Water Supply Revolving Loan Account
Interest Rates
for April 1, 2012 through June 30, 2012 are
3.25% - standard loan
2.75% - small system
3.2% - short-term loan
2.00% - small system with affordability points awarded
Information regarding these interest rates and discounts may be found in Appendix E of the current Drinking Water Assistance Fund Program Management Plan.
See page 16 of the Plan for a description of the additional subsidies available to Disadvantaged Communities.
Water Pollution Control Loan Fund
Interest Rates
for May 2012 loans are
2.69% - standard loan
2.19% - small community
0.0% or 1.0% - hardship community
Interest Rate Determination based on "Draft" Program Year 2012 Benchmarks
WPCLF Standard Interest Rate
The standard Water Pollution Control Loan Fund standard interest rate is determined monthly based on an average of The Bond Buyer 20 General Obligation Bond Index less 125 basis points. The average is determined using the GO Bond rates from the eight Fridays ending with the second Friday of the previous month.
NEW!! Standard Interest Rate List of Communities
WPCLF Small Community Interest Rate
The small community long-term interest rate will be 0.5 percent less than the standard long-term interest rate.
A small community is defined here as any incorporated area with a population of 5,000 or less, OR any applicant that has a current project service population of 5,000 or less and that charges the entire debt for the project solely to the project service population. Projects may not be broken arbitrarily into smaller service areas for the purpose of receiving the lower interest rate.
WPCLF Short-Term Interest Rate
The short-term interest rate is available for financing loans with repayment periods of not greater than five years. For the current WPCLF program year, please reference the WPCLF Short-Term Interest Rate section. Typically this rate is used for planning and design efforts, but can also be used for construction and equipment financing. Repayments are made semi-annually, in ten equal installments.
WPCLF Hardship Interest Rate
To further reduce the cost of developing and constructing wastewater facilities, the following interest rates are available to qualifying applicants:
- Communities with a service population equal to or less than 2,500 AND with a median household income of $45,500 or less will receive an interest rate of zero percent.
- Communities with a service population between 2,500 and 10,000 AND with a median household income of $38,000 or less will receive an interest rate of 1.0 percent.
- A community is defined here as any incorporated area OR any applicant with a current project service population within the noted ranges that charges the entire debt for the project solely to the project service population. Projects cannot be arbitrarily broken into smaller service areas for the purpose of receiving the lower interest rate.
WPCLF Linked Deposit Interest Rate
Linked deposit borrowers generally receive an interest rate from participating banks which equals the bank's normal interest rate minus the interest rate discount the WPCLF gives the bank when it invests WPCLF funds with the bank.
For the current program year, the WPCLF linked deposit investment rate with participating banks will be up to 5.0 percent less than the Treasury Notes and Bonds interest rate would be for a note with a term of years equal to the term of the linked deposit loan. Where the federal note rate is not high enough to support the full 5.0 percent reduction, the discount will be reduced accordingly but in no case will it be lower than 1.0 percent. The effective rate to the borrower will depend upon the bank's normal rate structure, and the amount of the WPCLF discount available according to prevailing federal rates.
Linked deposit assistance may be available to private borrowers for a variety of water quality activities, such as agricultural nonpoint source water pollution control, home sewage treatment system improvements, and forestry best management practices.
WPCLF Home Sewage Treatment System Improvement Program Interest Rate
Municipalities (counties, cities, villages) may wish to establish a program to provide loans to private individuals for upgrading on-lot sewage disposal systems. When implemented in conjunction with local health departments, the municipality may borrow from the WPCLF to capitalize its loan program, and will receive an interest rate of 1.0 percent for WPCLF loans with a term of five years or less
WPCLF Interest Rate Discounts
An applicant may receive more than one discount on a construction loan, but the total interest rate for the construction loan will not be less than 0.2 percent. Interest rate discounts are available for the following categories. Click on the appropriate link for more details.
Septage Receiving Facilities
As an incentive for public owners of treatment facilities to include equipment designed to receive, treat, and dispose of septage, the WPCLF offers a reduction to a recipient's basic interest rate when it is borrowing from the WPCLF to improve other facilities.
A recipient receiving a WPCLF loan for wastewater facilities construction may also sponsor its own septage receiving facilities project as a part of the wastewater facilities loan. The WPCLF loan interest payments will be reduced to provide savings equal to the as-bid principal and interest costs of the septage receiving facilities. There is no obligation for the recipient to repay the cost of the septage project. The savings provided are exclusive of any capitalized interest costs or loan fees.
Those communities that are not borrowing for other wastewater facilities improvements may receive a WPCLF loan for their septage receiving proposals. For facilities that have the primary purpose of receiving, treating and disposing of septage, the recipient will receive an interest rate of 2.0 percent.
Municipal Water Conservation
To encourage water conservation by Ohio communities, Ohio EPA will reduce the basic WPCLF loan interest rate for wastewater treatment facilities by 0.1 percent for recipients who propose and implement qualifying water conservation programs.
Failed Non-Conventional Technology
Ohio EPA continues to encourage the development and implementation of non-conventional (innovative) technology. We recognize that there are benefits and risks involved in using these newer technologies. To that end, if the approved non-conventional treatment components fail, the WPCLF will forgive the interest on the remaining portion of the WPCLF loan attributable to the non-conventional technology and make available a zero percent loan for any qualifying facilities necessary to correct the non-conventional technology failure.
Conversion from Class B to Class A Sludge Production
To encourage municipalities to convert from the production of Class B sludge to Class A sludge, applicants with no existing sludge production facilities that construct new Class A sludge facilities or applicants with existing Class B sludge production facilities that convert to Class A sludge facilities will receive an up to 0.2 percent discount from their loan interest rates, except that the total value of the discount cannot exceed the cost of the incremental facilities needed to produce Class A sludge.
Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Program (WRRSP)
A recipient receiving a WPCLF loan for wastewater facilities construction may also sponsor a WRRSP project as a part of its wastewater facilities loan. A portion of the interest due the WPCLF loan will be advanced to the implementer of the WRRSP project to pay for the implementation of qualifying actions to protect or restore water resource habitats. There is no obligation for the recipient or the implementer to repay the cost of the WRRSP project.
Either by themselves or in conjunction with other projects which are committed to be undertaken, WRRSP projects must provide complete protection or restoration of aquatic habitat sufficient to meet or protect the designated uses of the benefited water resource as defined under Ohio Water Quality Standards. Projects must address the physical and/or biological factors which have been identified to be among the primary reasons for the water body not fully attaining its designated aquatic life use criteria, or which constitute a threat to full attainment of the designated aquatic life use criteria.
Sponsors may participate in the WRRSP by undertaking projects themselves, or by implementing the project through a not-for profit organization such as a land trust, park district, or other entity with the ability to protect and manage the maintenance of the water resources.
The WPCLF will provide the funds for the cost of the approved WRRSP project. Additionally, the interest rate for the sponsor's wastewater facilities project will be reduced by up to 0.1 percent, but the overall rate of the sponsoring loan will not be less than 0.2 percent. For more information about the WRRSP, see our current Program Management Plan, Appendix F.5, and the WPCLF Links page.
If you have questions, please call the Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance at (614) 644-2798.