Our New Governor Announces Clean Water Grants, Loans; Announces Climate Action
Governor Josh Stein showed last week that “clean water” is not a dirty word in his administration. Stein and his Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Secretary Reid Wilson announced over $265 million in funding for drinking water and wastewater treatment infrastructure projects. Awards are going to build 99 projects in 45 North Carolina counties.
“When we invest in our infrastructure, we build a stronger and safer state for every North Carolinian,” said Gov. Stein. “This funding will help ensure more North Carolinians have access to safe and clean drinking water and will strengthen our communities for decades to come.”
“Every family expects and deserves clean water when they turn on the tap,” said DEQ Secretary Wilson. “These investments will provide critical infrastructure to help improve public health and quality of life for North Carolinians in communities large and small across our state.”
Projects funded include ones related to controlling emerging long-lasting pollutants like PFAS, as well as ones identifying and removing lead pipes. Sources for the funding include the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law approved under the Biden-Harris Administration and federal Community Development Block Grant funds, as well as two North Carolina revolving loan funds for drinking water and wastewater treatment projects respectively.
The announced project funding was approved February 19 by an independent review agency, the North Carolina State Water Infrastructure Authority. In selecting projects for funding, the Authority reviewed 203 eligible applications requesting a total of $1.63 billion.
United States Climate Alliance
In another major environmental action, Gov. Stein has announced that North Carolina is continuing its membership in the United States Climate Alliance. This is a bipartisan coalition of 24 state governors dedicated to advancing state-led, high-impact efforts to address the climate crisis. This represents another outstanding example of elected state leaders stepping up to fill the gap left by the short-sighted abandonment of climate action by the Trump Administration.
Both the clean water funding and the Climate Alliance show that voter action on the state and local levels will continue to make a difference for our environmental and climate future.
Sign Your Name on the Thank You Letter to Governor Stein!
We often ask for your help in holding elected officials accountable and encouraging them to protect our environment and communities. Because our state elected a pro-environment Governor, we are seeing some important wins. Join us in thanking Governor Josh Stein for his continued dedication to protecting North Carolinians and their environment.
