HAZLETON, July 18, 2012 – - State Sen. John Yudichak (D-Luzerne/Carbon/Monroe) and state Rep. Tarah Toohil (R-Luzerne) today announced that a $5.9 million low-interest loan has been awarded to the Hazleton City Authority.
The loan, approved today at a meeting of the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST), will fund the replacement of 15,260 obsolete water meters with new meters.
“It is imperative that we continue to financially assist our communities in upgrading and updating infrastructure, especially when dealing with the quality and delivery of drinking water,” Yudichak said. “This project will not only improve the efficiency of the Hazleton City Authority, but it will also put people back to work.”
Yudichak added that the 1% loan offered by PENNVEST is significantly lower than what would be available to the Hazleton City Authority in the private market – saving ratepayers money.
“This PENNVEST loan is money well spent because it will be go toward the replacement of more than 15,000 water meters that are outdated and difficult to repair,” Toohil said. “The new meter system will be more efficient and provide more accurate readings to ensure customers are paying for exactly the amount of water they use. Because of the benefits that will result for both the authority and its customers, this is exactly the kind of drinking water improvement project the PENNVEST program was designed to support.”
The project is scheduled to begin in February 2013 and will take three years to complete.
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