Explanation
1. BACKGROUND
To authorize the Director of Columbus Water & Power to enter into Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Program agreements with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for the Chagrin River Corridor Preservation project; to execute documents necessary to enter into these sponsorship agreements; and to declare an emergency. ($0.00)
The State of Ohio created the Water Pollution Control Loan Fund (WPCLF) to provide financial assistance for water resource protection and improvement actions. This program is jointly administered by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) and the Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA). Columbus Water & Power, with City Council approval, uses the WPCLF to fund many of its sanitary and storm water projects. The OEPA created the Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Program (“WRRSP”) within the WPCLF for the effective perpetual protection and maintenance of Ohio’s high-quality aquatic ecosystem resources. An applicant applying to the WPCLF for financing of a water quality improvement project may also sponsor a qualifying WRRSP project to be undertaken by itself or by an entity with the ability to implement the WRRSP project. The WRRSP program works by providing funds, through WPCLF loans, to finance the implementation of projects that protect or restore water resources. As loans are repaid to the WPCLF, the repayment goes primarily towards outstanding debt service and other bond obligations as well as returning money to the fund for future loan awards. A very small portion of this loan repayment is designated for use on WRRSP projects. There is no cost to a sponsoring organization such as Columbus Water & Power to sponsor a WRRSP project, and the sponsoring organization receives a reduction in the interest rate charged on their sponsoring WPCLF loan.
ODNR and the OEPA contacted Columbus Water & Power about sponsoring the Chagrin River Corridor Preservation project. The Chagrin River Corridor Prese...
Click here for full text