(Washington, DC)  --  U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-Concord Township) today congratulated the Village of Rock Creek for successfully obtaining a low-interest loan from the Environmental Protection Agency so its drinking water plant can resume operations after being shut down since February.

 LaTourette said Village Administrator John Casalina contacted him in April, asking for assistance to get the village’s water plant operational.  The village shut down the plant in February due to water quality problems and had been buying water from a neighboring community for several months at inflated prices.  The village did not have the financial means to make needed repairs to its own plant, LaTourette said.

 LaTourette said he contacted the U.S. and Ohio EPA on Casalina’s behalf and put him in touch with the appropriate person at the Division of Ground and Drinking Water at the EPA office in Columbus.   The federal government provides funding to the Ohio EPA for many programs.

 “The Ohio EPA was very receptive to the emergency nature of this request and agreed to meet with Rock Creek officials almost immediately,” LaTourette said.  “The village was able to obtain a one-year emergency loan in a matter of weeks, and I’m pleased that their plant will be operational in about two weeks.  A check from the EPA arrived yesterday.”

 LaTourette said the low-interest loan program was the fastest and most effective way for the village to make needed repairs to bring the plant into compliance.  The village had been paying a 40 percent markup on water from a neighboring community while its own plant was inoperable.  The loan is for $13,950.

 LaTourette said he was pleased to help Casalina avert a crisis in the village, and said Casalina’s dealings with the EPA led him to another source of funding - a $10,000 grant through Ohio Public Works that was obtained with the assistance of State Rep. L.George Distel.

 “This was a win-win and I was pleased to help the village cut through bureaucratic red tape in record time,” LaTourette said.  “This is a great example of what can be done when you work together at the federal, state and local levels.”