EPA awards $3.2 million for water quality projects

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded more than $3.2 million to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to improve water quality in Delaware.

The funds provide additional capital to Delaware’s Water Pollution Control Revolving Loan Fund, which gives low interest loans for constructing wastewater treatment plants, non-point source control and water quality management projects.

“This funding supports vital projects for preserving and improving water quality in Delaware’s rivers, lakes and streams to protect drinking water, and natural habitat,” said Shawn M. Garvin, EPA administrator for the mid-Atlantic region. “We’re proud to help states and local communities in need of wastewater and pollution control improvements.”

In 2010, loans from the fund will assist in expanding wastewater treatment facilities servicing the Inland Bays and the Oak Orchards Sewer District and provide $1 million in funding for non-point source control projects.

Projects include: planning, designing and constructing new facilities, and improving existing treatment plants, sewers and collection lines; constructing erosion control measures; repairing and replacing septic systems and leaking underground storage tanks; and implementing best agricultural management practices.

The EPA grant was matched with $654,860 from the state. As recipients repay their loans, the funds are available for future projects in Delaware.

Gov. Jack Markell and Sens. Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman (both D-Del.) released the following statement in response to the EPA Water Quality Improvement Project funding:

“The benefits of this funding to Delaware are two-fold: water quality will improve and needed infrastructure projects will break ground. We are pleased to know that these loans will be put to good use: local contractors could start work as soon as a few months from now. Also, as our beach population grows, we need to make sure that we have the basic infrastructure in place to maintain sound water quality.”