Explanation
BACKGROUND: Ohio EPA requires this legislation which authorizes the Director of Public Utilities to execute up to thirty-four (34) Water Supply Revolving Loan Account (WSRLA) Loan Agreements totaling approximately $249 million, for construction of up to thirty-four (34) water system projects as identified in Section 1, under the direction of the Division of Water (DOW). These Capital Improvements Projects have been nominated and await OEPA’s approval for financing through the Water Supply Revolving Loan Account (WSRLA) program in Program Year 2022 which runs through July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022. This loan program is jointly administered by the Ohio EPA’s Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance (DEFA) and the Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA). The WSRLA program provides below-market interest rate loans for municipal water system improvements.
FISCAL IMPACT: All Loan Administration Fees will be rolled into each loan upon execution of the Loan Agreements. These WSRLA loans will be paid off over a 20-year period from water service rates (the dedicated source of repayment). Water service rate increases have been projected and planned in anticipation of these projects and loans.
Title
To authorize the Director of Public Utilities to apply for, accept, and enter into up to thirty-four (34) Water Supply Revolving Account Loan Agreements with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Water Development Authority, during the Program Year 2022, for the construction of water distribution and supply system improvements; and to designate a repayment source for the loans.
Body
WHEREAS, in the Program Year 2022 the Department of Public Utilities is scheduled to prepare Loan Applications for submittal to the Ohio EPA under the Water Supply Revolving Loan Account (WSRLA) program to finance the construction of up to twenty one Capital Improvements Projects under the direction of the Division of Water, the financial a...
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