Our state does not have a statewide Support Group that helps to coordinate funding among all public agencies. How does one get started?
Do your research. Please go to the Statewide Support Group page of www.scwie.org. See the states that have such a group. You will see there are quite a number. Feel free to make contacts to learn how they got started. You can also contact your counterpart in that state to learn of their perspective.
Now that you have some background, meet with a few people from among the following agencies/organizations in your state:
Wastewater State Revolving Fund (SRF) program;
Drinking water SRF program;
Rural Development (RD) program;
State Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program;
Public financial institution (if appropriate);
State Rural Water Association;
Rural Community Assistance Partnership;
Economic Development Administration; and
where appropriate:
the liaison in the office of the Governor;
Appalachia Regional Commission;
Bureau of Indian Affairs and
any other agency that plays a role in your state.
Begin to meet with more representatives and determine if there is a need to coordinate funding. If there is a need, continue to reach out until you have attempted to involve everyone in your state and begin to organize yourselves.
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What additional functions should our existing statewide support group consider doing?
For ideas, please look at the Best Practices Page on www.scwie.org. Also, visit
one or more of the nine web sites (highlighted in blue) on the web site on the statewide Support Group page. Feel free to contact one or more of the contact people and/or your counterpart in that state. Identify a core group of people in your state to brainstorm with about any of the ideas that you have learned from the above research. Come up with other ideas, implement them and share with us on the Best Practices page.
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The key person in a significant agency in my state has never co-operated with personnel in the other agencies in my state. What should I do?
Excellent relationships among agency personnel exist in many states. A good place to start is with states that have Statewide Support Groups. Contact the state contact person and/or your counterpart in that state. It takes time to build Inter Agency relationships within the state. Many of us have experience in building these relationships. Feel free to discuss it with the state contact person or your counterpart in that state. Based on the information that you have obtained from one or more states, develop with other key people in your state a strategy to strengthening the relationship among everyone in your state.
Everyone involved in helping to create SCWIE encourages stronger inter agency working relationships. Feel free to consult with the webmaster who can further guide you on who to talk with in your endeavor to build positive relationships.
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Does SCWIE promote the creation of a statewide support group in each state?
While states that have statewide support groups believe that there are definite advantages to having all agencies work together in support of the small community, SCWIE does not promote them. This is a decision left to each state.
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What is an Environmental Finance Center? How can my state obtain the services of one?
An Environmental Finance Center is a university-based technical assistance center that provides environmental finance out reach services to the regulated community. A center is designed to create innovative solutions to help manage the cost of environmental protection covering a wide array of environmental concerns, including water-related issues. For more information, please look at the Environmental Finance Centers Page on www.scwie.org.
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Who is behind SCWIE?
There is an informal steering committee consisting of representatives from the following agencies and organizations:
Colorado Department of Local Affairs;
Kentucky Infrastructure Authority;
Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation;
New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation;
Ohio Water Development Authority;
Water Infrastructure Financing Authority of Arizona;
Rural Community Assistance Partnership;
Rural Community Assistance Corporation;
Great Lakes Environmental Finance Center;
Council of Infrastructure Financing Agencies;
United State Environmental Protection Agency
Clean Water State Revolving Fund Branch;
United State Environmental Protection Agency
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Team Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water;
United State Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service;
United State Department of Agriculture, New York office of Rural Development;
and
United State Department of Housing and Urban Development,
State and Small Cities Division
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What is CIFA?
The Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities (CIFA), a national organization of state, regional, and local financing authorities, is a principal advocate for needed infrastructure funding from all levels of government. It has a vision of sound infrastructure for the United States and a mission statement to exercise leadership to assure the availability and accessibility of adequate and economical funding to meet the nation's growing infrastructure needs, particularly with respect to the environment. For more information please see www.cifa.org.
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Does your state have resources available to individuals or community agencies for funding the repair or replacement of individual wastewater systems (i.e. homeowner assistance)?
Two programs that can be directly accessed by homeowners are the USDA 502 loan and 504 grant/loan programs.
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Are non-profit mutual benefit corporations (Mutual Water Companies) eligible for infrastructure replacement loans and/or grants?
A common source of funding for mutual benefit corporations is through the USDA's Rural Development program. Some states have private loan programs that can provide low interest loans for water infrastructure projects associated with privately owned water and wastewater systems, though most funding programs are restricted to providing funding only to local governments. Certain states can provide technical assistance to mutual benefit corporations/private non-profit systems if they are interested in independently forming a special district to expand their financing powers. Certain forms of improvement districts can also be formed by counties and municipalities to establish new financing powers for these small systems under the "umbrella" of the larger local government.
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How are different states handling the justification of spending federal and state funding toward very small projects?
Do they have stipulations that encourage more bang for the buck (i.e. additional grant money, lower interest rates, higher terms, etc.)? Is there a struggle with justifying small projects? How do states deal with the need for additional funding when projects end up costing more than projected? In many states, the state revolving funds (SRFs) provide grants for planning and design needs of small communities in an effort to help get projects underway that may later use the SRF construction loans. The SRF programs often target disadvantaged communities with limited economic resources and provide lower interest rates and longer loan terms up to these systems. In addition to the SRFs, most states have other grant programs to assist communities with the high cost of infrastructure investment.
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Questions & Answers