An official website of the United States government.

News Releases from Region 01

EPA Awards More Than $80 Million to Massachusetts to Support Local Clean Water Projects

10/18/2018
Contact Information: 
John Senn (senn.john@epa.gov)
(617) 918-1019

(BOSTON) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was awarded a total of $80,269,000 in Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) grants to finance community-based water infrastructure projects, such as upgrades to municipal sewage plants and public drinking water systems.

"Communities across Massachusetts will enjoy cleaner water and make important infrastructure upgrades thanks to this funding," said EPA New England Regional Administrator Alexandra Dunn. "These low-cost loans further EPA's commitment to ensuring American communities have access to clean water, safe drinking water and the infrastructure necessary to support local needs."

"The State Revolving Fund programs are a vital partnership between the federal and state governments, helping to do the difficult work of financing expensive local water infrastructure," said Commissioner Martin Suuberg of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). "The SRF assistance programs fund public health and environmental protection projects all across the Commonwealth."

"The State Revolving Fund, administered by the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust, provides cities and towns the resources they need to finance water infrastructure projects," said Treasurer Deb Goldberg, Chair of the Clean Water Trust. "This is another example of the excellent work the Trust does to help our local communities while protecting the health of our citizens and the environment we live in."

The total amount of funding came through separate grants to the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust in the amount of $54,495,000 for its Clean Water SRF program and $25,774,000 for its Drinking Water SRF program. With the funds awarded to the Commonwealth, the Trust will work in conjunction with MassDEP to fund a series of long- and short-term community-based projects that address high priority water quality and health-based concerns.

MassDEP will 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 Trust is the financial manager of both funds. Earlier this year, the Commonwealth offered more than $610 million in financing for 86 SRF Drinking Water and Clean Water projects across the state.

Under the Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF programs, EPA provides grants to all 50 states plus Puerto Rico to capitalize state water loan programs. States contribute an additional 20 percent to match federal grants. EPA also provides direct grant funding for the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas. Since 1987, the SRFs have provided more than $160 billion in financial assistance to 38,000 water quality infrastructure projects and 14,000 drinking water projects.

Under the Drinking Water SRF, states provide various types of assistance, including financing to improving drinking water treatment, fixing leaky or old pipes, improving source of water supply, and replacing or constructing 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.

For more information on the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund, visit https://www.epa.gov/cwsrf.

For more information on the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund, visit https://www.epa.gov/drinkingwatersrf.