DALLAS –The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $9,165,000 to the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (ANRC) for projects such as replacing sewer lines, improving wastewater treatment facilities, and upgrading collection systems. The grant is part of EPA’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), a program that provides low-interest, flexible loans to municipalities and rural water districts.
For 25 years, the CWSRF has served as the nation’s largest source of water-quality financing, helping communities improve water quality, protect aquatic wildlife, protect and restore drinking water sources, and preserving our waters for recreational use. In recent years, CWSRF programs have provided about $5 billion per year to fund projects for wastewater treatment, nonpoint source pollution control, and watershed and estuary management.
Over 40 years ago, Congress passed the Clean Water Act to protect rivers, lakes, bays, wetlands and coastal waters. Streams and wetlands benefit communities by trapping floodwaters, recharging groundwater supplies, removing pollution and providing habitats for fish and wildlife. Families and farms located downstream understand the importance of healthy headwaters upstream. One in three Americans get their drinking water from public systems that rely on seasonal and rain-dependent streams. EPA is taking public comment on a rule to help protect our Nation’s waters.
