Missouri communities have put out for bid, awarded and started construction of projects totaling 100% of the state's allocation

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon announced today that Missouri ranks first among all states in utilizing special federal funds for construction of wastewater infrastructure improvement projects. Working with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources which administered the program, communities across the state have put out for bid, awarded, and begun construction on projects utilizing more than $103 million in federal funds and employing hundreds of Missouri workers.

"Since my first day in office, getting unemployed Missourians back on the job has been my highest priority. I saw an influx of federal funds for wastewater infrastructure projects as an important opportunity to put hard-working tradesmen and construction workers back to work," Gov. Nixon said. "I'm proud that Missouri has done the most effective job of any state in the country at putting these funds to good use, and the communities and workers who moved so quickly to get dirt moving on these projects deserve a great deal of credit."

In a May 5, 2010 letter to Gov. Nixon, Chairman James Oberstar of the Congressional Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure wrote to inform Missouri that it had moved more aggressively than any other state to begin construction of wastewater infrastructure projects using these funds.

"Missouri is leading other States in putting to work its wastewater infrastructure Recovery Act funds. Based on the State progress reports submitted to the Committee in April 2010, your State ranks first out of 51 States, based on an analysis of the percentage of wastewater infrastructure Recovery Act funds put out to bid, under contract, and underway," wrote Chairman Oberstar. "As of March 31, Missouri has put out to bid, signed contracts for, and begun construction of projects totaling 100 percent of the State's funding."

In November 2009, Gov. Nixon visited construction sites in Liberty and Springfield to kick off his Work Now initiative, aimed at using federal wastewater improvement dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to create jobs on a swift timeline. The initiative sought to help local communities, workers, contractors and labor organizations to work together to expedite the initiation of these projects so much-needed jobs could be created as quickly as possible.

"Missouri's success in creating good jobs across the state using wastewater infrastructure funds demonstrates that we have a workforce that is second to none and an economy that is prepared to accelerate rapidly out of the economic downturn," said Gov. Nixon. "By working cooperatively, we've used taxpayer funds in the most effective manner while putting hard-working Missourians back to work in rebuilding an infrastructure that needs repair."

Missouri also contributed State Revolving Loan funds to supplement the federal funding for these projects. The Department of Natural Resources prepared and presented Intended Use Plans for wastewater projects to the Clean Water Commission, which adopted the DNR proposals. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the state's Intended Use Plan submissions.