EPA Advised To Ensure States Meet DWSRF Deadline

Washington, Jan. 7 – The Environmental Protection Agency is required to adjust each states’ allotment of Drinking Water State Revolving Funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act if state projects are not under contract by Feb. 17. As a result, the EPA inspector general is urging the agency to identify projects before then that are not under contract and help states meet this deadline.

Some 257 DWSRF projects worth about $324 million were under contract in November 2009, which represents only 17 percent of the $2 billion provided to EPA under the Recovery Act for the program, the OIG said. “EPA must reallocate funding if projects are not under contract by Feb. 17, 2010,” the OIG said. “This reallocation will delay the use of Recovery Act funding, which will in turn delay the creation of jobs and jumpstarting the economy.”