EPA releases $99M grant funds, NMI eligible for $167K

The CNMI is now eligible to apply for a $167,800 grant after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the availability of the fiscal year 2005 congressional appropriations funding for the Public Water System Supervision and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs.

The CNMI’s allocation of $167,000 under the PWSS program is $44,000 higher than the amount allocated for Guam, which is $123,000. The amount, however, is lower than what the CNMI got last year, which was $171,200.

In fiscal year 2001, the CNMI got $129,800. This went down to $129,600 in fiscal years 2002 and 2003, before climbing to $171,200 in FY 2004.

This year’s allocation will come from $99,745,600 that is being made available to state, territorial, and tribal PWSS programs for FY 2005. Of this amount, $93,325,700 is available for state and territorial programs. The remaining $6,419,900 is for implementation of PWSS programs on tribal lands. The state and territorial allotments range from $123,700 for Guam to $6,142,800 for California.

The grant requires a local match. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the PWSS grant can provide no more than 75 percent of the costs expended by a state to carry out its PWSS program.

The grant aims to provide resources to protect the water that people consume everyday. EPA said the entire budget is also to protect the water on all other states, territories and tribes being maintained by the United States, with more than 270 million people.

Among the 58 states and territories of the United States, Tribal Support programs will receive the highest grant, amounting to $6.42 million. The state with the biggest allotment would be California with $6.14 million. Next is Texas with $5.88 million, then New York with $4.47 million. Michigan will get $4.24 million, followed by Pennsylvania with $4.18 million. Florida will get $3.76 million, while North Carolina will get $3.38 million. Wisconsin and Illinois will receive $3.27 million and $2.96 million, respectively.

EPA said the Safe Drinking Water Act allows the agency to assign primary enforcement responsibility to states, territories, or tribes but should meet specific requirements so they could implement and enforce drinking water regulations and programs.

Also, the EPA said the $843,200,000 worth of funding is being made available to support the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program, which provide states with financing for public water system infrastructure improvements. Projects eligible for funding include upgrades to treatment facilities, eligible storage facilities, and distribution systems.

Since the program began in 1997, states have provided nearly $8 billion in low interest loans to public water systems within their states.

States, territories, and tribes may apply for funding through their EPA Regional Offices.

The PWSS program was authorized by Congress through the Safe Drinking Water Act to establish and enforce health protection standards for the drinking water produced by water systems that serve the public throughout the country. Since 1976, the Congress has appropriated these funds under the SDWA to help states develop and implement a PWSS program.

Designated agencies in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, or an Indian tribe treated as a state, that have been delegated Primary Enforcement Responsibility for the Public Water System Supervision Program are eligible to receive grants.

PWSS programs, said EPA, would enforce the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act and ensure that water systems comply with the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations. Key activities carried out under a PWSS program should include:

* Developing and maintaining state drinking water regulations;

* Developing and maintaining an inventory of public water systems throughout the state;

* Developing and maintaining a database to hold compliance information on public water systems;

* Conducting sanitary surveys of public water systems;

* Reviewing public water system plans and specifications;

* Providing technical assistance to managers and operators of public water systems;

* Carrying out a program to ensure that the public water systems regularly inform their consumers about the quality of the water that they are providing;

* Certifying laboratories that can perform the analysis of drinking water that will be used to determine compliance with the regulations; and

* Carrying out an enforcement program to ensure that the public water systems comply with all of the state’s requirements.