HARRISBURG – State Rep. Camille “Bud” George, D-74 of Houtzdale, said the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority – Pennvest – today approved a $2.2 million, low-interest loan for a project to improve water service in Grassflat, Cooper Township.
“Almost 3,500 residents who have suffered from frequent water outages and persistent low water pressure will benefit from this three-year project,” George said. “The project also will dramatically improve fire safety.”
The project, scheduled to begin in August and be completed in the fall of 2012, entails construction of three 310,000-gallon water-storage tanks, 26,000 feet of water lines and 30 fire hydrants.
“Grassflat’s undersized and compromised water-storage tank will be replaced, and the system’s frequent water line breaks and water losses should be a thing of the past,” George said. “The project scored high in almost every Pennvest criteria.”
The $2,225,000, 20-year loan to the Cooper Township Municipal Authority is at 1.27 percent for the first five years and 2.51 percent for the remaining 15 years.
George, a Pennvest charter member, said the authority today approved 58 projects with the help of the $400 million bond issue that Pennsylvania voters approved last November and funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the economic stimulus package that Congress approved earlier this year.