GEFA news quarterly, 2012 July

GEFA NEWS QUARTERLY JULY 2012 VOLUME VIII

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Governor's Water Supply Program Receives First Round of Applications 1

GEFA Welcomes New Team

Members to Water Resources

Division

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Energy Star & WaterSense Sales

Tax Coming This Fall

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Land Conservation Council Meeting; Fuel Storage Tank Program Initiatives 3

GOVERNOR'S WATER SUPPLY PROGRAM RECEIVES FIRST ROUND OF APPLICATIONS

The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) received 15 applications from communities seeking $195,595,758 in funding for their water supply projects through the Governor's Water Supply Program (GWSP) in May. The applications will be reviewed and scored on the basis of need, readiness, finances, and regional cooperation and impact. GEFA plans to announce the funding awards in August. The GWSP applicants are:

Hickory Log Creek Reservoir in Canton, Georgia

Barrow County Water & Sewerage Authority City of Auburn Etowah Water & Sewer Authority City of Cornelia City of Villa Rica Newton County (Bear Creek Reservoir) Paulding County Board of Commissioners (Richland Creek Reservoir) South Fulton Municipal Regional Water & Sewer Authority (Bear Creek Reservoir) City of Hahira City of Vienna Lake Lanier Island Development Authority Oconee and Walton Counties (Hard Labor Creek Reservoir) Southwest Georgia Regional Commission Haralson County Water Authority (previously-approved planning loan) Paulding County Board of Commissioners (previously-approved planning loan for Richland
Creek Reservoir)

Local governments will be invited again to apply for the second and third rounds of GWSP applications, which are scheduled to begin in January 2013 and January 2014, pending appropriations.

The GWSP is a resource for local governments, with a funding commitment of $300 million, to align and mobilize state resources to assist local governments with developing new sources of water supply adequate to meet future water demand forecasts.

In January 2011, Gov. Nathan Deal directed GEFA to develop and launch the GWSP. A stable and dependable water supply is critical to the health of Georgia residents and to future economic development.

For more information on the applicants' projects and the GWSP, visit www.gefa.org.

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GEFA NEWS QUARTERLY JULY 2012 VOLUME VIII

NEW WATER ENVIRONMENTAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS FUNDED; THE WATER RESOURCES DIVISION WELCOMES NEW TEAM MEMBERS

Georgia communities can now take advantage of record low interest rates for new water and wastewater infrastructure, which includes water supply and water conservation projects. Based on the rates for general obligation bonds sold by the state in June, the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) reduced the interest rates for its loan programs. The Georgia Fund and the Reservoir and Water Supply Fund (Governor's Water Supply Program) interest rates are 2.82 percent. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) and Drinking Water SRF interest rates are 1.82 percent. Eligible water conservation projects receive an additional 1 percent reduction, which means rates for water conservation projects may be as low as 0.82 percent. The interest rate for land conservation projects is 1.32 percent.
On June 21, the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission (GSFIC) sold 20-year competitively-bid general obligation bonds at a true interest cost rate of 2.82 percent. GEFA's interest rates are lowered in keeping with the program policy of indexing interest rates to the true interest cost of the most recent 20-year competitively-bid general obligation bond issue. For more information, visit www.gefa.org.
The GEFA board of directors and executive committee approved several infrastructure projects. Paulding County was approved for a Georgia Reservoir and Water Supply loan of $2,800,600 to finance the necessary environmental engineering surveys and studies required to obtain a 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers for constructing Richland Creek Reservoir. The city of Thomasville was approved for two loans that finance water and sewer system improvements. A Clean Water SRF loan of $11,391,000 will finance the replacement of sewer lines, manholes and aging lift stations, as well as improvements to the wastewater treatment facility. Thomasville was also approved for a Drinking Water SRF loan of $9,800,000 to finance a new well and chemical feed building, replacement water lines, a 500,000-gallon elevated water tank, and security and system monitoring improvements. The city of Demorest was approved for a Drinking Water SRF loan of $3,300,000 to finance replacing 30,500 linear feet of water line and installing 4,500 linear feet of new water line. The project also includes replacing 5,500 old water meters with radio read meters.

The Water Resources Division added two new team members to assist with its initiatives. Matt Harper has been selected as water supply senior program manager. He will manage the Governor's Water Supply Program.
Before coming to GEFA, Harper served as senior principal environmental planner for the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), where he developed and implemented regional water resource plans. At ARC he worked on a variety of projects including source water assessments and the development of total maximum daily load implementation plans for waterbodies in the Ocmulgee, Chattahoochee, Flint and Coosa River Basins.
Harper earned an associate's degree from Young Harris College, in Young Harris, Ga., a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia, and a geographic information system (GIS) certificate from Kennesaw State University. He is originally from Savannah, Ga., and currently resides in Marietta with his wife and their two children.
Michael Roberts recently joined GEFA as a State Revolving Fund program manager, where he will help manage the State Revolving Fund programs. Roberts joins GEFA from Jacobs Engineering, where he specialized in water system engineering and management for four years. He was also appointed to the State Water Well Standards Advisory Council by Gov. Nathan Deal.
Roberts grew up in Atlanta where he currently resides, and graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, with a focus on wastewater treatment and reuse.

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GEFA NEWS QUARTERLY JULY 2012 VOLUME VIII

ENERGY STAR AND WATERSENSE SALES TAX HOLIDAY COMING IN OCTOBER
The state of Georgia will have an ENERGY STAR and WaterSense Sales Tax Holiday on October 5 through October 7, 2012. The state and local sales tax exemption will apply to:

THE LAND CONSERVATION COUNCIL MEETING; FUEL STORAGE TANK PROGRAM TRAINING INITIATIVES
The Georgia Land Conservation Program's (GLCP) Georgia Land Conservation Council met on June 18 in Atlanta. The council meets four times a year to discuss land conservation initiatives, industry news and trends and legislation in Georgia.

Dishwashers, clothes washers, air conditioners,
ceiling fans, fluorescent light bulbs, dehumidifiers, programmable thermostats, refrigerators, doors and windows purchased for home use that meet or exceed ENERGY STAR requirements with a sales price of $1,500 or less.
WaterSense-labeled products, including bathroom faucets and toilets,
purchased for personal use with a sales price of $1,500 or less.
The state and local sales tax exemption will not apply to ENERGY STAR or WaterSense products purchased for trade, business or resale.
ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy that encourages the use of energy efficient products and practices to save money and protect the environment. For more information, visit www.energystar.gov.
WaterSense, a partnership program by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, seeks to protect the future of our nation's water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with waterefficient products, new homes and services. For more information, visit www.epa.gov/watersense.

During this past meeting, the Council summarized the GLCP's collaborative efforts with other state agencies, discussed current initiatives and reviewed the program's finances, which include $100,000 in available grant funds and $44 million in available loan funds. GEFA's FY2013 strategic plan and the roles that the GLCP and the Council will play in the plan were also discussed.
Additional updates included information on the conservation tax credit program revisions passed by the General Assembly, and administering GEFA and GLCP funds. The revisions were made as part of House Bill 386 (the "Georgia Jobs and Family Tax Reform Act"), and aim primarily to increase the conservation value of eligible donations, prevent abuse, and reduce the financial impact of the program.
The Fuel Storage Tank Program (FSTP) is currently working with the Jekyll Island Authority on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initiative to develop a spill prevention, control, and countermeasures plan. The plan is designed to prevent, control and mitigate spills and protect Georgia's land, water and wildlife resources. For more information, visit www.gefa.org.

For more information on Georgia's ENERGY STAR and WaterSense Sales Tax Holiday, visit www.gefa.org.

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