United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Wetlands Protection
New York Uses
CWSRFtoFund
Wetland Acquisition
The State of New York
has used its SRF as a
low-cost way to fund
land acquisition projects
that protect water
quality. In 2000, the City
of Rye, NY used a $3.1
million CWSRF short-
term, zero interest loan
to acquire and protect
crucial land in the Long
Island Sound Estuary.
This land acquisition,
recommended in the
Comprehensive
Conservation and
Management Plan for
the Long Island Sound,
will protect water quality
and preserve and
improve the waterfront,
tributaries and wetlands
within the City. The
State recently expanded
their SRF to provide not-
for-profit organizations
a mechanism to fund
land acquisition projects
that protect water
quality.
In 1987, Congress amended the Clean Water Act and
created the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF)
to finance projects that improve water quality. The 51
individual revolving funds combine federal and state
money to provide low-interest loans for eligible
projects. Between $3 and $4 billion is loaned out
each year to public and private organizations to
improve water quality. As the loans are repaid, money
is available to be used again for new projects — a true
revolving fund. Wetland preservation, restoration and
creation projects are often eligible for funding under the CWSRF.
Clean Water
State Revolving Fund
Using the CWSRF for Nonpoint
Source Pollution Control and Coastal
Management
Historically, states have used CWSRF loans
o finance large municipal wastewater
treatment facilities. However, in recent years,
states have begun to redirect their funds to
help manage nonpoint source pollution (NFS).
Unlike pollution that comes from direct
sources, such as wastewater sewage plants,
NFS pollution is caused from rainwater or
snowmelt running over and through the
ground. As it travels, the run-off picks up
sediments, fertilizers, and other man-made
chemicals and deposits these pollutants into
downstream or lower lying waterbodies.
Since 1995, 28 percent of all CWSRF loan
agreements have been used to fund nonpoint
source pollution control projects. States can
also use the SRF to implement Comprehensive
Coastal Management Plans developed through
EPA's National Estuary Program.
Where do wetlands fit in?
One of the unique functions of wetland areas is
that they can help control NFS pollutants like
sediment, nutrients and certain heavy metals
without being degraded. Wetlands vegetation
can transform, uptake and store these
pollutants while slowing runoff from the
surrounding landscape. Properly managed
wetlands can play a significant role in
improving water quality. In addition,
Comprehensive Coastal Management Plans
often include projects to restore habitat,
including wetlands.
Who is eligible to apply for a CWSRF
loan?
Because each state administers and sets its own
program priorities, loan eligibility varies from
state to state. Typical applicants have been
municipalities and other public
organizations.However, more than 15 states
now accept loan applications from not-for-
profit organizations or private entities.
Oftentimes, not-for-profit organizations
partner with other state agencies, government
loan programs, municipalities or banks.
What types of wetland projects can
be funded?
Over 30 states use their CWSRF to support
nonpoint source projects. Some specific wetland
examples include: wetlands acquisition, creation
of treatment wetlands, restoration of degraded
or nonfunctioning wetlands, and the purchase of
conservation easements.
Benefits of a CWSRF Loan:
Favorable Terms — CWSRF asssistance is usually
offered on advantageous terms: loans with
interest rates between market rate and 0%, and a
repayment period as long as 20 years.
Flexible Repayment Options—The source for
repayment doesn't necessarily have to come
from the project itself. Some creative solutions
have included recreational fees, supplemental
taxes or membership dues.
Loans can cover 100% of eligible costs with no
cash up front.
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Protecting Vernal Pools Using the CWSRF
Since 1998, EPA's Region 9 (Pacific Southwest)
has worked with the Trust for Public Land
(TPL) to support the work of ten land trusts
and Resource Conservation Districts
throughout California's Central Valley.
Under this partnership, the local land trusts
and conservancies have worked with an array
of federal and state agencies to leverage
millions of dollars in conservation spending —
including $9.5 million in Clean Water State
Revolving Fund loans.
The Central Valley encompasses 15 million
acres of land and serves as the great watershed
for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta Estuary. Vernal pool wetlands
represent one of the Valley's most imperiled
ecosystems. These wetlands mostly occur on
the floor of the Valley and support a diversity
of specialized plants and animals that occur
nowhere else in the world.
To date, the partnership has protected more
than 40,000 acres of vernal pool landscapes
and related natural communities (e.g., oak
woodlands, table-top plateaus). The
partnership enables land trusts and
conservancies to acquire easements on, or fee
title to, properties rich in wetland resources,
rare and endangered species, and valuable
grasslands.
In 1999, the Nature Conservancy (TNC), lead
the way in using SRF loans from the California
Water Resources Control Board to safeguard
vernal pools. TNC paired an $8 million loan
from the State with $6 million raised from
private and public sources to add the stunning,
12,362-acre Howard Ranch to the Cosumnes
River Preserve in South Sacramento County.
The ranch was threatened with subdivision,
and the purchase effectively prevented non-
point source pollution and the degradation of
water quality and habitat that would have
resulted from development. The local
Sacramento Valley Conservancy quickly
followed suit by landing a $1 million SRF loan
to advance the establishment of the 3,000 acre
Sacramento Vernal Pool Prairie Preserve.
Vernal Pools are one of the most threatened
ecosystems in the world.
EPA 843-F-02-004
Office of Water
For more information, call EPA's Wetlands Helpline at 1-800-832-7828, or
visitwww.epa.gov/owow/wetlands
Information on EPA's Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program, including contact information
for regional and state coordinators www.epa.gov/owm/cwfinance/cwsrf
EPA. 2001. Fact Sheet: Funding Wetland Projects. Office of Water, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Washington, DC. EPA 843-F-01-002f. Available online at
www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/factsheets/funding.pdf
EPA. 2000. Guiding Principles for Constructed Treatment Wetlands: Providing for Water Quality
and Wildlife Habitat. Office of Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,
DC. EPA 843-B-00-003. For information on obtaining this and other EPA Office of Water
publications, visit yosemite.epa.gov/water/owrccatalog.nsf
EPA. 1997. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund: How to Fund Nonpoint Source and Estuary
Enhancement Projects. Office of Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,
DC. EPA 909-K-97-001. Available online atwww.epa.gov/owm/cwfinance/cwsrf/final.pdf
Ohio EPA Allows
Communities to
Protect Water
Resources Using
the CWSRF
Hie Ohio EPA's Wafer
Resource Restoration
Sponsor Program
(WRRSP) uses funds
from the state's Clean
Water Revolving Fund to
restore and protect
wetlands.
In April 2001, the City of
Marion, in northern
Ohio, acquired the
Edison Reserve, 1,300
acres of woods,
wetlands, and meadows
using this program. To
fund the project, the City
agreed to increase the
low-interest CWSRF loan
they were receiving from
Ohio EPA to improve
their wastewater
treatment system. $4.5
million was used to
acquire the Reserve
while an additional $1
million will be used in
the future to restore as
much as 300 acres of
wetlands on the
property. This effort, the
largest conservation
accomplishment in Ohio
in recent decades,
involved many public
and private partners and
was coordinated by the
Trust for Public Land.
For more information,
visit www.tpl.org
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