John Busterud. “EPA’s $346.8 million contribution to the State Revolving Funds in the region will enable more communities to make the investments needed to ensure safe drinking water and sanitation.”
The following funding amounts have been awarded in the Pacific Southwest:
•Arizona awarded $30.5 million
•California awarded $252.8 million
•Hawaii awarded $23.3 million
•Nevada awarded 20.5 million
•American Samoa awarded $12.6 million
•Guam awarded $10 million
•The Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) awarded $17.5 million
In 2020, EPA awarded $1.6 billion nationwide in new federal grant funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), including $155,631,000 to assist the Pacific Southwest Region. This funding is available for a wide range of water infrastructure projects, including modernizing aging wastewater infrastructure, implementing water reuse and recycling and addressing stormwater.
EPA also awarded $1.07 billion across the country in new federal grant funding for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), including $191,189,000 for the Pacific Southwest Region. This funding can be used for loans that help drinking water systems install treatment for contaminants, improve distribution systems by removing lead service lines and improve system resiliency to natural disasters such as floods.
Under the CWSRF and DWSRF programs, EPA provides funding to all 50 states and Puerto Rico to capitalize SRF loan programs. The states and Puerto Rico contribute an additional 20 percent to match the federal funding. U.S. territories receive funding as grants. Funding also includes one-time additional supplemental appropriations for wastewater treatment works and drinking water facilities impacted by previous years’ California wildfires and Super Typhoon Yutu in the CNMI.
The SRF programs function like infrastructure banks by providing low-interest loans to eligible recipients for drinking water and clean water infrastructure projects. As the loan principal and interest are repaid over time, it allows the state’s DWSRF and CWSRF to be recycled or “revolve.” As money is returned to the state’s revolving loan fund, the state makes new loans to other eligible recipients. These funds can also be combined with EPA’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans to create a powerful, innovative financing solution for major infrastructure projects.
For more information, visit https://www.epa.gov/dwsrf and https://www.epa.gov/cwsrf.
