Communities awarded $91 million for sewer planning

October 14, 2014

For More Information:
Brad Wurfel, 517-284-6713, wurfelb@michigan.gov
Sonya Butler, 517-284-5401, butlers2@michigan.gov

Communities awarded $91 million for sewer planning
Grants help protect Michigan waters

The DEQ today announced 115 applicants selected to receive grant awards totaling $91 million from the Stormwater, Asset Management, and Wastewater program, which protects Michigan’s water quality by helping municipalities plan for sewer system maintenance.

The SAW program provides grant assistance for developing stormwater and wastewater project planning and design, asset management plans for wastewater and stormwater systems, stormwater management planning, and testing and demonstration of innovative technology.

This is the second round of SAW grant awards and is further progress toward funding the complete list of 579 SAW grant applicants. This most recent achievement now brings the total number of SAW grant applicants to be awarded funding to 207 and the total dollar amount of SAW grant funding awarded to approximately $170 million.

Municipalities seeking SAW grants applied to the DEQ by Dec. 2, 2013, and approved applications were posted in their funding order per a lottery process in March 2014. No new SAW applications are being accepted by the DEQ as the total dollar amount of the approved SAW applications exceeds the total $450 million dollars available for the SAW program.

In order to fund the SAW grants, the Michigan Department of Treasury will issue general obligation debt as authorized in the Great Lakes Water Quality Bond. The SAW program was signed into law on Jan. 2, 2013, and operates alongside the established State Revolving Fund and Strategic Water Quality Initiatives Fund loan programs, as well as the winding-down S2 Grant Program, to support water pollution control efforts in Michigan.

For more information and a complete list of SAW grant recipients, visit the DEQ’s SAW Program highlight page at http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,4561,7-135-3307_3515_4143-294952--,00.html

For more information on the SRF/SWQIF loan programs, visit the DEQ’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund page at http://www.michigan.gov/cleanwaterrevolvingfund

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