EPA awards NMI $7.2M for Infrastructure to protect CNMI waters

HONOLULU—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday the availability of $2.7 billion for State Revolving Funds, including $7.2 million for the Northern Mariana Islands. This funding assists states, tribes, and territories with infrastructure projects that help protect surface water and provide safe drinking water to communities across the United States. 

“EPA’s decades-long commitment to water infrastructure has helped provide $180 billion in project financing to over 41,000 water quality infrastructure projects and 15,000 drinking water projects across the country,” said EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler. “In the past three years, the Trump administration has accelerated EPA’s investment in infrastructure projects that modernize our nation’s water infrastructure and improve public health and the environment.”

“These funds will improve access to clean drinking water and provide necessary wastewater upgrades in our local communities,” said EPA Pacific Southwest acting regional administrator Deborah Jordan. “EPA is fully invested in supporting local water resources in the Northern Mariana Islands.”

In 2020, EPA is providing approximately $1.6 billion in new federal grant funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, including $3,944,000 to assist the Northern Mariana Islands. This funding is available for a wide range of water infrastructure projects, including modernizing aging wastewater infrastructure, implementing water reuse and recycling and addressing stormwater. More than $64 million in CWSRF grant funding is available to tribes, certain U.S. territories and the District of Columbia for infrastructure projects.

EPA is also making available more than $1.07 billion in new federal grant funding for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, including $3,247,000 to assist the Northern Mariana Islands. This funding can be used for loans that help drinking water systems install treatment for contaminants, improve distribution systems by removing lead service lines and improve system resiliency to natural disasters such as floods. In addition, more than $50 million in DWSRF grant funding is available to tribes, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia to use for drinking water system upgrades.

Under the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs, EPA provides funding to all 50 states and Puerto Rico to capitalize SRF loan programs. The states and Puerto Rico contribute an additional 20 percent to match the federal grants. The 51 SRF programs function like infrastructure banks by providing low-interest loans to eligible recipients for drinking water and clean water infrastructure projects. As the loan principal and interest are repaid over time, it allows the state’s DWSRF and CWSRF to be recycled or “revolve.” As money is returned to the state’s revolving loan fund, the state makes new loans to other eligible recipients.. (PR)