San Antonio, Texas, April 4, 2003 -- The City of La Feria, Texas, will receive US$6.95 million in grant assistance for its water and wastewater improvements project from the North American Development Bank (NADB) through the EPA-funded Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF).
The grant for the project was approved by the NADB after certification by the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) today. La Feria is a small town located approximately eight miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border in Cameron County in the Rio Grande Valley, between the cities of Harlingen and Weslaco.
The La Feria project will help provide first-time wastewater services to residents in eight colonias, as well as water services in two of those colonias. Eliminating deficient on-site septic systems in the eight colonias will protect the environment and the health of local residents. The new wastewater treatment plant will enable the City to meet current and future state effluent requirements, as well as improve the quality of discharges into the Arroyo Colorado.
The project, which has a total estimated project cost of US$18.64 million, is divided into two phases. The first phase involves the expansion of the water treatment plant, installation of new water and sewer lines, construction of a wastewater treatment plant and installation of residential hookups. The second phase will consist of constructing a new water treatment plant.
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) is also providing a loan and grant for construction costs. The City also received a grant from the BECC's Project Development Assistance Program (PDAP) for the design elements.
Through its BEIF program, the NADB has approved more than US$433 million in EPA-funded grants to support the construction of environmental infrastructure in various communities, which will benefit residents on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Since its inception in 1995, the NADB has approved more than US$493 million in loans and grants for 57 infrastructure projects in the region.
For more information on the NADB, visit www.nadb.org.
The North American Development Bank, created under the auspices of NAFTA, is a financial institution established and capitalized in equal parts by the United States and Mexico for the purpose of financing environmental infrastructure projects along their common border. As a pioneer institution in its field, the Bank is working to develop integrated, sustainable and fiscally responsible projects with broad community support in a framework of close cooperation and coordination between Mexico and the United States.
Text of previous editions of NADB News may be viewed at http://www.nadb.org.
