PFA Funding Supports $4 Million Echo Project

ST. PAUL – The city of Echo will receive more than $4 million in grants and loans from the Minnesota Public Facilities Authority (PFA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture for infrastructure improvements.

The city of 278 people in Yellow Medicine County will use the funding to replace underground water and sewer pipes in the community.

“Communities across Minnesota face serious water quality challenges,” said Governor Mark Dayton. “Last spring, I worked with the Minnesota Legislature to establish a grant program to help cities afford to make water quality improvements. These grants and loans will help the residents of Echo to afford the clean drinking water they deserve.”

“The Echo project will repair and replace 7,600 feet of water pipes and 11,000 feet of sewer pipes,” added Shawntera Hardy, who chairs the PFA board and is commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. “Without state and federal support, the community would have been unable to finance a project of this magnitude.”

The PFA awarded the city a $1.37 million grant from Water Infrastructure Fund for replacing the sewer pipes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program added a $737,000 grant and a $673,000 loan for the sewer pipe project.

To replace the water pipes, the PFA awarded the city a $350,000 grant from the Water Infrastructure Fund. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program contributed a $384,000 grant and a $489,000 loan. Another $50,000 in local funding was approved for the project.

The Water Infrastructure Fund provides grants to help communities build high priority water infrastructure projects that would otherwise be unaffordable. Grants from the program are packaged with PFA loans or federal loans and grants.

The Minnesota Public Facilities Authority provides financing and technical assistance to help communities build and maintain infrastructure that protects public health and the environment and promotes economic growth. Since inception in 1987, the PFA has financed $4.5 billion in public infrastructure projects in communities throughout Minnesota. Read more at the PFA website.