FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Robbie Wilbur 601/961-5277
September 10, 2009 MDEQ ANNOUNCES $381,900 IN FUNDING FOR RAYMOND
(Jackson, Miss.) – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) announced today that the City of Raymond has been approved for a subsidized low-interest loan of $381,900 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 Raymond. Mayor Tullos 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 Raymond” said Trudy Fisher, MDEQ Executive Director.
“We are very pleased to be selected for this first round of ARRA funding. The funding, along with present day technology, will allow the City of Raymond an opportunity to video and re-line very old clay tile or concrete sewer pipe and manholes. The Department of Environmental Quality does an outstanding job of handling its responsibilities as stewards of our environment. It is vital that we continue to work together for the protection of our land and streams and the health of the public,” said Raymond Mayor Isla Tullos.
The City of Raymond will receive $381,900 for the rehabilitation of 5,200 linear feet of sewer collection lines, cleaning and televising 2,200 linear feet of sewer collection lines, 200 vertical feet of manhole rehabilitation, and other miscellaneous work. The WPCRLF amount is $190,950 and the ARRA amount totals $190,950.
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.
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