KTVB BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality announced today that they are awarding $331,741 to nine drinking water and wastewater systems across Idaho. The funding for the grant award was made possible under Governor Brad Little's "Leading Idaho" plan, the news release said. "Families, farmers, ranchers, and all Idaho residents rely on clean, efficient water and wastewater systems. These systems are not only a crucial part of our way of life, but our economy as well. Funding for these projects from my Leading Idaho plan aims to ensure that Idaho residents – especially those in our rural communities – can depend on our water and wastewater infrastructure for generations to come," Idaho Governor Brad Little said. This grant provides 50 percent of the necessary funding for each…
Contact: MaryAnna Peavey, Grants and Loans Bureau Chief The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced the award of $51,335,442 in construction grants to six drinking water and wastewater systems. These construction projects are funded from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that Governor Brad Little directed to DEQ in 2022. “Water is our most valuable resource, and we absolutely must keep up the infrastructure to ensure water is clean and plentiful for this generation and future ones. That is why we made historic investments in water quality and quantity this year as part of my ‘Leading Idaho’ plan,” Governor Little said. “These investments also could keep your property taxes low. Property taxes are determined locally but the investments we made in water and other infrastructure needs at the state…
By Hannah Hale; Idaho Free County Press Kooskia City Hall. Free Press Archives KOOSKIA — During a meeting on Oct. 12, the Kooskia City Council discussed the sewer project and the water facility plan, both set to improve these municipal systems. Michelle Bly from TD & H Engineering spoke to the council and provided insight into the legalities of the sewer projects. The first topic discussed was the sewer project. The engineering and developing portion of this project, headed by Mountain WW, has created a “blueprint” of what needs to be done to the sewer system to keep it functional. There is about 3,200 feet of sewer line that needs to be fixed. After being submitted to Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), which is the state agency that looks…
Local News 8 BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) — The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is announcing fiscal year 2024 grant and loan funding opportunities for Idaho’s drinking water and wastewater systems. Funding will be used to assist eligible public drinking water systems and wastewater systems with facility planning projects and help entities build or repair existing public drinking water systems and wastewater treatment facilities. Eligible applicants include governmental entities and nonprofit corporations that have authority to collect, treat, or dispose of sewage or industrial wastewater as well as community water systems and nonprofit noncommunity water systems. Funding Availability DEQ has several funding opportunities available. State Revolving Fund (SRF) Loans State Revolving Fund (SRF) loans provide low-interest funding for up to 100% of design and construction costs for drinking water and…
Water Finance and Management ASDWA has announced the launch of its new Environmental Justice webpage. The webpage includes ASDWA’s environmental justice strategy, developed by ASDWA’s members and staff and will guide the association’s work in the future, as well as a variety of resources related to environmental justice and drinking water. Most notably, ASDWA staff worked with members to include a table that provides the text definition of a disadvantaged community for each state, along with the link to where that definition can be found (Intended Use Plans, regulations, statute, or policy). Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, states are responsible for defining what constitutes a disadvantaged community. States use these definitions to make determinations and help prioritize the funds for drinking water infrastructure that are distributed to communities and water…
I. Using Molecular Methods to Study Cyanobacterial Blooms. This presentation introduces molecular monitoring approaches used in the detection and quantification of cyanobacterial groups and cyanotoxin genes implicated in harmful algal blooms. Results will be presented from next generation sequence analysis and qPCR/RT-qPCR methods to characterize cyanobacterial community structure, associated bacterial community, toxic cyanobacteria, and geographically localized genotypes or species. The methods study cyanobacterial functional genes associated with nutrients in toxin production, their relationship to water quality parameters, and explore drivers of cyanotoxin production using mRNA-based sequence analysis. This presentation also discusses occurrence, distribution, temporal-spatial variations of cyanobacteria, especially toxin-producers, and use as early warning systems for cyanotoxin production. II. Funding Integration Tool for Source Water: Finding a Plan a FITS. With different funding mechanisms available, it can be difficult finding…
By Betsy Z. Russell; Idaho Press BOISE — The proposed budget for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality for next year shows something unusual: A 100.7% increase in total funds from this year. The reason: A “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make investments in infrastructure projects that will have an impact for generations to come,” according to state DEQ Director Jess Byrne. Byrne presented the budget to the Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Thursday, including proposals from Gov. Brad Little to spend hundreds of millions in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds over the next five years for major upgrades to city drinking and wastewater systems; closing old landfills; addressing contaminated, abandoned mine sites across the state; and more. “When the ARPA dollars arrived, the first thing the governor said was, ‘I…
Register at https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_B7J5tY92RtGVlh2QxvqDrg Harmful Algal Blooms: The federal and innovative funding sources for the prevention, monitoring, and treatment of harmful algal blooms November 9-10 at 11:00am - 2:00 pm MT During this virtual forum, participants from federal agencies will provide an overview of the federal funding programs related to harmful algal blooms (HABs), the funding allocation/application process for those programs, and how inland and coastal communities can use the programs to address HABs challenges. Invited speakers will provide an overview of federal funding programs from: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) United States Geological Survey (USGS) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) The forum will also include presentations from communities that have utilized funds from these federal programs as well as a session dedicated to…
