Archive: April 2, 2022

EPA Grant of Over $475,000 Will Help Prevent Leaks from Underground Storage Tanks in Louisiana

Media contacts: Jennah Durant or Joe Hubbard, [email protected] or 214 665-2200

DALLAS – (Oct. 23, 2019) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) a grant of $476,539 to support underground storage tank programs. The funds will help detect and prevent leaks from these tanks, which typically hold petroleum or hazardous substances.

“Detecting and preventing leaks from underground storage tanks is hard work, but it pays off because it protects our aquifers and drinking water sources,” said Regional Administrator Ken McQueen. “LDEQ remains a strong partner in keeping Louisiana’s water resources safe from storage tank pollution.”

The grant supports LDEQ’s underground storage tank program in detecting and preventing leaks and carrying out related enforcement activities. The program encourages proper tank operation and maintenance and ensures owners and operators monitor their underground storage tanks and comply with regulations. The grant also helps LDEQ develop its underground storage tank program to operate in lieu of the federal program.

Background

An underground storage tank system (UST) is a tank and any underground piping connected to the tank that has at least 10 percent of its combined volume underground. Until the mid-1980s, most USTs were made of bare steel, which is likely to corrode over time and allow UST contents to leak. The greatest potential hazard from a leaking UST is that the petroleum or other hazardous substance can seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater, the source of drinking water for nearly half of all Americans. A leaking UST can present other health and environmental risks, including the potential for fire and explosion.

For more about underground storage tanks: https://www.epa.gov/ust

For more about EPA’s work in Louisiana: https://www.epa.gov/la

Connect with EPA Region 6:

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eparegion6 

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/EPAregion6

About EPA Region 6: https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-6-south-central  

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EPA Finalizes Cleanup Plan for Cayuga County Groundwater Contamination Superfund Site in Cayuga County, New York

C Contact: Michael Basile, (716) 551-4410, (646) 369-0055, [email protected]

CAYUGA, N.Y. (October 23, 2019) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a cleanup plan for a discrete area of the Cayuga County Groundwater Contamination Site in Cayuga County, New York, which includes the Union Springs area. The Record of Decision calls for continued monitoring of groundwater wells to ensure the effectiveness and expected natural decrease of groundwater contaminants in this discrete area.

“EPA’s decision complements important progress in our long-term efforts to clean up this site in the Union Springs community,” said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez. “EPA’s collaboration with Cayuga will move forward as the agency continues to monitor the groundwater to ensure that the selected remedy is successful.”

EPA’s Record of Decision for this discrete area of the site calls for a process of monitored natural attenuation, or a naturally occurring reduction of levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found at the site. The decision was reached based on data and trends collected since the initiation of EPA sampling in 2002. The referenced area in the Record of Decision, otherwise known as Area 3, is one of three designated by EPA at the site.

For cleanup planning purposes, Area 1 consists of the impacted area immediately south of the facility and extends approximately 700 to 900 feet south of West Genesee Street. Area 2 consists of the impacted area immediately south-southwest of Area 1 and extends southwest to the Town of Aurelius. Area 3 consists of the impacted area immediately southwest of Area 2. In March 2013, EPA finalized the cleanup plan for groundwater in Area 1 and Area 2 of the site. The selected remedy for these two areas includes bioremediation for Area 1 and monitored natural attenuation for Area 2 to promote breakdown of VOCs. At that time, EPA decided to defer selection of a groundwater remedy for Area 3 because of concerns raised during the 2012 public comment period on EPA’s cleanup proposal for Area 3. EPA subsequently conducted a supplemental investigation in Area 3, which further supported EPA’s initial recommended action of monitored natural attenuation for this area.

EPA held a public meeting in August 2019 to explain its cleanup proposal, discuss the other cleanup options that were considered, and to solicit public comments. To read the EPA’s selected cleanup plan, outlined in a Record of Decision, and to view EPA’s responses to public comments in the Responsiveness Summary, please visit: www.epa.gov/superfund/cayuga-county-groundwater

For information about Superfund and the NPL: https://www.epa.gov/superfund

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://facebook.com/eparegion2.

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Contact: [email protected]

EPA Invites 38 Projects to Apply for Water Infrastructure Loans to Improve Water Quality for 24 Million Americans and Create Almost 200,000 Jobs

Including three projects for Virginia

PHILADELPHA (October 23, 2019) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is inviting a total of 38 projects in 18 states to apply for Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans. Together, the selected borrowers will apply for WIFIA loans totaling approximately $6 billion to help finance over $12 billion in water infrastructure investments and create almost 200,000 jobs.

“Through WIFIA, EPA is playing an integral role in President Trump’s efforts to improve and upgrade our nation’s water infrastructure and ensure all Americans have access to clean and safe water,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “This announcement highlights billions of dollars in needed water infrastructure investments to upgrade aging infrastructure, reduce exposure to lead and emerging contaminants and improve the lives of millions of Americans across the country – all while creating almost 200,000 jobs.”

EPA’s WIFIA loans will allow communities across the country to implement projects to address national water priorities – including providing for clean and safe drinking water by reducing exposure to lead and emerging contaminants, addressing aging water infrastructure and developing water recycling and reuse projects. EPA received 51 letters of interest from both public and private entities in response to the 2019 WIFIA Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). After a robust, statutorily required review process, the WIFIA Selection Committee chose to include three projects in Virginia:

• Hampton Roads Sanitation District – $930 million available for the Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) to implement more than 40 projects to improve the quality of the Chesapeake Bay by reducing surface water discharge of treated effluent by approximately 100 million gallons per day. The project will provide a sustainable source of groundwater to the Potomac aquifer, prevent saltwater contamination in the Potomac aquifer, and slow, stop or reverse land subsidence related to aquifer withdrawals in coastal Virginia.
• City of Alexandria – $189 million for the RiverRenew project to remediate four combined sewer overflow outfalls in order to prevent millions of gallons of sewage mixed with rainwater from contaminating Hooffs Run, Hunting Creek, and the Potomac River.
• City of Newport News, Waterworks Department – $24 million for the Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project to replace about 130,000 outdated meters to improve efficiency.

“Improving water infrastructure in eastern Virginia communities is important to protecting our valuable water sources and ensuring clean and safe drinking water,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio. “Additionally, infrastructure improvements in this mid-Atlantic region is critical to improving and protecting water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, a true national treasure.”

Other projects selected nationwide include:

• City of Phoenix (Arizona): Zone 3D and 4A Improvements Program; $172 million
• City of San Mateo (California): Basins 2 and 3 Collection System Improvements Project; $85 million
• Soquel Creek Water District (California): Pure Water Soquel; $49 million
• City of Oceanside (California): Buccaneer Sewer Lift Station and Force Main Project; $47 million
• City of Oceanside (California): Pure Water Oceanside and Lower Recycled Water Distribution System Expansion Project; $57 million
• South Coast Water District (California): Doheny Ocean Desalination Project; $60 million
• Monterey One Water (California): Pure Water Monterey Groundwater Replenishment Project; $44 million
• Poseidon Resources LP (Channelside, California): Huntington Beach Desalination Plant; $585 million
• City of Daly City (California): Vista Grande Drainage Basin Improvement Project; $61 million
• City of Roseville (California): Roseville’s Water Future Initiative; $37 million
• San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (California): Southeast Plant New Headworks Facility Project; $236 million
• San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority (California): Jones Pumping Plant Unit Motor Rehabilitation Project; $19 million
• Vallejo Flood & Wastewater District (California): Secondary Effluent Project; $12 million
• East County Advanced Water Purification Joint Powers Authority (California): Water Purification Project; $342 million
• Polk Regional Water Cooperative (Florida); Alterative Water Supplies Program: $235 million
• Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (Florida): South District Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion; $223 million
• City of Atlanta (Georgia); Water Distribution System Resiliency Program; $35 million
• City of Joliet (Illinois): Joliet Alternative Water Source Program; loan amount TBD
• Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (Louisiana): Sewer System Evaluation & Rehabilitation Program; $111 million
• Baltimore City Department of Public Works (Maryland): Water Infrastructure Rehabilitation; $209 million
• Baltimore City Department of Public Works (Maryland): Wastewater Infrastructure Rehabilitation; $129 million
• Baltimore City Department of Public Works (Maryland): Stormwater Management Project; $54 million
• Downriver Utility Wastewater Authority (Michigan): Biosolids Dryer Facility & Other Critical Projects; $13 million
• New Jersey Infrastructure Bank (New Jersey): Infrastructure Bank Pool; $149 million
• Greenville Utilities Commission (North Carolina): GUC Water Treatment Plant Phase 1 Upgrades; $29 million
• Metro Flood Diversion Authority (North Dakota): Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management Project; $561 million
• City of Beaverton (Oregon): Water Supply Improvement Program; $58 million
• City of Portland (Oregon): Bull Run Treatment Program; $554 million
• Narragansett Bay Commission (Rhode Island); Bucklin Point Resiliency Improvements; $17 million
• Bristol County Water Authority (Rhode Island): Pawtucket Pipeline; $26 million
• Columbia Power & Water Systems (Tennessee): Long Term Water Supply Program; $106 million
• Salt Lake City (Utah): Department of Public Utilities; Water Reclamation Facility Nutrient Project; $355 million
• City of Tacoma Sewer Utility (Washington): Central Wastewater Treatment Plant Electrical Distribution System Replacement Project; $17 million
• King County (Washington): Ship Canal Water Quality Project; $98 million
• City of Wausau (Wisconsin): Drinking Water System Treatment Facility Project; $22 million

To learn more about the 38 projects that are invited to apply, visit https://www.epa.gov/wifia/wifia-selected-projects.  

Background

Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a federal loan and guarantee program administered by EPA. WIFIA’s aim is to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term and low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects. EPA’s WIFIA program plays an important part in President Trump’s infrastructure plan, which calls for expanding project eligibility. The WIFIA program has an active pipeline of pending applications for projects that will result in billions of dollars in water infrastructure investment and thousands of jobs.

For more information about the WIFIA program, visit: https://www.epa.gov/wifia.

Contact: [email protected]

EPA Invites 38 Projects to Apply for Water Infrastructure Loans to Improve Water Quality for 24 Million Americans, Create almost 200,000 Jobs

Including three projects for the Baltimore Dept. of Public Works

PHILADELPHA (October 23, 2019) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is inviting a total of 38 projects in 18 states to apply for Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans. Together, the selected borrowers will apply for WIFIA loans totaling approximately $6 billion to help finance over $12 billion in water infrastructure investments and create almost 200,000 jobs.

“Through WIFIA, EPA is playing an integral role in President Trump’s efforts to improve and upgrade our nation’s water infrastructure and ensure all Americans have access to clean and safe water,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “This announcement highlights billions of dollars in needed water infrastructure investments to upgrade aging infrastructure, reduce exposure to lead and emerging contaminants and improve the lives of millions of Americans across the country – all while creating almost 200,000 jobs.”

EPA’s WIFIA loans will allow communities across the country to implement projects to address national water priorities – including providing for clean and safe drinking water by reducing exposure to lead and emerging contaminants, addressing aging water infrastructure and developing water recycling and reuse projects. EPA received 51 letters of interest from both public and private entities in response to the 2019 WIFIA Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). After a robust, statutorily required review process, the WIFIA Selection Committee chose to include the Baltimore City Department of Public Works for three projects:

• $210 million available for a drinking water infrastructure rehabilitation projects to improve the reliability and performance of the water distribution system, which provides direct public health benefits such as improved drinking water quality and reduction of water borne diseases.
• $129 million available for wastewater infrastructure rehabilitation to rehabilitate and upgrade major components of its wastewater collection and treatment facilities to help ensure system reliability, safeguard the public health and environmental quality, and continue compliance with permits and other relevant regulations.
• $55 million available for stormwater management projects to complete 10 stormwater projects to fulfill the Total Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Sediment reduction requirements for the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load, assist in flooding issues, and repair and replace aging infrastructure.

“Improving water infrastructure in aging cities like Baltimore is important to protecting our valuable water sources and ensuring clean and safe drinking water,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio. “Additionally, infrastructure improvements in Baltimore are critical to improving and protecting water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, a true national treasure.”

Other projects selected nationwide include:

• City of Phoenix (Arizona): Zone 3D and 4A Improvements Program; $172 million
• City of San Mateo (California): Basins 2 and 3 Collection System Improvements Project; $85 million
• Soquel Creek Water District (California): Pure Water Soquel; $49 million
• City of Oceanside (California): Buccaneer Sewer Lift Station and Force Main Project; $47 million
• City of Oceanside (California): Pure Water Oceanside and Lower Recycled Water Distribution System Expansion Project; $57 million
• South Coast Water District (California): Doheny Ocean Desalination Project; $60 million
• Monterey One Water (California): Pure Water Monterey Groundwater Replenishment Project; $44 million
• Poseidon Resources LP (Channelside, California): Huntington Beach Desalination Plant; $585 million
• City of Daly City (California): Vista Grande Drainage Basin Improvement Project; $61 million
• City of Roseville (California): Roseville’s Water Future Initiative; $37 million
• San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (California): Southeast Plant New Headworks Facility Project; $236 million
• San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority (California): Jones Pumping Plant Unit Motor Rehabilitation Project; $19 million
• Vallejo Flood & Wastewater District (California): Secondary Effluent Project; $12 million
• East County Advanced Water Purification Joint Powers Authority (California): Water Purification Project; $342 million
• Polk Regional Water Cooperative (Florida); Alterative Water Supplies Program: $235 million
• Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (Florida): South District Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion; $223 million
• City of Atlanta (Georgia); Water Distribution System Resiliency Program; $35 million
• City of Joliet (Illinois): Joliet Alternative Water Source Program; loan amount TBD

Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (Louisiana): Sewer System Evaluation & Rehabilitation Program; $111 million

• Downriver Utility Wastewater Authority (Michigan): Biosolids Dryer Facility & Other Critical Projects; $13 million
• New Jersey Infrastructure Bank (New Jersey): Infrastructure Bank Pool; $149 million
• Greenville Utilities Commission (North Carolina): GUC Water Treatment Plant Phase 1 Upgrades; $29 million
• Metro Flood Diversion Authority (North Dakota): Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management Project; $561 million
• City of Beaverton (Oregon): Water Supply Improvement Program; $58 million
• City of Portland (Oregon): Bull Run Treatment Program; $554 million
• Narragansett Bay Commission (Rhode Island); Bucklin Point Resiliency Improvements; $17 million
• Bristol County Water Authority (Rhode Island): Pawtucket Pipeline; $26 million
• Columbia Power & Water Systems (Tennessee): Long Term Water Supply Program; $106 million
• Salt Lake City (Utah): Department of Public Utilities; Water Reclamation Facility Nutrient Project; $355 million
• City of Alexandria (Virginia), Virginia, Sanitation Authority: Tunnel System; $189 million
• Hampton Roads Sanitation District (Virginia): Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow; $930 million
• City of Newport News (Virginia), Waterworks Department; Advance Metering Infrastructure Project: $24 million
• City of Tacoma Sewer Utility (Washington): Central Wastewater Treatment Plant Electrical Distribution System Replacement Project; $17 million
• King County (Washington): Ship Canal Water Quality Project; $98 million
• City of Wausau (Wisconsin): Drinking Water System Treatment Facility Project; $22 million

To learn more about the 39 projects that are invited to apply, visit https://www.epa.gov/wifia/wifia-selected-projects.  

Background

Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a federal loan and guarantee program administered by EPA. WIFIA’s aim is to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term and low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects. EPA’s WIFIA program plays an important part in President Trump’s infrastructure plan, which calls for expanding project eligibility. The WIFIA program has an active pipeline of pending applications for projects that will result in billions of dollars in water infrastructure investment and thousands of jobs.

For more information about the WIFIA program, visit: https://www.epa.gov/wifia.