Funding will improve water quality, upgrade transit infrastructure, provide social support services, and expand educational programs

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that he secured over $23 million in federal funding for nine projects across Orange County in the bipartisan FY 2023 appropriations package. The bill now heads to both chambers of Congress for final passage and then on to the President to be signed into law. 

“I am proud to have secured funding for projects to ensure that everyone in Orange County has access to clean water, safe neighborhoods, and public transit,” Senator Padilla said. “This funding is an investment in local governments and community organizations that directly serve Orange County. These federal dollars will also be used to implement critical health and basic needs programs for the region’s young people.”

Projects in and around Orange County that will receive federal funding through the FY 2023 Appropriations Omnibus include:

• $5 million for Orange County’s PFAS Water Treatment Project
  This funding will treat wells impacted by PFAS contamination in underserved communities throughout Orange County.

• $5 million for the North Orange County Public Safety Collaborative
  This funding will support the North Orange County Public Safety Collaborative, which works to reduce gang violence, strengthen crisis response, and connect those in need with supportive housing and reentry services.

• $3.47 million for the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center Building Project
  This funding will help purchase equipment and supplies at the new site of the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center/Crime Analysis Unit.

• $3.45 million for Orange County Sanitation District’s PFAS Water Oxidation Project
  This project will demonstrate the ability to deploy an innovative PFAS treatment technology that can meet the anticipated stringent water quality standards for PFAS.  

• $3.45 million for South Coast Water District’s Recycled Water Expansion
  This project will install 8,900 linear feet of recycled water pipeline and convert 37 sites from potable to recycled water usage, saving over 35 million gallons of potable water per year.

• $1.5 million for the Children’s Hospital Orange County Interventional Radiology Department
  This funding will enable the acquisition and installation of a cutting-edge therapy system to help improve health care for children with complex medical conditions in Southern California.

• $750,000 for the Orange County Transportation Authority’s Garden Grove-Santa Ana Rails-to-Trails Project
  This funding will support the Garden Grove-Santa Ana Rails-to-Trails Gap Closure, which will link two downtown cities and connect to the Santa Ana River Trail, part of the OC Loop.

• $337,000 for Irvine Valley College’s Access and Persistence Through Basic Need Support Program
  This funding will help provide coordinated basic needs support directly to students at Irvine Valley College. The program aims to help to eliminate barriers to students’ success, such as food insecurity and homelessness.

• $300,000 for Yorba Linda Water District’s Green Crest Lift Station Rehabilitation
  This funding will upgrade the Green Crest wastewater lift station, which is past its useful lifespan, to protect environmental and community health.

A full summary of the FY 2023 Appropriations Omnibus package is available here.

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