EPA Announces $45 Million WIFIA Loan to Provide Centralized Wastewater Infrastructure in Sarpy County, Nebraska
LENEXA, KAN. (NOV. 14, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $45 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to the Sarpy County and Cities Wastewater Agency in eastern Nebraska.
Currently, residents of southern Sarpy County lack access to centralized wastewater treatment. With EPA’s WIFIA financing, the South Sarpy Wastewater System Project will connect residences and businesses to the city of Omaha’s wastewater system. This action will better protect residents and the environment from potential wastewater contamination.
“Safely managing wastewater is essential to healthy, thriving communities. With EPA’s $45 million WIFIA loan, nearly 200,000 residents will be connected to reliable wastewater treatment. This project will reduce costs for homeowners while protecting public health and the environment,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “Upgrading water infrastructure is central to President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda. In addition to the WIFIA program, EPA is investing $50 billion under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to improve drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater management while creating good-paying local jobs.”
The South Sarpy Wastewater System Project will install a new wastewater transmission system that will move nearly 13 million gallons of wastewater per day for treatment. The project is designed to be climate-resilient – lift stations will be constructed above the 100-year flood elevation and will feature backup engine generators for use during significant weather events. The Sarpy County and Cities Wastewater Agency will save approximately $15 million by financing with a WIFIA loan and investing in its infrastructure will create approximately 450 jobs.
"Southern Sarpy County is a critical frontier for economic opportunity in our region and the state of Nebraska," said Don Kelly, Sarpy County commissioner and chairman of the Sarpy County and Cities Wastewater Agency. “This investment from the WIFIA program will accelerate a once-in-a-generation infrastructure project to support that growth, and we couldn't be more excited to partner with the EPA on this effort.”
Since its creation, EPA’s WIFIA program has announced $19 billion in financing to support more than 110 projects that are strengthening drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure while creating over 135,000 jobs. Learn more about EPA’s WIFIA program and water infrastructure investments under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Background
Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a federal loan program administered by EPA. The program’s aim is to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects. The WIFIA program has an active pipeline of pending applications for projects that will result in billions of dollars in water infrastructure investment and thousands of jobs.
EPA recently made the seventh round of WIFIA financing available. The Agency is currently accepting letters of interest for WIFIA and SWIFIA loans, with $6.5 billion available through WIFIA and $1 billion available through SWIFIA, which is a loan program exclusively for state infrastructure financing authority borrowers. Learn more about submitting a letter of interest for a WIFIA loan.
In addition to WIFIA loans, many federal funding resources are available for communities and utilities to improve vital water and wastewater resources. President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness, which provides an historic $50 billion investment in upgrading critical water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure.
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