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CNMI Receives $200,000 in Economic Recovery Funds to Improve Water Quality, Create Jobs

Release Date: 09/16/2009
Contact Information: Dean Higuchi, 808-541-2711, higuchi.dean@epa.gov

Funds keep and create jobs to help prevent water pollution and protect human health and the environment

(09/16/09) HONOLULU - In an effort to improve water quality and create jobs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $200,000 to the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. A total of $39 million will be awarded nationally to states and territories for Water Quality Management Planning (WQMP) grants, which will keep and create jobs to help prevent water pollution and protect human health and the environment.
 
"With this infusion of Recovery Act funding, CNMI will have more resources for high priority projects and the promotion of water and energy efficiency projects," said Laura Yoshii, acting Regional Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Pacific Southwest. "This funding will not only make it possible to focus on this critical work, it will also create and save CNMI jobs."

Planning is an important step in EPA’s goal to improve water quality in America’s lakes, rivers and streams. WQMP grants support a broad range of activities, such as setting standards, monitoring the quality of the water, developing plans to restore polluted waters, and identifying ways to protect healthy waters from becoming polluted. States and territories are also encouraged to use these funds for more innovative planning activities like developing plans to adapt to climate change, analyzing trends in water availability and use, and creating low-impact development programs. Grants are awarded to state and territory agencies and some of the funds can be awarded to regional and interstate planning organizations.   
President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on February 17, 2009, and has directed that the Recovery Act be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability. To that end, the American people can see how every dollar is being invested at Recovery.gov.

For information on EPA’s implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, visit https://www.epa.gov/recovery/
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