Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Programs; Public Meeting on Federal Fiscal Year 2011 Intended Use Plans

The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) and the Department of Environmental Pro-tection (Department) have prepared the Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 Intended Use Plans (IUPs). The IUPs include a list of drinking water, wastewater treatment, nonpoint source and pollution abatement projects to be considered for a design and engineering or construction loan or grant from funds the Commonwealth expects to receive from the Federal FY 2011 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) programs. In accordance with United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines on the development of the IUPs, a public meeting has been scheduled for July 20, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. in the 2nd Floor Auditorium, Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA. This meeting is scheduled for the purpose of receiving comments from the public regarding the Federal FY 2011 IUPs. Interested persons are invited to express their views on the narrative portion of the IUPs, including the program guidelines for the Nonpoint Source Program, the set aside work plan or the priority rating or ranking of projects on the IUPs. Persons wishing to offer comments at the public meeting should contact the Division of Technical and Financial Assistance at the address or telephone number listed at the end of this notice or by e-mail to vbkasi@state.pa.us by 4 p.m. on July 19, 2011. Where written statements are prepared and will be submitted at the meeting, speakers will be asked to restrict the oral portion of the statement to a summary of the written comments.

 The projects to be considered for a loan or grant from the DWSRF and CWSRF programs must meet the Federal requirements for funding in accordance with the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act. Accordingly, the projects included in the IUPs are expected to meet the requirements applicable to use of the DWSRF and CWSRF loan or grant funds. Projects listed in the FY 2011 IUPs are on the Commonwealth's Project Priority Lists (PPLs) and are expected to proceed with design and engineering or construction within the next 2 years. A project must appear on a PENNVEST-approved IUP before it can receive a loan or grant from the SRF programs. A project's readiness to proceed and the reasonable availability of alternative funds also have a bearing on project selection for the IUPs. Consequently, the rank ordered list of projects on the PPLs does not solely dictate the order in which projects will be chosen for inclusion in an IUP.

 The DWSRF will be capitalized with approximately $27.1 million in Federal funds and approximately $5.4 million of State funds. Approximately $7.3 million of these funds will be set aside for technical assistance to small systems, operator training and certification and source water assessment and protection, as authorized under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The DWSRF IUP also includes a narrative work plan that describes how these set-aside funds will be used. A minimum of approximately $1.08 million will be set aside for program administration. Finally, an additional $8.1 million must be set-aside for additional subsidization to disadvantaged communities and $5.4 million for green infrastructure projects that fall into one or more of the following categories: (1) water efficiency; (2) energy efficiency; (3) environmentally innovative; (4) green stormwater infrastructure and meet the EPA criteria for green infrastructure.

 The CWSRF will be capitalized with approximately $58.4 million of Federal funds and approximately $11.6million of State funds. A minimum of approximately $2.33 million will be set aside for program administration costs. Finally, an additional $5.4 million must be set aside for additional subsidization to disadvantaged communities and $11.6 million must be set aside for green infrastructure projects that fall into one or more of the following categories: (1) water efficiency; (2) energy efficiency; (3) environmentally innovative; (4) green stormwater infrastructure and meet the EPA criteria for green infrastructure.

 It is not necessary to appear at the public meeting to present comments on the narrative portion of the IUPs, the set aside work plan or the PPLs. Interested persons may also submit written comments to the Department at the address that follows. Written comments will be considered equivalent to oral statements presented at the meeting. To be considered by the Department and PENNVEST, the written comments must be received by the Division of Technical and Financial Assistance by close of business, August 1, 2011.

 Persons in need of accommodations as provided for in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 should contact Veronica Kasi at (717) 772-4053 or through the Pennsylvania AT&T Relay Service at (800) 654-5984 (TDD) to discuss how the Department may accommodate their needs.

 A copy of the IUPs, the PPLs and the DWSRF set aside work plan may be obtained by contacting the Division of Technical and Financial Assistance at (717) 772-4053 or through the Department's web site at http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/drinking_water_and_facility/regulation/10535.