June 11, 2003

MEMORANDUM

TO: Members of the House and Senate

FROM: Bill Holman

Re: Applications for Clean Water Funding

The Clean Water Management Trust Fund accepts new applications from local governments, state agencies, and non-profit conservation organizations for grants to protect and restore surface water quality on June 1 and December 1 of each year.

Last December the Clean Water Management Trust Fund received 69 applications requesting $102.3 million (2002B Cycle). The CWMTF Board of Trustees reviewed those projects this spring. About one third of those requests remain eligible for further review. The Board plans to prioritize them, subject to new appropriations from the General Assembly, at its July meeting.

Last week the Clean Water Management Trust Fund received 101 applications requesting $172.2 million for water quality projects ranging from stormwater management in Kure Beach to buffer protection on the New River in Ashe County to wastewater improvements in Grifton and Ramseur.

The Board of Trustees and staff of the Clean Water Management Trust Fund will review these applications (2003A Cycle) at its August, September and October meetings. The board plans to prioritize them, subject to new appropriations from the General Assembly, at its November meeting.

The Clean Water Management Trust Fund greatly appreciates the General Assembly’s $66.5 million appropriation in 2002. After subtracting the Governor’s 3.5% reduction (later increased to 5.0%) the CWMTF Board of Trustees committed those appropriations to local governments, state agencies and non-profits that applied in December 2001 and in June 2002. Almost all of those grants are under contract and the funds have been encumbered.

Since 1996 CWMTF has received 997 applications requesting a total of $1,154,474,367 to protect and restore water quality.

Thanks to appropriations from the General Assembly the Clean Water Management Trust Fund has invested $320.7 million in projects to protect and restore surface water quality since 1996. CWMTF grants have leveraged $533.7 in other public and private funds for water quality.

Please contact me if you need more information.