The Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH) was recognised for its innovation and program management in underground infrastructure and its ability to exceed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Green Project Reserve requirements.

The DOH received the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) national Performance and Innovation in the State Revolving Fund Creating Environmental Success Award (PISCES) in recognition of the DOH’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Program. The CWSRF provides low interest loans to county governments to expand and rehabilitate wastewater infrastructure.

As well as providing low interest loans to county governments, the CWSRF program also allocated 42 per cent of economic stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to support ‘green projects’. This is more than double the US federal 20 per cent requirement.

Amongst such green projects is Honolulu’s Waimalu Sewer project, which was the first of the ARRA projects to start construction in July 2009 and is currently undertaking microtunelling operations.

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Deputy Director for Environmental Health Laurence Lau said “We’re very pleased that the EPA has recognised our efforts to increase program participation and assist counties in making their wastewater plants more energy efficient and sustainable.”