ZDD5 WINNERS
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and protect high quality waters and their uses. It has
adopted a targeted effort to identify high priority projects
and contacts communities within targeted watersheds or
that are in violation of NPDES discharge permits.
REGION *7\ KANSAS
In Kansas, the Department of Health and Environment
seeks to encourage the creative use of technologies
through its CWSRF program. KDHE has encouraged the
development and use of new treatment processes and
plant designs with the CWSRF in conjunction with the
NPDES permitting process. The CWSPvF program has
also embraced and encouraged the use of state-of-the-art
technologies, such as UV disinfection technology, BNR
activated sludge designs, long detention lagoons, and
non-overflowing lagoons.
REGION B: MONTANA
Montana's Departments of Environmental Quality and
Natural Resources and Conservation are leaders in
encouraging the use of CWSRF funds for non-point
source projects. The Montana CWSRF program has used
almost 25 percent of its funding over the past five years,
$23 million, for implementation of the state's Section 319
non-point source management plan. In addition, the
Montana Water Pollution Control State Revolving Fund
worked with other agencies to develop the Uniform
Application Supplement for Montana Public Facilities
Projects, which provides common forms and checklists for
six different financing programs. This helped increase
pace from 65 to 100 percent.
REGION 9: CALIFORNIA
In January 2005, the California State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB) declared sustainability of water
and environmental resources one of the core values for its
CWSRF program, making it a leader in promoting better
management practices through the program. The
SWRCB worked with staff from housing, transportation,
and resource management agencies and organizations on
how to incorporate sustainability into the CWSRF's policy
and future funding decisions. The California SWRCB also
manages a state-funded Small Communities Grant pro-
gram, which it can use to supplement CWSRF loans to
small, financially disadvantaged communities that would
otherwise be unable to afford the debt service on their
wastewater infrastructure projects.
REGION 1 D: OREGON
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's
(ODEQ) creative and efficient management have made it
a leader in the CWSRF program. First, each SRF loan
agreement for Section 212 projects requires borrowers to
ensure than customer rates cover their full cost of sewer
services. ODEQ also makes efficient water use a priority.
It actively promotes the use of wastewater effluent for
irrigation and appropriate urban uses. It has also made
loans to irrigation districts to support water efficiency.
For example, one loan was used to move an irrigation
district's water supply out of a stream and into a pipeline,
reducing erosion and turbidity in a stream that is habitat
for an endangered species. Furthermore, ODEQ is cited
for its innovative use of partnerships. It holds monthly
"one-stop"meetings with its funding partners where
potential borrowers can present their needs. They also
work to create the most economical funding packages for
communities at these meetings. ODEQ is also complet-
ing a Facility Planning guidance document with its part-
ners, which provides consistent project direction to bor-
rowers statewide. In addition, it promotes restoration
projects by reducing the loan interest rate when a com-
munity agrees to expand its wastewater project loan to
include restoration activities.
^Ej AWAFiOS
PERFORMANCE AND INNOVATION IN THE
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Clean Water
State Revolving Fund
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ABOUT THE AWARDS
2DD5 WINNERS
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The 2005 PISCES Awards recognize states that have been
the most innovative and effective at advancing EPA's
goals of performance and protection through the Clean
Water State Revolving Fund program. The CWSRF
PISCES Award is given to one state from each of the ten
U.S. EPA Regions.
The states were nominated by the Regional offices, which
submitted nomination applications based on several cri-
teria. First, each nominee had to have a pace level
greater than 80% and audits that had revealed no serious
programmatic or financial problems with the program.
Each nominee also had to demonstrate outstanding per-
formance for at least two out of nine additional criteria:
better management practices, full-cost pricing, efficient
water use, watershed approach, promotion of creative use
of technologies, leveraging practices, innovative partner-
ships, innovative lending practices, and whether the
noted performance could be replicated by others.
These ten states serve as excellent examples of perform-
ance, integrity, and creativity in the CWSRF program.
Winners will be recognized at the national meeting of the
Council for Infrastructure Finance Authorities (CIFA) in
Chicago, IE in October 2005.
The winners of the 2005 CWSRF PISCES Awards are:
Region 1 - Maine
Region 2 - New York
Region 3 - Delaware
Region 4 - Florida
Region 5 - Ohio
Region 6 - Oklahoma
Region 7 - Kansas
Region 8 - Montana
Region 9 - California
Region 10 - Oregon
Short descriptions of each state's programs follow.
W*
REGION 1 : MAINE
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection and
the Maine Municipal Bond Bank are leaders in promoting
innovative lending practices. They partner with other
state agencies to provide funding to private individuals
and businesses not typically eligible for the CWSRF pro-
gram. For example, Maine's CWSRF program has set
aside $2 million for private septic repair and replacement
loans, which are handled by the Maine State Housing
Authority. Maine's CWSRF program also gives farmers
access to 2% loans for the construction of manure storage
facilities under a partnership with the Finance Authority
of Maine and the Maine Department of Agriculture.
Maine is also a leader in using creative financial
approaches. For example, in 2003, it refinanced $36 mil-
lion in loans and leveraged the money that was freed up,
resulting over $20 million of additional available funding.
REGION 2: NEW YORK
The New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation
has shown significant creativity in its lending and lever-
aging practices. New York's CWSRF program leads the
country in funding non-point source projects, with over
$688 million in loans made through 2004. This year, New
York also pioneered a new leveraging technique, which
allowed it to sell subordinated SRF bonds without a
reserve fund pledge; this resulted in a CWSRF loan inter-
est rate of only 1.94%.
REGION 3: DELAWARE
Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and
Environmental Control (DNREC) has excelled at creating
innovative partnerships to help maximize the effective-
ness and the reach of its CWSRF loans. It works closely
with federal funding agencies (RUS, HUD) and the state
congressional delegation to provide an appropriate pack-
age of loan and grant funds to projects and to streamline
project review and management processes. Delaware's
CWSRF program also works closely with the local conser-
vation districts and agricultural integrators to market and
implement agricultural best management practices. In
addition, it works with other DNREC offices to promote
the use of their CWSRF loans to implement non-point
source projects, including loans for the rehabilitation of
failing on-site systems.
REGION 4: FLORIDA
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection
aggressively promotes more efficient water use. To date,
it has funded 83 projects totaling over $260 million for
water reuse projects. For example, the CWSRF-financed
Holloway Tree Farm irrigation system has not drawn one
single drop of water from any surface, ground or aquifer
sources and has no agricultural wastewater runoff to the
surrounding environment since 1998. The system has
conserved over 100 million gallons of water without com-
promising plant growth. Florida's CWSRF program also
held a two-day workshop for municipal agencies in June
2005 on asset management practices.
REGION 5: OHIO
With $3 billion in loans, the State of Ohio is cited as a
leader in financing non-traditional projects. Ohio's
Environmental Protection Agency and Water
Development Authority's latest innovation is its Water
Resource Restoration Sponsor Program (WRRSP).
WRRSP offers communities an interest rate reduction on
their point source loan if they agree to sponsor a non-
point source project. To date, WRRSP has made over $67
million worth of loans for projects that have acquired
wetlands, riparian lands, and conservation easements,
restored habitat, and modified dams. WRRSP helps
ensure that the proposed projects result in the protection
or restoration of valuable watershed resources. This pro-
gram has already been replicated in Indiana.
REGION 6: OKLAHOMA
The Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) is con-
sidered a CWSRF leader due to its watershed approach to
lending. In 2001, the OWRB adopted the Integrated
Priority Ranking System, which ranks projects for fund-
ing based on the goals of the Clean Water Act and the
State's Unified Watershed Assessment to eliminate
human health threats, restore impaired surface waters,
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