NOTE: The EPA estimates that $271 billion is needed to address the nation’s aging and failing wastewater infrastructure, of which $26 billion is needed in California.
BEMA International
For
Immediate Release: January 18, 2017
U.S. EPA: Nahal
Mogharabi, 213-244-1815, Mogharabi.nahal@epa.gov
U.S. EPA Announces $95 Million for Wastewater
Projects in California
Agency highlights upgrade to
wastewater treatment plant in Holtville, protection of Salton Sea
HOLTVILLE–The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency announced $95 million in new funding to California for
improvements in local wastewater infrastructure. Today’s announcement was made
by the EPA Pacific Southwest’s Water Division Director, Tomás Torres, in the
City of Holtville where he joined Holtville Mayor Mike Goodsell and
representatives of the State Water Board. The state will use the funds through
its Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund to reduce water pollution.
The event in
Holtville highlighted upgrades to the city’s wastewater treatment plant to
comply with water quality standards and protect the Salton Sea into which it
discharges. The city is paying for the $14.4 million project with approximately
$7.5 million from the State Revolving Loan program plus $6.9 million from the
EPA’s Border Environment Infrastructure Fund.
“EPA is
committed to helping communities across Imperial Valley protect the state’s
vital water resources” said Mr. Torres. “Our investments renew aging
infrastructure, which can be costly for smaller communities like Holtville.”
Holtville’s
850,000 gallon per day wastewater treatment plant serves 6,594 residents, but
does not comply with discharge standards for ammonia, bacteria such as E. coli
and other pollutants. In addition to the current project, EPA and U.S.
Department of Agriculture recently provided $6 million to the city for a 3-mile
sewage pipeline replacement and connections to 20 homes on failing septic
systems.
California may
allocate some of this year’s loan funds for the water recycling facility at the
Padre Dam Municipal Water District in Santee. The district is on track to
receive a $101.2 million loan to expand their water recycling facility from two
to six million gallons a day, decreasing the demand on potable water supplies.
An example of
a recently-funded project is the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation
District’s $565 million Tertiary Treatment Facility Project. This is part of
the massive EchoWater project which will enable Sacramento’s regional
wastewater treatment plant to meet new water quality requirements by removing
more ammonia and nitrates through filtration and enhanced disinfection. The
project will serve over 1.4 million residents and help protect the sensitive
Delta ecosystem.
Since its
inception in 1988, the state’s Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund has been
awarded more than $3 billion in federal funding. As loans are repaid and new
state and federal dollars are added, the fund grows and continues to provide
low interest loans and subsidies for projects. Without the loan program, many
communities would incur greater debt or delay needed water quality projects.
The EPA estimates that $271 billion is needed to address the nation’s aging and
failing wastewater infrastructure, of which $26 billion is needed in
California.
The EPA’s
Pacific Southwest Region administers and enforces federal environmental laws in
Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, the Pacific Islands and 148 tribal nations
-- home to more than 48 million people.
For more information on EPA Region 9’s State
Revolving Fund program, visit: https://www.epa.gov/cwsrf