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MPCA flags $3.4B immediate wastewater project backlog, urges continued state match for federal funds
Summary
MPCA officials told the committee the current project priority list includes 315 water infrastructure projects totaling about $3.4 billion and said the 20-year wastewater infrastructure need is roughly $6.5 billion, urging steady state matching dollars to leverage federal funding and help financially constrained communities.
Dana Vander Bosch, Assistant Commissioner for Water Policy and Agriculture at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, told the Capital Investment Committee that the state's project priority list (PPL) for wastewater and stormwater currently contains 315 projects totaling about $3,400,000,000 in need.
"The current project priority list includes 315 projects that total $3,400,000,000 in need," Vander Bosch said, and added that MPCA's legislative report forecasts roughly $6,500,000,000 in wastewater infrastructure needs over the next 20 years.
The nut graf: MPCA said the pipeline of water infrastructure work is growing quickly (the agency noted a 113% increase in reported need over the last five years) and that state match funding is essential to leverage federal funding streams such as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and to unlock other grants.
Vander Bosch described the PPL process: local governments apply for placement on a ranked list, MPCA scores projects using criteria tied to public- and environmental-health benefits, and inclusion on the PPL makes projects eligible for clean water state revolving fund financing and other programs administered by the Public Facilities Authority (PFA).
Ending: MPCA urged continued state matching capacity so the PFA can combine multiple funding sources to complete projects; the agency noted the next PFA presentation will detail available funds and lending capacity.
