O
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Green Project Reserve of 2009, through the State Revolving Fund,
provided funding for a wide variety of qualifying projects in the categories of: green infrastructure, energy efficiency,
water efficiency, and other innovative projects. For more information on ARRA, to find out if your current or future
planned project meets the necessary criteria, and how to apply, visit www.Recovery.gov.
Arizona Water Infrastructure
Finance Authority (WIFA) ARRA
Green Project Reserve Case Study
Advancing sustainable
er infrastructure project
initiatives through ARRA's
Green Project Reserve.
BACKGROUND
Across the United States, drinking water and
wastewater systems are facing a series of
daunting challenges, including water scarcity,
increasing population, energy uncertainty, and
aging infrastructure. In the state of Arizona, the
Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA)
is a prime example of how these challenges
can be overcome through more efficient
operations, saving operating costs, and
improving environmental protection.
WIFA finances the construction, rehabilitation,
and improvement of drinking water, wastewater,
wastewater reclamation, and other water quality
facilities and projects. The agency's Design &
Planning Technical Assistance (TA) program
assists drinking water and wastewater systems
with non-construction related activities that
include pre-design, design, and managerial and
financial capacity building projects.
The purpose of theTA program is to help systems
prepare for project construction through
pre-design or design. This results in a project
that is ready to proceed with a WIFA design or
construction loan. WIFA anticipates that utilizing
theTA program to fund the pre-design and
design of green projects will result in more robust
green construction loan projects in the future.
In 2009, federal stimulus funding became
available under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) which positively
influenced WIFA's efforts to advocate green
projects that address water conservation, energy
efficiency, green stormwater infrastructure, and
environmentally innovative projects for drinking
water and wastewater systems. ARRA Green
Project Reserve funding also helped facilitate an
enhancement of WIFA's traditional TA program
offerings and advanced new green
project eligibilities.
-------
Case Study
www.azwifa.gov
ADVANCEMENT
THROUGH
STIMULUS
FUNDING
ARRA brought $55.3 million in Drinking Water
and $26.5 million in Clean Water project funds
to the state of Arizona.
The ARRA Green Project Reserve required that
at least 20% of these funds be used for a variety
of qualifying projects within the categories of:
• Energy efficiency
• Water efficiency
• Green stormwater infrastructure
• Other environmentally innovative
projects which incorporate green
or sustainable concepts
WIFA set aside approximately $1 million of
those funds to be included in the Fiscal Year
2010 Design & Planning TA funding cycle.
Pre-design and design related projects that
incorporate elements of water efficiency,
energy efficiency, renewable energy use
and/or production, and green stormwater
infrastructure were considered green and
received awards up to $35,000 with no required
local match.
DEVELOPING
SUSTAINABLE
WATER
SYSTEMS
STEP ONE: IDENTIFY AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Operational Technical Assistance (only
available to public drinking water systems
serving a population of less than 10,000)
For many drinking water systems, identifying
areas for improvement is the first step in
achieving greater efficiency and management
overall. To encourage these systems to take
this critical step, WIFA funds the following
services FREE of charge to public drinking
water systems through the Arizona Department
of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) Capacity
Development Program:
• System Evaluations
• Operations & Maintenance Packages
• Vulnerability Assessments
• Energy Audits
Energy Audits (available to both drinking water
and wastewater systems)
In 2009, ARRA funding enabled WIFA to expand
their traditional TA package to include energy
audits as part of promoting EPA's Sustainable
Infrastructure Initiative. General Energy Audits,
performed by a consultant under contract
with ADEQ, serve to collect information
about drinking water facility operations by
performing a detailed evaluation of facility
operations and opportunities for energy
conservation improvements. The audits will
also identify energy conservation measures
appropriate for the facility based on its
operating parameters.
A total of seven General Energy Audits are
scheduled for completion by December 31,
2009. Facilities will receive a list of prioritized
recommendations for achieving greater
efficiency. Although there is no obligation
under the ADEQ program that facilities must
commit to planning or execution of these
recommendations, WIFA's TA program offers
assistance for facilities to take the next steps in
realizing site improvements.
-------
Case Study
www.azwifa.gov
DEVELOPING
SUSTAINABLE
WATER
SYSTEMS
CONT.
STEP TWO: DEVELOP A PRE-DESIGN OR DESIGN PLAN
Technical Assistance Program (available to
both drinking water and wastewater systems)
WIFA assists drinking water and wastewater
systems with pre-design and design projects,
in preparation for applying for a WIFA design or
construction loan.
Through utilization of ARRA funding, WIFA
was also able offer a compelling incentive for
projects demonstrating commitment toward
green design. For these projects, WIFA waived
the local match component required for
traditional projects.
All applications were evaluated and scored
based on how the project:
• Corrects current conditions that contribute
to surface water pollution, run-off, and
groundwater pollution
• Contributes to water quality improvement
• Promotes sustainable/green
infrastructure design
• Promotes renewable energy and energy
conservation
• Improves technical, managerial,
and financial capability
FY2010 ALLOCATION
Traditional & Green Projects
Green Projects Only
Drinking Water Systems
Wastewater Systems
$500,000
(for population served less than or
equal to 10,000)
$150,000
(no population restrictions)
$200,000
(no population restrictions)
$150,000
(no population restrictions)
-------
Case Study
www.azwifa.gov
DEVELOPING
SUSTAINABLE
WATER
SYSTEMS
STEP THREE: APPLY FOR IMPLEMENTATION FUNDING
Design & Construction Loans (available to both
drinking water and wastewater systems)
WIFA has historically offered three-year design
loans and twenty-year construction loans to
drinking water and wastewater systems.
CONT.
2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Green Project Reserve funding played a key
role in advancing WIFA's efforts to encourage sustainable and green project initiatives within
drinking water and wastewater systems across the entire state of Arizona, including:
• Waived local match for green TA projects which received an award of up to $35,000
• Free of charge energy audits for drinking water systems
• To date, seven facilities have requested free energy audits
For more information on the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona's Design
and Planning Technical Assistance Program, please visit: www.azwofa.gov. Or contact
Sandy Sutton, Chief Financhial Officer, at (602) 364-1 314 or email: ssutton@azwifa.gov
EPA-832-F-09-013 | December 2009
------- |