{"id":10564,"date":"2024-07-16T13:39:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-16T13:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/?p=10564"},"modified":"2026-04-12T12:16:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T12:16:04","slug":"wapa-and-fema-drive-forward-progress-on-key-infrastructure-initiatives-territory-wide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wapa-and-fema-drive-forward-progress-on-key-infrastructure-initiatives-territory-wide\/","title":{"rendered":"WAPA and FEMA Drive Forward Progress on Key Infrastructure Initiatives Territory-wide"},"content":{"rendered":"

July 16, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n

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WAPA and FEMA Drive Forward Progress on Key Infrastructure Initiatives Territory-wide<\/span><\/h2>\n
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U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS – July 16, 2024 \u2013 The Virgin Islands Water\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0Power Authority (\u201cWAPA<\/span>\u201d or the \u201cAuthority\u201d) held a productive\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0forward<\/span>-looking meeting yesterday with representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (\u201cFEMA<\/span>\u201d),\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0Office of Disaster Recovery (\u201cODR\u201d),\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (\u201cVITEMA\u201d) to discuss the\u00a0progress<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0plans for\u00a0on<\/span>going\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0upcoming projects. This meeting was crucial in ensuring smooth coordination\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0timely approvals essential for the advancement of the electric\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0water projects, aiming to bring lasting improvements to our community.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We are pleased to report that\u00a0WAPA<\/span>‘s electric projects are moving ahead swiftly, leading the way in\u00a0progress<\/span>. While efforts are being made to synchronize with the Virgin Islands Waste Management\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0WAPA<\/span>‘s water division, some delays are being addressed due to pending approvals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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FEMA<\/span>\u00a0representatives reaffirmed to\u00a0WAPA<\/span>\u00a0its commitment to working collaboratively with\u00a0WAPA<\/span>\u00a0to streamline the review process. Ashley Bryan, Interim CEO\/Executive Director at\u00a0WAPA<\/span>, emphasized, \u201cIt’s crucial to note that\u00a0WAPA<\/span>\u00a0is operating power\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0water systems that have been crippled by the storms of 2017\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0while prioritizing keeping the existing systems functional, we are also prioritizing mitigation projects that will bring much needed stability to our systems. Our main focus is to expedite\u00a0key<\/span>\u00a0projects for both water\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0electric that will repair or replace critical\u00a0infrastructure<\/span>\u00a0ensuring continuity after storms\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0reliability of service to our customers.\u00bb<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Financial challenges were also a significant topic of discussion. \u00abWAPA<\/span>\u2019s cash inflows are currently less than outflows, making the cost share particularly challenging,\u00bb noted Lorraine Kelly, Interim Chief Financial Officer. \u00abEfforts are underway to secure immediate crisis funding through grants,\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0we emphasize the pressing need for a dedicated grant writer\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0researcher.\u00bb With support from the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority,\u00a0WAPA<\/span>\u00a0has been receiving CDBG-DR funds for cost matches\u00a0on<\/span>\u00a0FEMA<\/span>\u00a0projects, managed by VIHFA under Housing Urban Development (\u201cHUD\u201d).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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During the meeting\u00a0on<\/span>\u00a0Monday, representatives from the Office of Disaster Recovery continued to commit prioritization of\u00a0WAPA<\/span>\u00a0projects, emphasizing the need for timely administrative cost approvals. While\u00a0FEMA<\/span>\u00a0committed to providing additional planning support, specifically for developing a contingency plan for the St. Thomas\/St. John electric grid. The Department of Energy (\u201cDOE\u201d)\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (\u201cNREL\u201d) have been instrumental in supporting our renewable\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0microgrid projects,\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0their continuous involvement has been crucial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Later this week,\u00a0FEMA<\/span>\u00a0is scheduled to tour the Richmond power plant\u00a0on<\/span>\u00a0St. Croix to get a firsthand understanding of the facility’s needs\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0challenges. This visit is an important step in enhancing efficiency\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0resilience with the recent approval of the prudent replacement plan for the entire plant. We are optimistic that this collaboration will lead to meaningful\u00a0progress<\/span>\u00a0for our power\u00a0infrastructure<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Together, we can achieve lasting change in collaboration with all partners\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0stakeholders. As community members, we strive to be proud of the services we provide to the people of the Virgin Islands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Virgin Islands Water\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0Power Authority Communication\u2019s department is committed to reaching, informing,\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0connecting with the youngest members of the community to the eldest, through meaningful, transparent\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0effective communication.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

July 16, 2024 WAPA and FEMA Drive Forward Progress on Key Infrastructure Initiatives Territory-wide U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS – July 16, 2024 \u2013 The Virgin Islands Water\u00a0and\u00a0Power Authority (\u201cWAPA\u201d or the \u201cAuthority\u201d) held a productive\u00a0and\u00a0forward-looking meeting yesterday with representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (\u201cFEMA\u201d),\u00a0and\u00a0Office of Disaster Recovery (\u201cODR\u201d),\u00a0and\u00a0Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (\u201cVITEMA\u201d) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"project_id":"","notification":"","due_date":"","status":"","show_rebuild":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29,154],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-viodr-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10564"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20300,"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10564\/revisions\/20300"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}