Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

$7M 'green' loan released to Lancaster city

Funding that will be used to plant trees, cover basketball courts and parking lots with porous pavement and allow rainwater to drain through paved alleyways was recently released to Lancaster city.

The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority announced Wednesday that a $7 million low-interest loan to Lancaster city had been finalized. The funding was first announced nearly two years ago.

The PennVEST funding is being used to develop "green infrastructure" projects. Those are environmental changes designed to allow rainwater to soak into the ground, rather than flow into the city's combined stormwater and sanitary sewer system.

The city is facing pressure from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to prevent 750 million gallons of raw sewage overflows that occur during heavy storms from going into the Conestoga River, and ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay.

The city has launched a 25-year, $140 million plan of improvements to take rainwater out of the sewer system.

nPennVEST funding to help develop 'green infrastructure' projects.