ALCOSAN Obtains Project Funds - 5/17/2007

Pittsburgh – At the regularly scheduled public meeting of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) Board of Directors today, approval was given to purchase $170 million in bonds to cover upcoming capital expenditures.

Proceeds from the sale of the Sewer Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2007, will finance a number of projects over a two year period with most related to ALCOSAN’s compliance with unfunded federal mandates addressing sewer overflows.

ALCOSAN recently completed negotiations with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Allegheny County Health Department to hammer out details regarding sewer overflows which is expected to cost ALCOSAN almost $1 billion over 25 years. The 83 communities within the ALCOSAN service area are currently under EPA mandates to repair broken sewer lines, reduce inflow and infiltration, reduce the frequency and amount of combined sewer overflows, and eliminate sanitary sewer overflows.

Projects to be funded include the engineering and construction costs for removing four streams from entering the sewer system, regional flow monitoring and modeling, pump station and interceptor rehabilitation, upgrading the grit and screenings process at the treatment plant, two overflow control facilities, and plant expansion projects for increased treatment capacity.

Financial Advisor for the bonds is Mellon Financial. The Underwriting group consists of PNC Capital Markets, NatCity Investments, Inc., Fifth Third Securities, Inc., Ferris Baker Watts and Stifel Nichols. The law firms of Houston Harbaugh, P.C. and Buchanon Ingersoll Rooney will serve as Co-Bond Counsel.

Located along the Ohio River on Pittsburgh’s Northside, ALCOSAN treats an average of 200 million gallons of wastewater daily representing treatment service from 320,000 customers in 83 communities including the City of Pittsburgh. ALCOSAN is not a county agency but a joint city-county authority operating under state guidelines that receives no tax monies and revenues generated solely by rates.