Rendell Signs Infrastructure Bills
With Pennsylvania facing nearly $20 billion in unmet needs for its water and wastewater facilities, as well as inadequate flood control measures and unsafe, high-hazard dams, Governor Edward G. Rendell today signed into law a historic investment in the state’s infrastructure that will provide up to $1.2 billion in new investments to ensure safe, clean water and safer communities.
“A sustainable infrastructure that is capable of protecting its citizens and providing quality, dependable services is paramount to the public’s health and well-being,” said Governor Rendell as he signed Senate bills 2 and 1341 at the Mechanicsburg Wastewater Treatment Plant in Cumberland County. “Our water-related infrastructure—our drinking water and wastewater plants, our dams and our flood protection projects—are aging and deteriorating after decades of neglect and underinvestment. These bills provide new investments not just for capital improvements, which are increasingly expensive but, as in the case of wastewater facilities, to support other nonstructural options that are oftentimes more cost-effective.”
S.B. 2 will provide $800 million over the next 10 years for critical water, sewer, flood control projects and repairs to unsafe, high-hazard dams in areas outside of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The debt service on the bond will be repaid using uncommitted game revenues distributed by the Commonwealth Financing Authority.
S.B. 1341 will place a referendum on the November ballot asking voters to approve an additional $400 million for improvements in public drinking water and wastewater systems, including innovative, cost-effective strategies such as nutrient trading. If approved, the funding would be used for grants and loans to be administered by the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST).
Under both bills, the 183 publicly-owned water systems in Pennsylvania that are facing federal mandates to reduce the amount of nutrient pollution in the Susquehanna and Potomac river basins and downstream in the Chesapeake Bay will be eligible for additional support. The grants and loans may be directed towards plant upgrades, but other more cost-effective options – such as nutrient credit trading, water conservation and water reuse – may also be eligible.
In Pennsylvania, there are 900 community drinking water facilities and 1,100 community wastewater operations that are owned by a municipality or municipal authority that would qualify for funding under S.B. 2. Grants will range from $500,000 to $20 million.
According to a recent federal clean water needs survey, Pennsylvania is facing nearly $11 billion in unmet drinking water infrastructure needs and at least $7.2 billion in unmet wastewater infrastructure needs.
“A sustainable infrastructure that is capable of protecting its citizens and providing quality, dependable services is paramount to the public’s health and well-being,” said Governor Rendell as he signed Senate bills 2 and 1341 at the Mechanicsburg Wastewater Treatment Plant in Cumberland County. “Our water-related infrastructure—our drinking water and wastewater plants, our dams and our flood protection projects—are aging and deteriorating after decades of neglect and underinvestment. These bills provide new investments not just for capital improvements, which are increasingly expensive but, as in the case of wastewater facilities, to support other nonstructural options that are oftentimes more cost-effective.”
S.B. 2 will provide $800 million over the next 10 years for critical water, sewer, flood control projects and repairs to unsafe, high-hazard dams in areas outside of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The debt service on the bond will be repaid using uncommitted game revenues distributed by the Commonwealth Financing Authority.
S.B. 1341 will place a referendum on the November ballot asking voters to approve an additional $400 million for improvements in public drinking water and wastewater systems, including innovative, cost-effective strategies such as nutrient trading. If approved, the funding would be used for grants and loans to be administered by the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST).
Under both bills, the 183 publicly-owned water systems in Pennsylvania that are facing federal mandates to reduce the amount of nutrient pollution in the Susquehanna and Potomac river basins and downstream in the Chesapeake Bay will be eligible for additional support. The grants and loans may be directed towards plant upgrades, but other more cost-effective options – such as nutrient credit trading, water conservation and water reuse – may also be eligible.
In Pennsylvania, there are 900 community drinking water facilities and 1,100 community wastewater operations that are owned by a municipality or municipal authority that would qualify for funding under S.B. 2. Grants will range from $500,000 to $20 million.
According to a recent federal clean water needs survey, Pennsylvania is facing nearly $11 billion in unmet drinking water infrastructure needs and at least $7.2 billion in unmet wastewater infrastructure needs.
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