In April, the EPA sent a letter of compliance to the state for failure to spend almost a half billion dollars in federal money to provide safe drinking water to communities.
The public health department’s plan outlines 29 steps it will take to improve the process.
It says it will have disbursed 85 million dollars by the end of June and another 200 million by the end of the next fiscal year.
Kathleen Billingsley, Chief Deputy Director for Policy and Programs with the Public Health Department, says the recently passed state budget will also provide them more staff and money to help poor communities get clean drinking water.
“Not only do we give money out to shovel-ready projects, but we give money to small and medium-sized projects to go ahead and do the planning that’s required in order to be able to move into construction,” says Billingsley.
The EPA will decide whether to approve the compliance plan by July 1st.