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LIVE OAK ? The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently
awarded $6.2 million to the city of Live Oak for wastewater management. The money, part of DEP's
Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Program, will fund the rehabilitation of the city's sewer
collection system.
Live Oak has experienced a significant increase in sewage flow because rain water enters aging
pipes that are damaged or collapsed. This project is needed to properly seal the city's collection
system, which will in turn save energy and reduce the process costs by reducing the volume of
wastewater for treatment.
The funds awarded to the city of Live Oak are a part of the approximately $212 million awarded to
Florida from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to help local governments
finance improvements to wastewater, stormwater and drinking water facilities essential to protecting
public health and the environment across the state. Florida is one of the first states to have met
all the requirements necessary to receive the full amount of ARRA funds to support both the CWSRF as
well as the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF).
"In order to protect water quality and public health for our citizens, it is essential that we
invest in our wastewater, stormwater and drinking water infrastructure. The stimulus funds advance
our ongoing efforts to provide needed funding for infrastructure to local communities," said DEP
Secretary Michael W. Sole. "We have had a tremendous demand for this ARRA funding, which will help
build valuable public projects."
Live Oak was one of the communities recently approved to receive these funds under DEP?s CWSRF
and DWSRF loan programs. There are now 48 projects in 43 Florida communities scheduled to receive
ARRA money to help build critical drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.
DEP has now committed $197 million of the $212 million in available CWSRF and DWSRF ARRA funding.
There is $15 million in drinking water funds remaining for applicants as they complete the planning,
design and permitting necessary to begin construction. Qualifying drinking water projects will be
selected for the remaining ARRA funds, based on their readiness and priority, at a future public
hearing. DEP will also continue to work with all applicants to help them apply for other funding as
it becomes available.
DEP received more than $800 million in requests for the $80 million of ARRA drinking water
project funds and more than $1.5 billion in requests competing for $132.3 million in ARRA wastewater
and stormwater funding.
DEP established its SRF programs, under agreements with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
to provide low-interest financing to plan, design and build wastewater, stormwater and drinking
water systems. Funded by federal capitalization grants, state matching funds, loan repayments,
interest earnings, and periodic bond issues, SRF loans are offered at interest rates substantially
below current market rates and help make loans affordable. Repayments from earlier loans are used to
make new loans, allowing the program to operate in perpetuity.
Since 1999, DEP has invested more than $3.5 billion to upgrade and improve drinking water and
wastewater facilities and clean up stormwater pollution, funding close to 2,100 projects statewide.
More than $2.6 billion of this amount has come from the SRF programs.
For more information on the State Revolving Funds, visit:
www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wff.
For complete list of communities scheduled to receive ARRA funding, visit:
www.dep.state.fl.us/secretary/news/2009/05/0522_02.htm.
For more information about Florida?s use of the federal recovery dollars made available through
ARRA, please visit
www.FlaRecovery.com.
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2012 State of Florida