OKLAHOMA CITY – The Jay Utilities Authority (Authority) received approval for a $524,250 loan Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve the Authority’s wastewater system. This improvement will be financed by the Oklahoma Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF).
The Authority’s wastewater treatment plant does not currently have a source of standby power. These proceeds will be used for the installation of a 400 KW generator. This improvement will allow the Authority to maintain treatment requirements for discharge into Jay Creek and continue to provide uninterrupted service to customers if the power to the plant is disrupted.
Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the Authority’s customers will save an estimated $93,100 over the life of the 15-year loan compared to traditional financing. The CWSRF loan will be secured with a lien on the revenues of the Authority’s water, sewer, sanitation, and gas systems, a one-cent sales tax, and a mortgage. Representing the Authority was Chairman and Mayor of Jay, Becki Farley, and Treasurer, Kay Pickup. Ms. Farley stated, “Jay has worked for the last five years to get this taken care of. We appreciate the help from the Board.”
The CWSRF program is administered by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board with partial funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The CWSRF program has provided approximately $2.6 billion in water quality loans to provide communities the resources necessary to maintain and improve the infrastructure that protects our valuable water resources statewide.
Since 1983, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board has approved over $7.1 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.
“We are grateful to State Senator Tom Woods and State Representative Josh West for their support of our financial assistance programs,” said Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB.
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Contact:
Joe Freeman
Oklahoma Water Resources Board
(405) 530-8800
Joe.Freeman@owrb.ok.gov
