FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2009
Contact: Robbie Wilbur 601/961-5277MDEQ ANNOUNCES $4.5 MILLION IN WASTEWATER FUNDING FOR MOSS POINT
(Jackson, Miss.) – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) announced today that the City of Moss Point has been approved for a subsidized low-interest loan of $4.5 million for wastewater infrastructure improvements. The funding is being made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and the Water Pollution Control Revolving Loan Fund Program (WPCRLF) administered by MDEQ. The ARRA portion of the funding is a loan subsidy which will not have to be repaid. The WPCRLF portion will be repaid at a 1.75 percent interest rate over 20 years.
“We are pleased to award these funds to Moss Point. Mayor Liddell and other local leaders worked diligently to produce an outstanding application. Properly constructed and maintained wastewater facilities are integral to protecting our environment and the public’s health, and we know this infrastructure will be of great benefit to the citizens of Moss Point,” said Trudy Fisher, MDEQ Executive Director.
“We are grateful to receive this funding. It will be of great assistance in resolving some of our infrastructure problems,” said Moss Point Mayor Aneice Liddell.
The City of Moss Point will receive $4.5 million for the Cleaning and CCTV inspection of sewer lines, for more than 11 miles of sewer line replacement and cast-in-place pipe, and for replacement and rehabilitation of manholes. The WPCRLF amount is $2.25 million and the ARRA amount totals $2.25 million.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) appropriated $4.0 billion for Title VI EPA Capitalization Grants to the states’ Clean Water State Revolving Funds. Mississippi’s Water Pollution Control Revolving Loan Fund (WPCRLF), administered by MDEQ, received $35,308,350. ARRA funds will be used, along with base WPCRLF Program loan funds, to jointly fund projects with the ARRA portion of each award in the form of a loan subsidy
Prior to final passage and enactment of ARRA, MDEQ conducted a comprehensive outreach campaign to alert potential borrowers of the possible availability of federal economic recovery stimulus funding. MDEQ then amended the FY-2009 WPCRLF Intended Use Plan to implement the funding in the most efficient manner, while providing the most benefit to the state. Details on the application and award process are in the amended Intended Use Plan which is available at:
http://www.deq.state.ms.us/MDEQ.nsf/pdf/SRF_FY-09IUPAmendment1/$File/IUPFY-09AmendmentNo1FINAL.pdf?OpenElement. |