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PALM BAY – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
recently awarded $5 million to the city of Palm Bay for drinking water
management. The funds, part of DEP’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF)
Program, will extend the water distribution area for Palm Bay and correct a
public health risk. The project will allow citizens presently being served by
private wells, some of which have tested positive for bacteria, to be connected
to the city’s water supply.
Sixty percent of the funds awarded to the city of Palm Bay are a part of the
approximately $217 million awarded to Florida from the federal American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to help local governments finance
improvements to wastewater, stormwater and drinking water facilities essential
to protecting public health and the environment across the state. Florida was
one of the first states to have met all the requirements necessary to receive
the full amount of ARRA funds to support both the DWSRF as well as the Clean
Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF).
“In order to protect water quality and public health for our citizens, it is
essential that we invest in our wastewater, stormwater and drinking water
infrastructure. The stimulus funds advance our ongoing efforts to provide needed
funding for infrastructure to local communities,” said DEP Secretary Michael W.
Sole. “We have had a tremendous demand for this ARRA funding, which will help
build valuable public projects.”
Palm Bay is one of 58 projects in 52 Florida communities scheduled to receive
ARRA money to help build critical drinking water, wastewater and stormwater
infrastructure.
DEP has committed all $217 million in available CWSRF and DWSRF ARRA funding.
Qualifying projects were selected for ARRA funding, based on their readiness and
priority, at public hearings held on February 25, May 13 and August 12. DEP will
also continue to work with all applicants to help them apply for other funding
as it becomes available.
DEP received more than $850 million in requests for the $85 million of ARRA
drinking water project funds and more than $1.5 billion in requests competing
for $132.3 million in ARRA wastewater and stormwater funding.
DEP established its SRF programs, under agreements with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, to provide low-interest financing to plan,
design and build wastewater, stormwater and drinking water systems. Funded by
federal capitalization grants, state matching funds, loan repayments, interest
earnings, and periodic bond issues, SRF loans are offered at interest rates
substantially below current market rates and help make loans affordable.
Repayments from earlier loans are used to make new loans, allowing the program
to operate in perpetuity.
Since 1999, Florida has invested more than $3.7 billion to upgrade and
improve water and wastewater facilities and clean up stormwater pollution,
funding about 2,400 projects statewide. Since its inception, the Drinking Water
SRF program has committed more than $430 million to plan, design and build
drinking water facilities across the state, including more than $49 million last
year.
For more information on the State Revolving Funds, visit:
www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wff.
For complete list of communities scheduled to receive ARRA funding, visit:
www.dep.state.fl.us/secretary/news/2009/05/0522_02.htm.
For more information about Florida’s use of the federal recovery
dollars made available through ARRA, please visit
www.FlaRecovery.com.
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