May 13, 2019
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the State of Maine a total of $23,304,000 from the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs to improve drinking water and water infrastructure throughout the state.
“The success of Maine’s economy is heavily dependent on the protection of our waterways,” said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement. “We welcome this continued funding, which will enable the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to continue their work to preserve marine environments and ensure Mainers have access to clean, safe drinking water.”
Maine DEP and Maine DHHS oversee the engineering and construction aspects of the Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF programs, respectively, as well as the individual projects funded by it, while the Maine Municipal Bond Bank is the financial manager of both funds.
Under the Drinking Water SRF, states provide various types of assistance, including financing, to improve drinking water treatment, fix leaky or old pipes, improve source of water supply, and replace or construct finished water storage tanks. Clean Water SRF programs provide loans to construct municipal wastewater facilities, control nonpoint sources of pollution, build decentralized wastewater treatment systems, create green infrastructure projects, and protect estuaries.