This Act would authorize the State to issue bonds in an amount not to exceed $10,250,000 for the activities described below.

The Department of Environmental Protection would expend $5,850,000 of the bond proceeds as follows:

* $3,000,000 would go into an existing state revolving loan fund administered by the Maine Bond Bank and distributed by the Department of Environmental Protection in the form of loans to municipalities to construct and upgrade wastewater treatment facilities. These funds would be matched by approximately $15,000,000 in federal funds (a 5:1 ratio of federal to state funds);

* $600,000 would provide grants to municipalities for up to 80% of the cost to construct and upgrade wastewater treatment facilities. These funds are expected to leverage $900,000 in federal and other funds;

* $1,000,000 would go into the Small Community Grant Program to provide grants to towns in rural areas to help replace malfunctioning septic systems that are polluting a water body or causing a public nuisance;

* $750,000 would be allocated to support the investigation and clean-up of uncontrolled hazardous substance sites where contamination by hazardous substances poses a threat to public health and water quality; and

* $500,000 would provide grants to help fund the removal of individual overboard discharges of wastewater, with a high priority given to eliminating sources of contamination to shellfish harvesting areas and public nuisance conditions.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources would administer $1,000,000 of the funds in the form of grants to farmers, awarded through a competitive process, to fund up to 75% of the cost of constructing or expanding environmentally sound water sources to irrigate crops and minimize drought damage. These bond funds would be matched by $350,000 in other funds, representing 25% of the cost of these projects.

The bonds would run for a period not longer than 10 years from the date of issue and would be backed by the full faith and credit of the State. If approved, the bond authorization would take effect 30 days after the Governor's proclamation of the vote.

Debt Service
Prepared by the Office of the Treasurer

Total estimated life time cost is $12,786,875 representing $10,250,000 in principal and $2,536,875 in interest (assuming interest at 4.5% over 10 years).

Fiscal Impact Statement
Prepared by the Office of Fiscal and Program Review

This bond issue has no significant fiscal impact other than the debt service costs identified above.