News Releases from Region 01

EPA Awards More Than $23 Million to Maine to Support Local Clean Water Projects Across the State

(BOSTON) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that it has awarded the State of Maine a total of $23,531,000 in Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) grants to finance community-based water infrastructure projects, such as upgrades to municipal sewage plants and public drinking water systems.

"Communities across Maine will enjoy cleaner water and make important infrastructure upgrades thanks to this funding," said Alexandra Dunn, Regional Administrator of EPA's New England office. "These low-cost loans further EPA's commitment to ensuring American communities have access to clean water, safe drinking water and the infrastructure necessary to support local needs."

"The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) is an extremely important source of funding for Maine communities to upgrade critical wastewater infrastructure," said Paul Mercer, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. "Maine has approximately $1 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs to upgrade treatment facilities, pump stations and sewer lines. This CWSRF grant will support our ongoing work to protect and improve Maine's water quality."

"We are constantly working to ensure Mainers have access to clean, safe drinking water," said Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director, Dr. Bruce Bates. "Our state's Drinking Water Program provides funding to public water systems across the state aimed at improving the public water infrastructure. This funding from the EPA allows us to continue these important projects."

The total amount of funding came through separate grants to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in the amount of $12,424,000 for its Clean Water SRF program, and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for $11,107,000 for its Drinking Water SRF program. With the funds awarded to the state, both the DEP and DHHS will fund a series of long- and short-term community-based projects that address high priority water quality and health based concerns.

DEP and DHHS oversee the engineering and construction aspects of the Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF programs, respectively, as well as the individual projects funded by it, while the Maine Municipal Bond Bank is the financial manager of both funds.

Under the Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF programs, EPA provides grants to all 50 states plus Puerto Rico to capitalize state water loan programs. The states contribute an additional 20 percent to match the federal grants. The programs also provide direct grant funding for the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas. Since 1987, the SRFs have provided more than $160 billion in financial assistance to 38,000 water quality infrastructure projects and 14,000 drinking water projects.

Under the Drinking Water SRF, states provide various types of assistance, including financing to improving drinking water treatment, fixing leaky or old pipes, improving source of water supply, and replacing or constructing finished water storage tanks. Clean Water SRF programs provide loans to construct municipal wastewater facilities, control nonpoint sources of pollution, build decentralized wastewater treatment systems, create green infrastructure projects and protect estuaries.

For more information on the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund, visit https://www.epa.gov/cwsrf.

For more information on the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund, visit https://www.epa.gov/drinkingwatersrf.