Nevada receives EPA water quality grants

The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) has received two grants from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for water pollution control and drinking water infrastructure projects.

A $6.5m grant was allotted to the Nevada clean water state revolving fund (SRF), which provides financing for municipal wastewater treatment projects. The drinking water SRF, which offers financial assistance for supporting drinking water infrastructure systems, secured $8.5m in funding. The funding will be used by the NDEP to provide low-cost loans for investments.

EPA Pacific Southwest regional administrator Jared Blumenfeld said that the EPA alone has provided more than $320m in grants for Nevada water projects over the last 24 years.

”Without this investment and creative financing at the federal level, many communities would not be able to provide for Nevadans’ basic needs for clean, safe drinking water and proper wastewater treatment,” Blumenfeld added.

The EPA has granted more than $170m in federal funding for the NDEP’s clean water SRF since its inception in 1989. The money has been spent on nonpoint source pollution control, watershed protection and restoration, water and energy efficiency projects, wastewater reclamation, and traditional municipal wastewater treatment projects.

The Drinking Water SRF has secured $150m in federal funding since 1997, in support of drinking water infrastructure projects, drinking water plant operator training and technical assistance.