Innovative Project will Create Jobs, Improve Local Economy, and Protect Community’s Health and Environment
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA – Today, Congresswoman Lois Capps announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded the County of San Luis Obispo an $87 million loan and grant to construct a new wastewater treatment system in Los Osos. The funding is being made available as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), which Congress enacted last year to restore our economy and create jobs. Los Osos needs a wastewater system to provide a reliable source of water to residents and businesses and to protect the adjacent Morro Bay National Estuary.
“This is absolutely wonderful news. The new wastewater system will provide safer, clean and reliable water to Los Osos residents and it will protect our beautiful national estuary. This long overdue project is environmentally protective, technologically sound, and cost effective. And it is a perfect use of Recovery Act funds, too – a shovel ready project that creates jobs quickly, meets an important immediate need and sets the table for long term economic growth in our area, ”said Capps.
San Luis Obispo County has been selected to receive the Recovery Act loan guarantee and grant utilizing Water and Environmental Program (WEP) funding. The WEP program is part of the Rural Water and Waste Disposal Loans and Grants program. WEP provides loans and grants to ensure that the necessary investments are made in water and wastewater infrastructure to deliver safe drinking water and protect the environment in rural areas.
The funding will be used to help construct a wastewater treatment system for the community of Los Osos to correct health violations identified by the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. In addition, this project is estimated to create nearly 2,900 jobs. The new system will provide service to approximately 4,700 homes and businesses in the community.
Capps has been a longtime advocate of the wastewater treatment system in Los Osos. She has written two letters to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack this year in support of Recovery Act funding. She was also critical in securing a provision in the Fiscal Year 2010 Agriculture Appropriations bill to ensure this project was eligible to receive Recovery Act funds to construct the project.
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