Submitted by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Communities in Southwest Ohio are receiving approximately $2.4 million in low-interest rate and principal forgiveness funding from Ohio EPA to improve wastewater and drinking water infrastructure and make other water quality improvements. Funding infrastructure projects and improving water quality across the state continues to be a priority of Governor Mike DeWine’s administration. These loans (financed though the state’s revolving fund) were approved between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2022. The lower interest rates and principal forgiveness will save these communities more than $866,000.

“By investing in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, we are working toward a better quality of life for all Ohioans,” said Governor DeWine. “Water issues exist everywhere, and these infrastructure projects help ensure that these community-level, basic public services are safe and reliable for generations to come.”

Statewide, Ohio EPA awarded approximately $269.8 million in loans during the first quarter of 2022, including more than $6 million in principal forgiveness. Combined, Ohio communities will save approximately $43.8 million when compared to market-rate loans. The projects are improving Ohio’s surface water quality and the reliability and quality of Ohio drinking water systems. This funding includes assistance to local health districts to help low-income property owners repair or replace failing household sewage treatment systems.

Ohio EPA financed approximately $797 million for public works projects in 2021, saving communities more than $166 million in interest when compared to market-rate loans.

For the first quarter of 2022, the following Southwest Ohio projects are receiving funding:

— Greene County is receiving two loans totaling $1.05 million to rehabilitate and make improvements at drinking water wells #3 and #12.

— Covington is receiving $643,125 to make improvements to the wastewater treatment plant including installing a new headworks building, dried sludge processing facilities, and an administrative building. This project also will upgrade aerobic digestion tanks and ultraviolet disinfection.

— Hillsboro is receiving $160,842 to design a project that will increase approximately 4,300 feet of existing water main from 4- and 6-inches to 8-inch PVC pipe along North West Street. Many of the water mains are cast iron with lead joints and lead-jointed valves. There are 72 laterals suspected of being made of lead. The city plans to replace these lines and laterals.

— Wilmington is receiving $81,211 to replace both the private and public portions of lead service lines as part of the North Mulberry Street water main replacement project. The loan includes $80,928 in principal forgiveness, which is the portion of a loan that does not have to be repaid.

— New Richmond is receiving a $24,932 planning loan for a project to install new water meters, develop an asset management plan, and hydraulic modeling of the drinking water system.

— Butler County, Logan County Health District, and Hamilton County are each receiving $150,000 in principal forgiveness loans to repair or replace household sewage treatment systems. Principal forgiveness is the portion of a loan that does not have to be repaid

Created in 1989, the Water Pollution Control Loan Fund (WPCLF) helps communities improve their wastewater treatment systems. The Water Supply Revolving Loan Account (WSRLA), started in 1998, provides loans for improvements to community drinking water systems and nonprofit, noncommunity public water systems. Both programs offer below-market interest rate loans, which can save communities a substantial amount of money compared to a market-rate loan.

Ohio EPA’s state revolving fund (SRF) loans are provided to communities to build and upgrade wastewater and drinking water infrastructure, upgrade home sewage treatment systems, better manage stormwater, address combined sewer overflows, and implement other water quality-related projects. Financial assistance helps support planning, design, and construction activities, and enhances the technical, managerial, and financial capacity of these systems. WPCLF loans make restoration and protection possible for Ohio’s highest quality water bodies through the fund’s Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Program.

Ohio’s SRF loan programs are partially supported by annual federal capitalization grants and have grown substantially over time because of the revolving nature of the loan issuance and payments back into the fund. The SRF programs are managed by Ohio EPA’s Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance, with assistance from the Ohio Water Development Authority. Ohio EPA is responsible for program development and implementation, individual project coordination, environmental, and other technical reviews/approvals of projects seeking funds. The Ohio Water Development Authority provides financial management of the SRF funds.

More information about the SRF loan program is available at: epa.ohio.gov/divisions-and-offices/environmental-financial-assistance/financial-assistance/defa-financial-assistance.

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