Environmental Quality Council June Meeting

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

AND PUBLIC MEETING

STATE OF NEBRASKA

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY (DWEE)

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COUNCIL

                        Notice is hereby given pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. §84-1411, that the Nebraska Environmental Quality Council (EQC) will hold a meeting and public hearing on June 26, 2025, beginning at 10:00 A.M. Central Time (CT) at 245 Fallbrook Blvd., Lincoln, Nebraska. Business items on the agenda will precede a hearing which is scheduled to begin at 10:00 A.M. CT or as soon thereafter as can reasonably be heard. The purpose of the hearing is to take testimony and evidence about the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 State Revolving Fund Clean Water and Drinking Water Intended Use Plan (2026 IUP). The meeting agenda and a draft copy of the 2026 IUP are available at the DWEE’s Lincoln office, 245 Fallbrook Blvd., Lincoln, NE and on the DWEE website at http://dee.ne.gov.

            All interested persons may attend and testify orally or by written submission at the public hearing. Interested persons may also submit written comments by mail addressed to: EQC, P.O. Box 98922, Lincoln, NE 68509-8922 or by email to DWEE.eqc@nebraska.gov prior to the hearing. Comments which are received by 5:00 P.M. CT, June 25, 2025, will be entered into the hearing record.

            Please notify the DWEE at least one week in advance of the EQC meeting if auxiliary aids or reasonable accommodations or alternate formats of materials are needed. The contact phone number is 402-471-2186; TDD users call 800-833-7352 and ask the relay operator to call 402-471-2186.

            A public hearing will be held on the State Fiscal Year 2026 Intended Use Plan (IUP) for determining loan and assistance recipients under the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). The 2026 IUP is presented to the EQC in compliance with Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 71-5321 and 81-15,152, Title 131 – Rules and Regulations for Wastewater Treatment Facilities and Drinking Water Construction Assistance Program, and the federal Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water Acts. The 2026 IUP describes how Nebraska intends to use all sources of funding for making loans, with forgiveness assistance to qualified recipients, for construction of eligible water infrastructure projects and assistance for other water quality needs throughout the state. The 2026 IUP includes a Project Priority Ranking Systems and Fiscal Year 2026 Funding Priority Lists for each of the funds, the system for setting borrowing rates, and defines the required Affordability Criteria (CWSRF) and Disadvantaged Community definition (DWSRF) methods needed for the offering of forgiveness assistance. Additionally, the 2026 IUP provides specific details on the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s General Supplemental and Emerging Contaminants Funding for each SRF, the Lead Service Line Replacement Funding for the DWSRF, and the funding annually appropriated to both SRF programs. The purpose of the hearing is to accept public testimony on EQC approval of the 2026 IUP. The EQC will vote to adopt, amend, or modify the 2026 IUP after hearing and considering all the testimony and written submissions.