Introduction: Section 606(c) of the Water Quality Act of 1987 requires the State to develop an annual plan that identifies the intended uses of its Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund and to prepare a list of projects targeted for financial assistance with those funds. Following public comment and final Board action, the list of targeted projects for financial assistance becomes the State's yearly clean water revolving loan project priority list.
Funds Available: The federal appropriation for the nation’s Clean Water State Revolving Funds for FY 2015 has not been approved yet but Virginia’s share is expected to be in the range of $20+ million. State matching appropriations, along with the accumulation of monies through loan repayments and prepayments, interest earnings, and de-allocations from leverage accounts should make an additional $70+ million available for funding new projects. These funds, in accumulation, will result in at least $90 million becoming available during the 2015 funding cycle.
FY 2015 Program Development: On May 30, 2014 the staff solicited applications from the Commonwealth’s localities and wastewater authorities as well as potential land conservation applicants and Brownfield remediation clientele. July 18, 2014 was established as the deadline for receiving applications. Based on this solicitation, DEQ received fifteen (15) wastewater improvement applications requesting $60,901,278, eight (8) applications for land conservation projects (totaling $21,869,300), and one (1) stormwater management application for an additional $1,195,000, bringing the total amount requested to $83,965,578.
All 15 wastewater applications were evaluated in accordance with the program's Funding Distribution Criteria. In keeping with the program objectives and funding prioritization criteria, the staff reviewed project type and impact on state waters, the locality's compliance history and fiscal stress, and the project's readiness-to-proceed. The 8 land conservation applications were reviewed using the Board’s Land Conservation Loan Funding Prioritization criteria and the staff also received input from the Department of Conservation and Recreation in accordance with the Board guidelines and state law. The one stormwater application was reviewed in accordance with the Board’s Priority Ranking Criteria for Stormwater projects. The list of applications is shown below by project type in priority funding order based on the Board’s prioritization criteria. All applications are considered to be of good quality and should provide significant water quality and environmental improvement.
Based on these considerations, on September 29th the Board approved the staff recommendation to authorize funding for $83,965,578 for all 24 projects as shown below.
Public Participation: The Board is presenting its draft list of targeted FY 2015 loan recipients for public review and comment. A public meeting will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 12th in the Department of Environmental Quality's 2nd Floor Conference Room, 629 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219. The public review and comment period will end immediately following the public meeting. Comments or questions should be directed to Mr. Walter Gills, Department of Environmental Quality, Clean Water Financing and Assistance Program, P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, Virginia 23218, telephone number (804) 698-4133, or e-mailed to walter.gills@deq.virginia.gov. Written comments should include the name, address and telephone number of the presenter.
Project Priority List:
Applicant |
Requested Amount |
---|---|
City of Norfolk |
$6,000,000 |
City of Waynesboro |
$1,723,401 |
Rivanna WSA |
$3,418,174 |
Buchanan County PSA |
$16,204,121 |
Town of Surry |
$2,020,400 |
Middle Peninsula PDC |
$200,000 |
Alleghany County |
$1,612,720 |
Town of Broadway |
$6,565,000 |
Town of Rural Retreat |
$862,550 |
Washington County SA |
$1,171,550 |
Harrisonburg/Rockingham RSA |
$8,995,500 |
Alleghany County |
$1,000,000 |
Town of Honaker |
$396,171 |
Tazewell County PSA |
$10,586,691 |
Alleghany County |
$145,000 |
City of Norfolk |
$1,195,000 |
Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund |
$5,160,000 |
Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund |
$5,169,000 |
Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund |
$5,215,000 |
Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund |
$3,103,000 |
Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund |
$597,000 |
Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund |
$2,073,000 |
Town of Marion |
$127,300 |
Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund |
$425,000 |
|
$83,965,578 |
Name / Title: | Walter Gills |
Address: |
629 East Main Street P.O. Box 1105 Richmond, 23218 |
Email Address: | walter.gills@deq.virginia.gov |
Telephone: | (804)698-4133 FAX: ()- TDD: ()- |