HILO — With millions of dollars worth of water and sewer projects on the line, Hawaii County stands to benefit from an almost $20 million federal infusion into the state’s clean water and drinking water revolving funds. HILO — With
HILO — With millions of dollars worth of water and sewer projects on the line, Hawaii County stands to benefit from an almost $20 million federal infusion into the state’s clean water and drinking water revolving funds.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced the new money. A $10,946,000 grant for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and a $9,125,000 grant for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for water pollution control and drinking water infrastructure projects will be administered by the state Department of Health.
The money goes for low-interest loans to the counties based on a ranking system, where engineers assign points to applications from the four counties, said Joanna Seto, program manager for the department’s Safe Drinking Water Branch. Seto said only county governments are eligible to apply for the loans.
The EPA has awarded $282 million in federal funding for Hawaii’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund program from 1990 to the present. Every year, more funds become available as the principle, interest and fees are repaid to the program. Hawaii’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund reached $611 million last year, with a total of 74 wastewater treatment projects funded statewide totaling $509 million, according to the EPA.
“EPA is continuing its investment in Hawaii’s water infrastructure,” Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest, said in a statement. “Our goal, along with the Department of Health, is ensure that Hawaii has safe, reliable drinking water and proper wastewater treatment.”
Hawaii County wastewater projects range from small repairs and upgrades of sewer facilities to $13 million to close the Hilo landfill and $39.2 million for the North Kona Sewer and Effluent Reuse project.
“The state sets their priorities through the rankings,” said Dora Beck, acting director of the county Department of Environmental Management. “We continually work with these programs for a lot of our projects.”
The Hawaii Drinking Water State Revolving Fund totals $192 million and the Hawaii Department of Health has issued 45 loans totaling $124 million.
The Hawaii County Department of Water Supply recently started construction on two projects with help from the program, according to Kawika Uyehara, the department’s engineer who oversees the programs. The Kulaimano Production Well and Supporting Facilities project has an estimated construction cost of about $1.2 million, and the Kynnersley #1 Reservoir Replacement project has an estimated cost of about $1.5 million.
“By federal law, the highest priority has to be for public health protection,” said Stuart Yamada, chief of the state health department’s Environmental Management Division. “Federal money comes with red tape. They make you jump through hoops.”
