News Room

Public Service Board lines up $12M in projects: Stimulus money would pay for stormwater work
July 1, 2009

The Public Service Board is on the brink of getting a $12 million, interest-free stimulus package loan that will be used to fund five stormwater projects the state has identified as priorities.

Written by Darren Meritz , The El Paso Times

20090630__0701-a1-psb_1-c_500

Juan Reyes, center, and Mike Arnold, both of the Texas Department of Transportation, remove rainwater Tuesday from the shoulder of North Loop Drive at Worsham near Socorro. (Rudy Gutierrez / El Paso Times)

EL PASO -- The Public Service Board is on the brink of getting a $12 million, interest-free stimulus package loan that will be used to fund five stormwater projects the state has identified as priorities.

The PSB of the El Paso Water Utilities is briskly putting together a final application to meet a July 22 deadline that would allow the utility to break ground by February on projects that include a wetland in the Lower Valley.

"We always enjoy free money," said PSB Chairman Ruben Guerra. "That's going to play a huge role in how we evaluate any future rate increase, and it may mitigate the need for a rate increase for some time."

The board voted 4-0 at a special meeting Tuesday to request that the City Council issue $12 million in revenue bonds to be purchased by the Texas Water Development Board -- the agency administering the stimulus program. Mayor John Cook, a member of the Public Service Board, was absent and did not vote.

City officials estimate the loan will allow the utility to save $6.7 million that otherwise would go for paying interest.

The Texas Water Development Board in turn will provide the PSB a 20-year, no-interest loan to finance five projects:

  • Featherlake II Basin, a $3.6 million project to build a second water retention site near Roseway and Loop 375 that will double as a wetland.
  • Pershing Dam, a $1.8 million project to raise by 4 feet and widen an emergency spillway that was breached during the 2006 floods.
  • Northeast Channel 2, a $3.8 million project to build a stormwater channel that runs parallel to Sun Valley Drive.
  • Basin G Excavation, a $1.2 million project to regrade and expand the basin near the Jonathan Rogers water treatment plant in the Lower Valley.

    Nick Costanzo, El Paso Water Utilities vice president, requested Tuesday that the PSB ensure the readiness of those projects to receive the interest-free loan and meet the deadlines imposed by the Texas Water Development Board.

    "This is a unique opportunity, the stimulus funding, so we can address stormwater issues without affecting stormwater rates," Costanzo said.

    The PSB is asking the City Council to authorize a request for financial assistance at its meeting July 14, then OK the sale of revenue bonds by Sept. 23. If things fall into place, the PSB expects to receive the money by November.

    •

    View Printer-Friendly Format

    Related Stories

    Rail yard move to Asarco site proposed
    January 19, 2010

    So what should El Paso do with Asarco?

    Among the many proposed uses for hundreds of acres that make up the now-shuttered facility is one that would move a rail yard from Downtown to the smelter site on El Paso’s Westside.

    An El Paso delegation divided
    June 7, 2009

    They were able to reach a number of those objectives before the session ended last week, but some achievements came in spite of the legislators' continual bickering with one another and in some cases with other lawmakers and state leaders.

    From the Senator's Desk . . .
    May 15, 2009

    Basic infrastructure is the key to a competitive economy—without the ability to move people and products, manufacturers and others will go to states and countries that can. In El Paso, we need to support a proven model that has worked to provide that infrastructure to our city, and give it the every tool and resource available to bring more projects to El Paso. Let’s all support a strong RMA and TXDOT to make that happen.

    Legislators' dispute over credit stalls bills
    May 5, 2009

    State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh and state Rep. Chente Quintanilla have filed two bills that would free school districts and the county government from paying stormwater fees charged by the Public Service Board. State Reps. Norma Chávez and Joe Pickett have filed two similar bills.

    Stormwater bills stall at the lege as delegation members step on each others' toes
    May 2, 2009

    On the House side, state Reps. Norma Chavez and Joe Pickett have passed bills which have now been sent to the Senate. However those bills are stalled because Sen. Eliot Shapleigh has refused to carry them. Shapleigh has his own stormwater bills working through the system, but since having passed the Senate, they are encountering problems on the House side.

    Fair Use Notice
    This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond "fair use", you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.