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/ Q% DWSRF AWARDS FOR SUSTAINABLE
^ PUBLIC HEALTH PROTEQION
2007 Award Winners
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ABOUT THE AWARDS
Since the inception of the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF),
states have shown exceptional creativity in managing their programs in ways
that promote sustainability and protect public health. The 2007 DWSRF
Awards for Sustainable Public Health Protection recognize the most innova-
tive and effective DWSRF state programs. Each regional office could nomi-
nate one DWSRF state program for the Award. Each nominee demonstrated
outstanding performance and leadership in two or more of the following
program attributes: better management practices, full-cost pricing/afford-
ability efficient water use, watershed approach, innovative partnerships,
leveraging practices, innovative lending practices, creative use of set-asides,
and whether the noted performance could be replicated by others.
Winners will be recognized at the national meeting for the Council of
Infrastructure Finance Authorities (CIFA) in Denver, CO in November
2007. After this date, the nomination materials will be shared with all EPA
regional offices to highlight examples of creative activities being carried out
across the country.
The 2007 winners of the Sustainable Public Health
Protection Awards are:
REGION 1: Rhode Island
REGION 2: New York
REGION 3: Virginia
REGION 4: Georgia
REGION 5: Indiana
REGION 6: Arkansas
REGION 7: Kansas
REGION 8: Colorado
REGION 9: Arizona
REGION 10: Oregon
Region 1: Rhode Island
In recent years, the Rhode Island DWSRF has
transformed from a small direct loan program
into a large, aggressively leveraged fund provid-
ing a high level of assistance for the ever-growing
demands of drinking water facilities throughout
the state.
The Rhode Island Clean Water Finance
Agency (CWFA) utilized innovative
lending practices and formed
valuable partnerships to
improve public health protec-
tion for the community of
Pawtucket and maintain af-
fordable water rates. In order
to build a state-of-the-art
water treatment plant and
fund extensive rehabilitation
of existing drinking water
distribution systems, Paw-
tucket needed to acquire the
systems capital assets from
the Pawtucket Building
Authority, which had
been unable to finance
necessary improvements
2007 DWSRF Awards
due to an institutional debt ceiling. The CWFA
worked with non-DWSRF loan sources to refi-
nance the systems S27 million in existing capital
debt with a flexible repayment system, which
allowed Pawtucket to purchase the system. The
CWFA then leveraged DWSRF funds for the first
time, which allowed it to provide more than SI00
million in loans to Pawtucket for necessary plan-
ning and construction costs. This project became
the largest funding package ever provided by the
Rhode Island DWSRF.
Region 2: New York
The New York DWSRF program demonstrates in-
novation through its use of short-term financing
and the implementation of loan guarantees. The
program has increased its pace by providing bor-
rowers with short-term (three years) financing,
for which the application process is shorter and
less detailed than for long-term financing. Short-
term financing is most often used for planning
and design and is frequently rolled into long-term
financing. This approach benefits the program
since borrowers are able to access money more
quickly, and long-term projects are budgeted for
and more accurately planned.
In 2007, New York began offering loan guarantees
for its DWSRF program. This enables DWSRF fi-
nancing for terms of up to 30 years with financial
assistance delivered in the form of an interest sub-
sidy for the first 20 years and a payment guarantee
for all remaining principal maturities. Additional
benefits include the ability to offer credit enhance-
ments for DWSRF projects that are below the
funding line and the opportunity for New York to
raise additional capital for direct financing.
Region 3: Virginia
The Virginia Department
of Health works with the
Department of Environ-
mental Quality and the
Virginia Resource Author-
ity to provide clean and
safe water in communities
with demonstrable need. The
Virginia DWSRF program
has consistently been a
national leader in fund-
ing small, disadvantaged
systems.
One of the ways that the
Department of Health
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assists communities in gaining access to the as-
sistance they require is through partnerships and
agreements with other agencies and organiza-
tions throughout the state. These include unified
environmental review agreements with commu-
nity development agencies and extensive support
of the Southeast Rural Community Assistance
Project. In addition, the Virginia Department
of Health has developed an innovative receiver-
ship program designed for water systems lacking
managerial and technical operation capacity, and
it has creatively used DWSRF set-asides to help
provide additional technical and financial assis-
tance to disadvantaged systems.
Region 4: Georgia
The Georgia Environmental Facilities Author-
ity has opted to focus its DWSRF program on
the many small public water systems in the state
rather than the larger, more financially capable
systems. The DWSRF program offers loans
between 0 and 3%, as well as loans which allow
for principal forgiveness. As of June 2007 the pro-
gram has provided over S26 million in principal
forgiveness to 64 communities. Principal forgive-
ness has eliminated approximately 1,500 under-
performing or contaminated private wells and
created 4.25 million gallons of water storage.
GEFA implemented a department-wide approach
to market its loan programs through what the
agency terms "GEFA 101 Marketing and Informa-
tional Seminars." Starting in 2005 GEFA held a
series of seminars around the state to provide in-
formation on GEFA's new and existing programs.
These seminars allow the local government and
engineering community the opportunity to dis-
cuss program requirements and specific projects
in a small setting and learn from what other
communities have accomplished. These semi-
nars have resulted in several new projects. For
example, at a GEFA seminar in 2006, the City of
Lakeland decided that the DWSRF program was
the right fit for a system-wide water line replace-
ment project to replace old cast iron and asbestos
lines. In April 2007 the GEFA Board of Direc-
tors committed a S2.4 million loan along with a
S500,000 subsidy to the City of Lakeland.
Region 5: Indiana
The Indiana Finance Authority (IFA) and the
Indiana Department of Environmental Manage-
ment (IDEM) have greatly improved Indiana's
DWSRF program performance. One approach
that the State took to enhance the Indiana DWS-
RF program was to create project summaries
that highlight compliance, economic, and public
health benefits information for each loan, and to
include these project summaries in the programs
Annual Report. Indiana's creative project sum-
mary format served as an initial model for the
ongoing effort to develop a national DWSRF
benefits report.
Additionally, IFA and IDEM have used creative
lending approaches to reach out to borrowers
who were unable to get onto the DWSRF Project
Priority List and were also unable to obtain open
market loans at affordable rates. IFA and IDEM
developed a pooled loan program which allows
communities to borrow funds at the State's AAA
borrowing rate and receive loans at below market
rate despite their impaired financial condition. In
2006 and 2007, IFA issued pooled loans to three
communities each year.
Region 6: Arkansas
Arkansas Natural Resources Commission
(ANRC) collaborates with other state and federal
funding agencies to promptly and comprehen-
sively fund Arkansas's water and wastewater
needs. ANRC is a charter member and active
participant in the Arkansas Water/Wastewater
Advisory Committee, a group consisting of State
and Federal funding and regulatory agencies
with an interest in or oversight of water and
wastewater projects in Arkansas. Through par-
ticipation in project review and project coordina-
tion with other agencies, ANRC has helped to
ensure that as many eligible and viable projects
as possible are funded and state water quality
improvement goals are met.
The ARNC has also worked hard to maintain and
increase demand for DWSRF funds. As a result
of lowering the interest rate 0.5 points, from
3.25% to 2.75% for a 3-month period, ANRC
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received project applications totaling S35 million.
The resulting increase in loan applications will
require ANRC to leverage funds in order to keep
pace with demand for DWSRF assistance.
Region 7: Kansas
The Kansas Department of Health and Environ-
mental (KDHE) continually strives to provide
maximum assistance to drinking water facilities
across the state and to make Kansass DWSRF
program a model of effective infrastructure
financing. KDHE has formed partnerships with
other state agencies to help streamline the loan
process and market the DWSRF program. The
Kansas Rural Water Finance Authority contrib-
utes its financial expertise by reviewing loan
applications, which allows KDHE staff to focus
on the environmental issues affecting communi-
ties. The Kansas Rural Water Association provides
technical assistance and promotes the DWSRF
program to small systems.
In keeping with its commitment to fund all
reasonable drinking water infrastructure proj-
ects, KDHE has developed a flexible application
structure for small systems with little technical
experience. These communities often need to
secure funding for an entire project before they
begin planning. KDHE will enter into loan agree-
ments in these cases before engineering details
are finalized, allowing small systems to complete
necessary projects.
Region 8: Colorado
The Colorado Department of Public Health and
the Environment (CDPHE) has consistently
provided the funds and support required to
provide all Colorado communities with necessary
drinking water infrastructure. Their strategy in-
cludes aggressive leveraging of the Fund and the
creation of a disadvantaged community program
which lends money to economically disadvan-
taged water systems at rates as low as 0% over an
extended 30-year financing term.
Additionally, CDPHE has been a leader in the cre-
ative use of the 15% Local Assistance and Other
State Programs set-aside. They have used these
funds to assist public water systems in developing
and implementing specific source water protec-
tion plans, to create a Drinking Water Excellence
Program to enhance operational capabilities of
water systems, and to implement a Colorado
Radionuclide and Abatement Disposal Strategy
focused on assisting small water systems in dis-
posing of radionuclides.
2007 DWSRF Awards
Office of Water (4606M) EPA 816-F-07-021 October 2007 • www.epa.gov/safewater
Region 9: Arizona
The Water Infrastructure and Finance Authority of
Arizona (WIFA) has formed valuable partnerships
that help promote and enhance the DWSRF pro-
grams ability to reach public and private entities
in need of drinking water project financing. WIFA
is the lead agency for the Rural Water Infrastruc-
ture Committee (RWIC), an informal partnership
of various federal and state agencies that provide
loans, grants, and technical assistance to rural
communities. Joining forces with other financing
sources has proven cost effective to both WIFA
and local communities by reducing workload
expenditures and increasing local participation.
WIFA was the first DWSRF to lend funds to a
tribal nation. WIFA awarded technical assistance
grants to the Hopi Village of Lower Moencopi
for a system evaluation and upgrade and most
recently a grant was awarded to the Southern San
Juan Paiute Tribe to assess their water resource
availability and opportunities for resources
development. WIFA continues its outreach efforts
to expand assistance to tribes around the state by
working with Inter Tribal Council of Arizona.
Region 10: Oregon
One of the primary objectives of the Oregon De-
partment of Human Services DWSRF program is
affordability. It has developed a special assistance
program for disadvantaged communities where
borrowers can qualify for loans at a 1% interest
rate for 30 years, with up to S250,000 (or 25% of
the project cost, whichever is less) of principle
forgiveness. This program is unique because it
allows communities to conduct their own income
surveys if they feel that census data does not
correctly reflect their specific economic situation.
The result has been a remarkable S68 million in
additional loans to over forty disadvantaged
communities.
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