This agreement includes fiscal year 2024 bipartisan infrastructure law awards, which includes drinking water state revolving fund general supplemental, clean water state revolving fund general…

This $36,872,000 Cooperative Agreement awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Environmental Protection Consolidated Grants for the Insular Areas - Program Support (CFDA 66.600) program will fund critical water and wastewater infrastructure improvements in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The award provides full Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding to support projects including tank rehabilitation and replacement, waterline replacement and rehabilitation, PFAS treatment system installation, sewer lift station rehabilitation/replacement, well rehabilitation, and a lead service line survey contract. The primary objectives are to replace aging water mains, upgrade undersized infrastructure, improve water system pressurization and reliability, and reduce operations and maintenance costs to provide metered, potable drinking water to all CNMI customers. The wastewater projects aim to enhance plant operations, improve energy efficiency, increase treatment capacity, and lower operations and maintenance expenses. No sub-awards are included in this assistance agreement, which has an award date of October 1, 2024 and a targeted completion by September 30, 2031.

This agreement includes fiscal year 2024 bipartisan infrastructure law awards, which includes drinking water state revolving fund general supplemental, clean water state revolving fund general supplemental, clean water emerging contaminant funds, drinking water emerging contaminant funds, and lead service line replacement funds. The project workplan is targeted to meet the statutory and regulatory objectives, milestones, and goals of EPA's strategic plan, in conjunction with the authority and legislative intent of the omnibus territories act. Planned projects are derived from the bureau of environmental and coastal quality (becq) priority list. The specific project priorities may change throughout the period of performance, which are dependent on the needs basis of protecting human health and the environment. This year's award will fund design and construction for tank rehabilitation and replacement, waterline replacement and rehabilitation, PFAS treatment system, sewer lift station rehabilitation/replacement, well rehabilitation, and in-kind funding for a contract to assist in conducting the lead service line survey. This cooperative agreement provides full bipartisan infrastructure law (BIL) federal funding in the amount of $36,872,000, which includes $1,103,087 for EPA in-kind service (lead service line replacement contract). See terms and conditions. Activities:this agreement includes bipartisan infrastructure law funds for fiscal year 2022. The full detailed workplan is attached and describes the objectives, milestones, and goals that meet the requirements of EPA's strategic plan, gpra, statutes, regulations, and is being done with the authority and legislative intent of the omnibus territories act. The proposed projects are taken from the usepa approved cnmi bureau of environment and coastal quality's priority list, however, the specific project priorities may change through the years dependent on the need of addressing protection of human health and the environment. The proposed projects will focus on tank rehabilitation and replacement, waterline replacement and rehabilitation, PFAS treatment system, sewer lift station rehabilitation/replacement, well rehabilitation, and in-kind funding for a contract to assist in conducting the lead service line survey. The proposed activities and budget are detailed in the workplan, which has been negotiated and approved by the project officer. Subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:the water system improvement projects' primary objectives include replacing old leaking water mains, upgrading undersized mains, full-time pressurization of the water transmission and distribution system, and reducing operations and maintenance costs. These projects also aim to reduce non-revenue water, providing metered (billable), reliable, potable drinking water to every customer residing in the cnmi. The objective of the new proposed wastewater projects is to improve plant operation and lift station efficiency, conservation of energy, upgrade treatment capacity, and reduce the cost of operations and maintenance. Proposed projects will also improve the collection system as IT will replace collapsed sewer mains.