SPRINGFIELD – The City of Murphysboro is one of 11 communities across Illinois that will see part of over $75 million in water infrastructure loans for the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2023 (October-December 2022). That announcement was made Wednesday by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
According to IEPA, Murphysboro will get $1 million and will use the funds for interior and exterior sand blasting and repainting for the 17th Street and Boot Camp elevated water tanks. The project includes miscellaneous repairs, Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) telemetry, and other appurtenances. The proposed improvements will allow the City to keep the existing water tanks in service and continue to provide customers with a safe and adequate supply of water.
The Illinois EPA State Revolving Fund (SRF) Program provides low-interest loans which fund wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water projects. The majority of the loans qualified for a total of over $13 million in loan forgiveness, providing additional benefits to those recipients meeting the loan rules for either the Small Community Rate or Hardship Rate. Murphysboro will have $500,000 forgiven.
Illinois EPA’s SRF includes two loan programs, the Water Pollution Control Loan Program (WPCLP) which funds both wastewater and stormwater projects, and the Public Water Supply Loan Program (PWSLP) for drinking water projects. Both programs provide funding at a low interest rate of just 1.24 percent for FY23. The programs receive federal capitalization funding annually, which is combined with state matching funds, interest earnings, repayment money, and the sale of bonds, to form the source of financing for these infrastructure projects. The state matching funds for FY2020-2024 are being provided through Governor Pritzker’s bipartisan Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan thus increasing the funding capacity of both loan programs.
For more information about Illinois EPA’s SRF, visit https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/topics/grants-loans/state-revolving-fund/Pages/default.aspx.