The City of Hagerman, Idaho, located in Gooding County, recently received a $2.6 million low-interest wastewater construction loan from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ), which will allow it to make significant improvements to its wastewater infrastructure.
The funding comes from the DEQ’s State Revolving Loan Fund, and, when compared to typical municipal general obligation debt issuances, represents a savings of approximately $2,552,448 for Hagerman. The loan has an interest rate of 1.75 percent, a 30 year term and $1,268,905 of principal forgiveness.
The city will use the loan to buy 100 acres of land, which will be used for effluent reuse through land application. The funding will also go toward rehabilitating an existing lagoon and creating an new one, as well as upgrading current lift stations and installing addition pressure and gravity sewer mains.
Funding for the DEQ’s State Revolving Loan Fund comes from annual contributions from the Environmental Protection Agency. Under Idaho state law, the DEQ can use those funds to help in the construction of public wastewater systems. Hagerman received particularly favorable terms, as the city qualified for a disadvantaged loan due to the annual costs of wastewater service for residential customers exceeding 1.5 percent of the median household income.
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