OIA NEWS RELEASEFOR FURTHER INFORMATION Virgin Islands Receives Over $4 Million from Office of Insular Affairs for Wastewater Projects(WASHINGTON, D.C., February 14, 2005) The U.S. Virgin Islands government will receive a grant in the amount of $4,168,000 from the Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs to continue the work on Federally mandated wastewater infrastructure projects, it was announced today. The grant will fund the design, construction and operation of the wastewater treatment plants on St. Croix and St. Thomas. "We want to support the Virgin Islands’ efforts to make critical improvements to its wastewater infrastructure," said Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior David B. Cohen. "Completion of these projects will improve public health protection while helping to bring the territory into compliance with Federal law." The grant will be funded through the Office of Insular Affairs’ Capital Improvement Project program, which supports infrastructure projects in the territories. Funds under this program are now allocated among the territories on a competitive basis, under a scoring system that rewards good fiscal management, good project planning and good project management. |