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<\/p>\nNovember 22, 2021<\/p>\n
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ST. CROIX, U.S. Virgin Islands<\/strong> \u2013 After three years of negotiations, voluminous documentation and numerous site visits, FEMA has provided official notification approving the replacement of the entire wastewater system on the island of St. Croix with a projected cost of $1.5 to $2 billion. Considering the condition, age and deterioration of wastewater facilities and components since the storms, as well as the necessary upgrades to meet industry requirements, FEMA has determined that all 14 sewersheds are eligible for replacement.<\/p>\n This notification acknowledges the indisputable impact of the last ten hurricanes, which has left the island\u2019s system in ominous disrepair and highly susceptible to future damage. The environmental costs of sewage overflows and recurring repairs place an overwhelming burden on the Authority and the Territory.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a huge win for St. Croix and the Territory. Prudent replacement will allow the Authority to rebuild its aging wastewater infrastructure in accordance with current industry standards and continue its mission of providing quality wastewater services,\u201d said Roger Merritt, Executive Director of the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority. \u201cSpecial thanks to the hardworking team at VIWMA and ODR, as well as other local and federal partners and consultants who worked tirelessly to ensure the funding for this massive project became a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n This first step comes as a tremendous accomplishment for the recovery and the Bryan\/ Roach Administration\u2019s pledge to strengthen the island\u2019s infrastructure. Engineers from the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority, Witt O\u2019 Brien\u2019s and FEMA personnel are working diligently to develop the scope of work for the project.<\/p>\n Once the cost for the first sewershed is approved, the scope will be used to create the remaining segments of the project. The next step in the process is the obligation of the funds needed to initiate the solicitation for a contractor to perform the work.<\/p>\n \u201cComing off the heels of the FEMA Summit held about a month ago, this approval is a result of coordination and collaboration by local and federal agencies,\u201d said Adrienne L. Williams-Octalien, Director of the Office of Disaster Recovery. \u201cFEMA is making good on promises made to the Territory. The Office of Disaster Recovery recognizes and applauds the partnership and support from Governor Bryan, Delegate Plaskett, Witt O\u2019Brien\u2019s and FEMA leadership. This determination comes at a critical time as the Territory is planning and designing undergrounding and other critical infrastructure projects in both districts.\u201d<\/p>\n This approval will be used as the blueprint for wastewater replacement requests for St. Thomas and St. John, as well as the potable water system replacement requests to FEMA. The Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority and the Office of Disaster Recovery will continue working jointly with FEMA to address wastewater system damage across the Territory.<\/p>\n \nThe Office of Disaster Recovery<\/strong> ## <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" November 22, 2021 VIWMA Receives Wastewater Replacement Approval for St. Croix ST. CROIX, U.S. Virgin Islands \u2013 After three years of negotiations, voluminous documentation and numerous site visits, FEMA has provided official notification approving the replacement of the entire wastewater system on the island of St. Croix with a projected cost of $1.5 to $2 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"project_id":"","notification":"","due_date":"","status":"","show_rebuild":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29,156],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-press-releases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6604","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=6604"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18803,"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6604\/revisions\/18803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usviodr.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u00abBuilding a Legacy of Resilience\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThe Bryan-Roach Administration is committed to transparency, stabilizing the economy, restoring trust in the government and ensuring that recovery projects are completed as quickly as possible. Visit transparency.vi.gov<\/em><\/p>\n