National Drinking Water Clearinghouse
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6064
Morgantown, WV
26506-6064


The West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council
Funding Water Projects in the Mountain State

by Mark Kemp-Rye
On Tap Managing Editor

For many small communities, the maze of paperwork required for water and wastewater project funding can be overwhelming. Each government agency has its own forms and its own information needs. Couple this situation with limited resources, and it’s easy to see why town officials become frustrated.

In West Virginia, help is available for both the process of applying for funds and additional funding. The West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council (WVIJDC) funds water, wastewater, and economic development projects and coordinates project funding with other federal and state agencies. The state’s legislature created the WVIJDC in 1994 to oversee a $300 million-bond issue that voters passed. However, a court challenge kept the WVIJDC from funding projects until 1996. The 11-member council consists of four private citizens appointed by the governor, and seven other members from agencies, including the Bureau of Public Health, the Public Service Commission, Department of Environmental Protection, Development Office, Economic Development Office, Housing Development Fund, and the Water Development Authority. The WVIJDC has four main committees: consolidation, funding, sewer technical review, and water technical review.

Working with numerous other agencies—notably the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Office and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s revolving loan funds—the WVIJDC has successfully leveraged the initial $300 million bond into projects estimated at more than $1.1 billion. “We’re really proud of that,” says James Williams, one of the citizen members of the council and currently its chairman, in a February 19, 2001, Charleston Daily Mail article. “I don’t believe there’s a comparable four-and-a-half year period in the state’s history when those kinds of dollars have been spent on economic development and health programs.”

Infrastructure Councils on the Web
Several states maintain Web sites related to water and wastewater infrastructure projects.
The California Financing Coordinating Committee seeks to ”foster cooperation among the various organizations that administer (water and wastewater) programs at the state and local level.” Visit their site at www.swrcb.ca.gov/cwphome/mss/cfccfr.htm.

The Louisiana Infrastructure Information Center provides an online database that (1) provides a means for sharing public information about infrastructure projects, (2) aids the decision-making process for participating agencies, and (3) provides users with a ”one-stop shop” for infrastructure funds. Visit their site at wwwsrch2.doa.state.la.us/infra/.

The Ohio Small Communities Environmental Infrastructure Group coordinates, through a Finance Committee, the ”financial resources administered by state and federal agencies to address environmental infrastructure needs of small communities.” Visit their site at www.cpmra.muohio.edu/sceig/.

How does the council operate?
One of the key roles that the WVIJDC plays is that of state funding clearinghouse. “We provide a central source for a community seeking funds for water, wastewater, and economic development projects,” says Katy Mallory, WVIJDC executive director. “The council helps identify available private, public, local, state, and federal funding to assure that maximum financing is identified for each project.”
Projects that the WVIJDC funds are measured by criteria specified in the 1994 Infrastructure and Jobs Development Act. These criteria include:
• public health benefits,
• economic development benefits,
• compliance with state and federal
regulations (Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act),
• degree to which project encourages effective and efficient consolidation
of systems,
• cost effectiveness,
• availability of alternative funding sources,
• operation and maintenance needs,
• state or regional planning goals, and
• readiness to proceed.
All requests must include:
• a completed WVIJDC application form,
• an engineering report, and
• a Public Service Commission report.

The Council meets each month with representatives from various funding sources to review applications. First, a technical review committee considers the request. If the project is technically feasible and the most cost effective alternative, they recommend it to the funding committee. The funding committee provides a recommendation to the Council, which has the final approval. According to Mallory, the entire process is typically completed in 30 days.

“Everything with our project has gone according to schedule,” says Joe Haldeman, mayor of Rivesville, West Virginia, whose town received $1.5 million in WVJIDC loans and grants. The funding will be used to replace water mains and provide service to new customers when the work is completed in early 2003. “They had all the answers,” Haldeman says of the Council, “and we’re really pleased with how things have gone so far.”

Small Staff Makes Big Impact
Given the amount of funding that the WVIJDC has leveraged and the number of applications they receive, it might seem easy, as though they have a large staff spread around the state. The reality, however, is just the opposite. Two people—Mallory and Rose Cantrell, a part-time secretary—handle the day-to-day work from a modest office in Charleston, the state capital.
“We get a great deal of help from the various funding and regulatory agencies involved, and our citizen members who also are very active,” says Mallory. “So, we’re not really trying to expand our staff. If we had a bigger staff, it would just mean less money for the projects.”

A brief summary of WVIJDC activities gives an idea how their work impacts the Mountain State:
• more than $1.1 billion funded,
• $987 million for water and sewer projects,
• $207 million in federal monies leveraged,
• 28,000 new customers receiving water service,
• 23,000 new customers receiving sewer service,
• more than 250,000 existing customers receiving improved service, and
• compliance and environmental issues have been resolved.

More than 260 water and wastewater projects were funded between 1994 and 2000.

West Virginia’s Needs Are Great
The WVIJDC estimates that more than 25 percent of West Virginia’s population still need access to safe drinking water and that 45 percent have inadequate sewer systems. “In order to meet the current drinking water and wastewater needs of the state and improve the overall quality of life,” a council statement reads, “a minimum of $878 million is needed for community water systems, and at least $1.9 billion is required for central sewer systems throughout the state.”

To achieve the nearly $3 billion goal, the Infrastructure Council needs $300 million in additional money, which will enable additional revenue bonds to be issued, according to WVIJDC projections. Public works projects have clearly improved the quality of water in West Virginia. However, notes Mallory, much remains to be done. “The needs are great, but we remain hopeful that by 2010, most of them will be met,” she says. “Loans are being repaid and we are now able to issue revenue bonds against these repayments. And, in the most recent [2001] legislative session, monies were earmarked for more infrastructure funding.”

“I don’t believe there’s a comparable four-and-a-half year period in the state’s history when those kinds of dollars have been spent on economic development and health programs.”

James Williams, chairman, West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council

What goes on in other states?
The need for improved infrastructure is a growing concern for every state. And, with
a limited amount of federal funding available, more states are relying on their own resources to fund projects.
Oregon is one such state. The state’s Economic and Community Development Department combines funding from the state bond bank with proceeds from the state lottery to finance infrastructure projects, including drinking water and wastewater activities. According to Tom Meek, Oregon Bond Bank financial analyst, the eligibility criteria for a loan are simple. Systems must prove that they are “creditworthy” and seek a loan of at least $250,000.

Under the Oregon regulations, a community that doesn’t receive an “A” rating on its own isn’t eligible for bond bank funds. However, they may still be able to get help. “Small loans and loans to systems that are less creditworthy are financed solely from the lottery,” says Meek.

In North Dakota, the Municipal Bond Bank provides funding for a variety of needs. Unlike Oregon, the North Dakota Bank has no minimum loan amount and has issued many loans of less than $100,000, including one for just $25,000. The interest that communities pay on these loans is the same rate that the bank receives for the bonds it sells. (See the Spring 1997 Water Sense for more information about bonds.)

States across the country also are finding it advantageous to make the search for funds easier on communities. The process typically works like this:
1. the community develops a proposal for an infrastructure project;
2. the community presents the proposal to a coordinating council, such as the WVIJDC;
3. the agency, which meets on a regular basis (often monthly), ranks the proposed projects by need and lines up funding from different sources for eligible proposals; and
4. the community is informed about how the project will proceed.

In the past, the community needed to submit a different, often complex, application to each federal or state agency. A streamlined process means less duplication and less waiting for projects to take shape.

For more information about the WVIJDC, call (304) 558-4607 or write to 300 Summers St., Suite 980, Charleston, WV 25301. Infor-mation also is available on their Web site at www.wvinfrastructure.com.

More information about the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department (OECDD) and their infrastructure loans may be found at www.econ.state.or.us. You may also write to OECDD at 775 Summer St., Suite 200, Salem, OR 97301 or call toll-free (800) 233-3306.

The North Dakota Municipal Bond Bank (NDMBB) has a Web site at www.state.nd.us/bondbank/. Check the details of the Capital Financing Program to learn more about infrastructure loans in that state. You may also write the NDMBB at 418 East Broadway, Suite 246, Bismarck, ND 58501. You may also call toll-free at (800) 526-3509.