Putnam County Soil & Water

Low Interest Loan Fund

                                                                                 (updated April 2008)
     
More than $16.2 million in WPCLF (Water Pollution Control Loan Fund) money has been administered through Putnam Soil & Water since 1999.  Ohio EPA will continue the program through 2010, as long as funds remain.  Listed below are some of the HIGHLIGHTS pertaining to the program:

    

 
A landowner develops, with the Soil and Water Conservation District, an individual soil and water conservation plan that confirms with a watershed management plan developed for the watershed in which the land is located.
 
The landowner obtains a Certificate of Qualification from the Board of Supervisors of the SWCD, identifying the proposed improvements in the land's soil and water conservation plan that are eligible for WPCLF.
 
   
The Landowner applies for a loan from one of the local area banks participating in the WPCLF Program.
After the landowner presents the Certificate of Qualification, the bank evaluates the credit-worthiness of the landowner using its criteria. If these criteria are met, the bank then enters into a loan agreement with the landowner.

The bank sends an investment request form, which identifies the landowner and the term of the loan, and a copy of the landowner's Certificate of Qualification to the Ohio EPA.
   
 
Upon approval, Ohio EPA and the Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA) deposit with the bank, through a certificate of deposit, funds equal to the face value of the loan to the landowner. The term of the deposit is equal to the term of the bank's loan with the landowner, but in no case is longer than 20 years.
 

The interest rate on the certificate of deposit is discounted below the bank's normal cost of funds, as determined by a comparison to the interest rates of the U.S. Treasury notes and bonds. The bank's repayment schedule in the certificate of deposit contains semi-annual payments of principal and interest to the WPCLF.
The interest rate of the bank's loan to the landowner is reduced by the same amount as the discount the bank received from the WPCLF.  
Examples: