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DUNNELLON – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
recently awarded $2.8 million to the City of Dunnellon for wastewater management. The
funds, part of DEP’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Program, will be used for
upgrading and expanding Dunnellon’s existing wastewater treatment facilities with an
improved technology to better remove nutrients. The project will result in cleaner water
being utilized at the city’s sprayfield and improve the water quality of the surrounding
area. In particular, this project will reduce the amount of nutrients and pathogens that
are introduced into the groundwater by removing septic tanks near the Rainbow River.
The funds awarded to Dunnellon are a part of the approximately $212 million awarded to
Florida from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to help
local governments finance improvements to wastewater, stormwater and drinking water
facilities essential to protecting public health and the environment across the state.
Florida is one of the first states to have met all the requirements necessary to receive
the full amount of ARRA funds to support both the CWSRF as well as the Drinking Water
State Revolving Fund (DWSRF).
“In order to protect water quality and public health for our citizens, it is essential
that we invest in our wastewater, stormwater and drinking water infrastructure. The
stimulus funds advance our ongoing efforts to provide needed funding for infrastructure
to local communities,” said DEP Secretary Michael W. Sole. “We have had a tremendous
demand for this ARRA funding, which will help build valuable public projects.”
Dunnellon was one of the communities recently approved to receive these funds under
DEP’s CWSRF and DWSRF loan programs. There are now 48 projects in 43 Florida communities
scheduled to receive ARRA money to help build critical drinking water, wastewater and
stormwater infrastructure.
DEP has now committed $197 million of the $212 million in available CWSRF and DWSRF
ARRA funding. There is $15 million in drinking water funds remaining for applicants as
they complete the planning, design and permitting necessary to begin construction.
Qualifying drinking water projects will be selected for the remaining ARRA funds, based
on their readiness and priority, at a future public hearing. DEP will also continue to
work with all applicants to help them apply for other funding as it becomes available.
DEP received more than $800 million in requests for the $80 million of ARRA drinking
water project funds and more than $1.5 billion in requests competing for $132.3 million
in ARRA wastewater and stormwater funding.
DEP established its SRF programs, under agreements with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, to provide low-interest financing to plan, design and build
wastewater, stormwater and drinking water systems. Funded by federal capitalization
grants, state matching funds, loan repayments, interest earnings, and periodic bond
issues, SRF loans are offered at interest rates substantially below current market rates
and help make loans affordable. Repayments from earlier loans are used to make new loans,
allowing the program to operate in perpetuity.
Since 1999, DEP has invested more than $3.5 billion to upgrade and improve drinking
water and wastewater facilities and clean up stormwater pollution, funding close to
2,100 projects statewide. More than $2.6 billion of this amount has come from the SRF
programs.
For more information on the State Revolving Funds, visit:
www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wff.
For a complete list of communities scheduled to receive ARRA funding, visit:
www.dep.state.fl.us/secretary/news/2009/05/0522_02.htm.
For more information about Florida’s use of the federal recovery dollars made
available through ARRA, please visit
www.FlaRecovery.com.
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2010 State of Florida