Water and Wastewater Construction Loans Awarded
Thursday, May 13, 2010 | 10:39am
Low-Interest Loans Help Fund Infrastructure Improvements
NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen and Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Jim Fyke announced today that two communities have been approved to receive low-interest loans for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements. The Department of Environment and Conservation administers the SRF Loan Program for the state of Tennessee.
The SRF Loan Program provides low-interest loans that help communities, utility districts, and water and wastewater authorities finance projects that protect Tennessee’s ground and surface waters and public health. Loans are used to finance the planning, design, and construction of water and wastewater facilities.
Through the SRF Program, communities, utility districts and water and wastewater authorities can obtain loans with lower interest rates than most can obtain through private financing. Interest rates for the loans can vary from zero percent to market rate based on each community’s economic index.
The funding order of projects is determined by the SRF Loan Program’s Priority Ranking Lists that rank potential projects according to the severity of their pollution and/or compliance problems or for the protection of public health.
SRF Wastewater Loan was announced today for the following recipient:
Nashville (Davidson County) – An $18 million, 20-year loan with an interest rate of 1.74 percent for construction of a new combined sewer overflows regulator structure on the east bank of the Cumberland River in order to decrease the frequency, volume, and duration of permitted wet weather combined sewer overflow events.
SRF Drinking Water Loan was announced today for the following recipient:
Crossville (Cumberland County) – A $1 million, 20-year loan with an interest rate of 2.69 percent for harvesting water from Lake Tansi and constructing a water line to transfer the water into Meadow Park Lake and to the Meadow Park Water Treatment Plant. This funding will supplement an ongoing $5 million dollar project with a 20-year loan approved on November 11, 2009, which utilized both Recovery Act and State Revolving Fund monies and included $2 million in principal forgiveness.
All of the loans announced today are traditional SRF loans, which do not include Recovery Act funding or the principal forgiveness provision. The Department of Environment and Conservation administers the SRF Loan Program in Tennessee in conjunction with the Tennessee Local Development Authority. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides grants to fund the program, and the state provides a 20 percent match. Loan repayments are returned to the program and are used to fund future SRF loans.
Since its inception in 1987, Tennessee’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program has awarded almost $1.1 billion in low-interest loans. Since its inception in 1996, Tennessee’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program has awarded more than $157 million in low-interest loans. Both programs combined award approximately $75 million annually to Tennessee’s local governments for water and wastewater infrastructure projects.
Any local government interested in the SRF Loan Program should contact the State Revolving Fund Loan Program, L&C Tower, 8th Floor, 401 Church Street, Nashville, TN 37243, or call (615) 532-0445. Additional information about the SRF Loan Program may be found online at www.tn.gov/environment/srf.
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