Drinking Water Construction Loan Awarded to Crossville
Wednesday, April 04, 2012 | 09:30am
Low-Interest Loan to Help Fund Infrastructure Improvements
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Bob Martineau today announced the city of Crossville will receive a $1.89 million loan to replace drinking water lines and make other infrastructure improvements.
“The State Revolving Fund Loan Program aids communities in addressing their current infrastructure needs and helps to prepare for future needs,” Haslam said. “This water project in Crossville will help foster a healthier community as it continues to grow.”
The project will be funded with a 20-year, $1.32 million loan with an interest rate of 1.87 percent and $567,000 in principal forgiveness (30 percent) that will not have to be repaid.
The State Revolving Fund (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.
The Department of Environment and Conservation administers the SRF Loan Program for the state of 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.
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 loans can vary from zero percent to market rate based on each community’s economic index. This award utilizes 2011 EPA grant funds, which include 30 percent principal forgiveness for drinking water projects.
“Community investments in our drinking water and wastewater systems are vital to maintaining environmental and public health,” Martineau said. “This loan will help the city of Crossville move forward, and the principal forgiveness provision helps accomplish this work in difficult economic times.”
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.
Since its inception in 1987, Tennessee’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program has awarded almost $1.2 billion in low-interest loans. Since its inception in 1996, Tennessee’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program has awarded more than $193 million in low-interest loans. Both programs combined award more than $80 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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