Governor Rendell Announces $530 Million Investment in Water Infrastructure

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Edward G.
Rendell today announced the commonwealth's investment of $530 million in
nearly 60 green infrastructure, drinking water and wastewater projects in more
than 30 counties.

"Funding for projects approved today by the PENNVEST Board of Directors
demonstrates the commonwealth's commitment reinvigorate the economy by
providing safe, clean drinking water and wastewater systems while creating
jobs," Governor Rendell said. "These projects are vitally needed to put people
back to work and to improve our precious water resources for future
generations."

Most of the funding approved today, $411 million, is for low-interest loans;
the $119 million in grants represents PENNVEST's first allocation of American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding.

The awards range from a $377,000 loan to replace old and corroded drinking
water distribution lines in a Bucks County community to an $85 million loan to
eliminate raw sewage backups into basements and yards by replacing old sewage
collection lines in various parts of Philadelphia.

Funds for the projects are disbursed after bills for work are paid and
receipts are submitted to PENNVEST.

For more information about PENNVEST, visit www.pennvest.state.pa.us. To track
Pennsylvania's investment of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding,
visit www.recovery.pa.gov.

The Rendell administration is committed to creating a first-rate public
education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing
economic investment to support our communities and businesses.To find out more
about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter,
visit: www.governor.state.pa.us.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A list of project summaries, by county, follows.

PENNVEST GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT:

Philadelphia County
* Philadelphia City received a $30 million loan for a variety of innovative,
"green infrastructure" solutions to storm water management in various parts of
the city that will reduce discharges of raw sewage from the sanitary sewer
system and reduce contaminated storm water runoff into the Delaware and
Schuylkill Rivers.

PENNVEST DRINKING WATER PROJECTS:

Allegheny County
* Pennsylvania American Water Company, Inc. received a $2.1 million loan to
install new water distribution lines and make other upgrades to the drinking
water system in its Pittsburgh district to eliminate water outages due to
leaks and waterline breaks.
* Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority received a $10.8 million loan to
improve the authority's water treatment plant and its water storage and
distribution system to help bring the system into compliance with county,
state and federal requirements.

Armstrong County
* Buffalo Township Municipal Authority received a $7.2 million loan to
construct a new drinking water treatment plant and more than three miles of
distribution lines to improve treatment and reduce water loss due to leaks.

Beaver County
* Baden Borough received a $2.4 million loan to construct approximately two
miles of new water distribution lines to improve reliable service to customers
that have experienced water quality, quantity and pressure problems.
* Beaver Falls Municipal Authority received a $9.2 million loan to construct a
new raw water intake at the Eastvale water treatment plant and replace water
lines in various areas of the authority's system.

Bradford County
* Ulster Municipal Authority received a $2.1 million loan and a $1.5 million
grant to construct a new microfiltration membrane treatment plant to comply
with filtration requirements for the use of surface water by drinking water
systems.

Bucks County
* Richlandtown Boroughreceived an $884,000 loan to install an arsenic
treatment system for the borough's drinking water supply, which serves 455
households.
* Sellersville Borough received a $377,000 loan to eliminate drinking water
system leaks and improve the quality of water delivered to customers by
replacing old, corroded distribution lines with new lines.

Clearfield County
* Cooper Township Municipal Authority received a $2.2 million loan to
construct three new water storage tanks to replace the existing tank that is
severely corroded and install nearly five miles of new water distribution
lines to eliminate leaks that cause frequent water outages.

Clarion County
* Hawthorn Redbank Municipal Authority received a $1.1 million loan and a $1.4
million grant to eliminate water quality and safety problems by constructing
an interconnect with a nearby drinking water system and new distribution lines
in a village where residents currently experience water outages that can last
more than a week.
* Redbank Valley Municipal Authority received a $2.8 million grant to replace
the authority's unsafe and structurally deficient surface water intake in
Redbank Creek, eliminating downstream hydraulic hazards caused by the existing
intake.

Erie County
* Erie City Water Authority received a $713,000 loan and a $4.7 million grant
to construct more than nine miles of water distribution lines needed to
connect a local elementary school and houses in McKean Borough and McKean
Township with the Erie Water Works system.

Greene County
* Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority received a $2.5 million loan to
replace more than three miles of old water lines and a water storage tank to
provide reliable service to the Nemacolin area. The project will also
facilitate the construction of a new power generation plant that will create
97 new jobs over the next three years.

Huntingdon County
* Broad Top City Water Authority received a $1.2 million loan and a $1.9
million grant to construct more than six miles of water lines and two new
wells to provide reliable service to households in Broad Top City Borough that
currently are exposed to high iron and manganese levels in their drinking
water supplies.

Lawrence County
* Volant Borough received a $320,000 loan and a $1.1 million grant to
construct a new water treatment plant and replace water lines and other
facilities to provide a safe and reliable source of drinking water to
households in the borough.

Luzerne County
* Hazelton City Authority received a $12.5 million grant to replace more than
three miles of drinking water distribution mains, upgrade a pump station,
replace a water storage tank and rebuild three water filters to reduce water
leaks and improve service.

Lycoming County
* Montgomery Water and Sewer Authority received a $1.3 million loan to develop
a new groundwater source and nitrate treatment system to provide an adequate
supply of clean water.

Mercer County
* Grove City Borough received a $1.3 million loan to install nearly 2,500 new
water meters throughout the system to help detect and correct water leakages.

Monroe County
* East Stroudsburg Borough received a $1.2 million loan to replace water mains
and other facilities to alleviate waterline breaks and water leakage problems.

Perry County
* Liverpool Municipal Authority received a $970,000 loan to construct a new
water treatment facility that will house an arsenic treatment system needed to
protect residents from unacceptably high levels of arsenic contamination.

Philadelphia County
* Philadelphia City received a $57.3 million loan to replace 14 miles of
unreliable water mains, upgrade three pump stations, and install energy
efficient standby generators at two other pump stations.

* Philadelphia City received a $42.9 million loan to rehabilitate and improve
three water treatment plants and water process support sites to improve water
quality, reliability and energy efficiency.

Washington County
* Charleroi Borough Authority received a $4.8 million loan to construct a
finished water booster station, a new transmission main, a 500,000-gallon
water storage tank and install an interconnection with the North Charleroi
service district.
* Pennsylvania American Water Company, Inc. received a $12.2 million loan to
construct more than 28 miles of water lines and a 350,000-gallon water storage
tank to provide safe and reliable water to the residents of Mount Pleasant
Township.

Wayne County
* Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc. received a $1.4 million loan to replace nearly a
mile of water transmission main to improve reliability and reduce arsenic
contamination in the Honesdale water system.

Westmoreland County
* Westmoreland County Municipal Authority received a $4.8 million loan to
replace approximately two miles of water distribution lines to avoid breaks
that interrupt service to local residents, businesses and other facilities,
including the Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg.

PENNVEST WASTEWATER PROJECTS:

Allegheny County
* Allegheny County Sanitary Authority received an $11.8 million loan to
upgrade the McKees Rocks pump station and install nearly a mile of 5-foot
diameter storm sewers to reroute water away from the nearby interceptors.
* Clarion City received a $2.2 million loan to upgrade and expand a pump
station and replace half a mile of crushed sanitary sewer lines to eliminate
bypasses of untreated sewage into Peters Creek.
* Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority received a $10.3 million loan to either
replace or rehabilitate more than four miles of sewer collection lines in
various areas of the city to eliminate wet weather bypasses of sewage into the
Allegheny, Ohio and Monongahela Rivers.

Armstrong County
* Apollo Boroughreceived a $7 million grant to install more than seven miles
of new collection sewers and convert the existing combined sewers into storm
sewers to eliminate wet weather overflow of untreated sewage into the
Kiskiminetas River.
* East Franklin Township received a $1.1 million loan and a $9.4 million grant
to construct three sewage treatment plants, four pump stations and more than
six miles of sewage collection lines to serve houses in the villages of
Adrian, Tarrtown and Cowansville where illegal sewers are discharging
untreated sewage directly into Glad Run.
* Ford City Borough Sewage Disposal Authority received a $1.6 million loan to
install approximately a mile of new sanitary sewers and also convert the
existing combined sewers into storm sewers to eliminate wet weather bypasses
of untreated sewage into the Allegheny River.
* Kittanning Borough Municipal Authority received a $1.4 million loan and a
$5.5 million grant to install more than two miles of new sanitary sewers,
convert existing sewers to storm sewers and install nearly half a mile of new
storm sewers to eliminate two existing combined sewers which overflow
untreated wastewater into the Allegheny River during wet weather.

Beaver County
* Ambridge Borough Municipal Authority received a $5.7 million grant to
upgrade its wastewater treatment plant to eliminate wet weather bypasses of
untreated sewage into the Ohio River.

Berks County
* Sinking Spring Boroughreceived a $5.7 million loan to upgrade and expand the
capacity of the borough's wastewater treatment plant to prevent overloads of
the plant that could contaminate Cacoosing Creek and reduce phosphorous
discharges to the creek.

Cambria County
* Cresson Borough Municipal Authority received a $1.3 million loan and a $2.3
million grant to replace more than three miles of sewage collection lines to
eliminate wet weather overflows at the authority's main pump station that are
causing discharges of sewage into the Little Conemaugh River.
* Dale Borough received a $660,000 loan and a $5.3 million grant to install
more than five miles of sanitary sewer lines to separate sanitary sewers from
storm sewers to eliminate wet weather bypasses of wastewater into the
Conemaugh and Stonycreek Rivers.

Carbon County
* East Penn Township received a $36,000 loan and a $3.8 million grant to
construct a new wastewater collection and treatment system to eliminate the
use of malfunctioning on-lot septic systems that are discharging untreated
wastewater.

Dauphin County
* Gratz Borough Municipal Authority received a $1 million grant to construct a
new wastewater treatment plant that will improve the quality of the system's
discharge into Wiconisco Creek and bring the system into compliance with
Chesapeake Bay discharge requirements for nitrogen and phosphorous.

Delaware County
* Southern Delaware County Authority received a $598,000 loan to upgrade three
pump stations to eliminate the risk of public exposure to overflows of
untreated sewage and improve the water quality of Marcus Hook Creek.

Elk County
* Johnsonburg Municipal Authority received a $12.6 million grant to eliminate
wet weather bypasses of untreated sewage into the Clarion River by expanding
the capacity of the existing regional wastewater treatment facility.

Greene County
* Greensboro Monongahela Township Joint Sewage Authority received a $1.4
million loan and a $4.3 million grant to install more than eight miles of
collection sewers and three pump stations to eliminate the use of
malfunctioning on-lot septic systems and illegal sewers that are discharging
untreated waste into Whitley Creek.

Huntingdon County
* Orbisonia-Rockhill Joint Municipal Authority received a $2.8 million grant
to upgrade a pump station, force main and install a new wastewater treatment
system to eliminate the discharge of inadequately treated sewage into Blacklog
Creek.
* Spring Creek Joint Sewer Authority received a $2.1 million grant to upgrade
and expand its sewage treatment plant to eliminate wet weather discharges of
inadequately treated wastewater into Three Springs Creek.

Luzerne County
* Butler Township received a $406,000 loan to construct approximately half a
mile of sewer lines to eliminate discharges of inadequately treated sewage.
* Greater Hazleton Joint Sewer Authority received a $33.6 million loan to
expand and upgrade its existing sewage treatment plant and rehabilitate four
pump stations to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous discharges to comply with
Chesapeake Bay requirements.
* Pittston City received a $9.2 million loan replace existing combined sewers
with approximately four miles of sanitary and storm sewers to eliminate the
possibility of wet weather discharges and soil subsidence under buildings that
overlay portions of the existing system.
* West Pittston Borough received a $9.5 million loan to construct more than a
mile of new storm sewers and approximately three miles of sanitary sewers to
reduce the discharge of raw sewage into the Susquehanna River.

Lycoming County
* Williamsport Sanitary Authority received a $10.5 million loan to reduce wet
weather overflows into the Susquehanna River by constructing a 1.5
million-gallon equalization tank and a new pump station. The project will
also allow for the expansion of local businesses as well as the Williamsport
Hospital and Medical Center, which will create 230 jobs over the next three
years.

Montgomery County
* Upper Pottsgrove Township received a $5 million loan to construct more than
four miles of force mains, interceptors and sewage collection lines along with
two pump stations to convey wastewater to the Pottstown Borough Authority's
plant for treatment.

Northumberland County
* Mount Carmel Municipal Authority received a $2.9 million loan and a $18.8
million grant to construct a new wastewater treatment plant that, in addition
to eliminating wet weather overflows into Shamokin Creek, will bring the
system into compliance with Chesapeake Bay requirements for nitrogen and
phosphorous discharges.

Philadelphia County
* Philadelphia City received an $84.8 million loan to replace nearly four
miles of sewer lines, install nearly a mile of new sewer lines and reline more
than four miles of existing lines in various areas of the city to eliminate
backups of sewage into basements and yards.

Somerset County
* Meyersdale Borough received a $2.4 million loan to eliminate wet weather
bypasses of wastewater into both the Casselman River and Flaugherty Creek by
removing nearly 2,000 tons of sludge from the borough's lagoon treatment plant
and either rehabilitating or replacing more than a mile of sewer collection
lines.

Union County
* New Berlin Municipal Authority received a $5.8 million loan and a $654,000
grant to expand the existing treatment plant, construct more than a mile of
new collection lines and a new pump station to eliminate the discharge of
inadequately treated wastewater into Penns Creek.

Washington County
* Independence-Cross Creek Joint Sewer Authority received a $3.7 million loan
and an $11.7 million grant to construct a new wastewater treatment plant and
17 miles of collection sewers to eliminate the discharge of raw sewage into
Cross Creek from malfunctioning on-lot septic systems.
* Monongahela City Municipal Authority received a $3.5 million loan to
construct a new pump station and nearly a mile of new sewer lines to eliminate
wet weather bypassing of untreated sewage into Pigeon Creek.

Wyoming County
* Little Washington Wastewater Company received an $814,000 loan and a
$370,000 grant to upgrade the sewage treatment plant and rehabilitate
collection lines to eliminate the wet weather discharge of raw sewage into a
tributary of the Susquehanna River.
CONTACT:
Paul Marchetti, PENNVEST
717-783-4496

Chuck Ardo
717-783-1116

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor

Paul Marchetti of PENNVEST, +1-717-783-4496, or Chuck Ardo of the Pennsylvania
Office of the Governor, +1-717-783-1116