While Warwick is on the short list to receive federal stimulus money for a sewer infrastructure project, the prospect is far from certain, and even if it does, the amount of actual aid will be less than many hoped.

That, coupled with the reality that the city isn’t slated to receive any money for any other infrastructure upgrades, including roads, conflicts with the notion of the stimulus, which was widely touted as a bill to improve local communities throughout America. The bill is not going to be the great panacea that some thought, or at least hoped for.

In anticipation of the federal stimulus package, the state Department of Environmental Management (DEM) asked all 39 Rhode Island communities to provide a list of “shovel ready” projects that were defined as initiatives that could be taken up within 120-200 days from Feb. 1. The collective communities produced a list that, if completed, would cost about $435 million.

But when the ink from President Obama’s pen dried on the stimulus bill, the state was slated to receive just $26.5 million in funds for sewer and green infrastructure projects. Of that $26.5 million, just $13 million will be used to offset costs for sewer projects throughout the state.

According to Jay Manning, a principal sanitary engineer for DEM and coordinator of the state revolving fund program (which funds sewer projects), DEM shaved the list down to a “short list” of projects that will cost $137 million. One of the projects on that list is the Warwick Sewer Authority’s (WSA) Sandy Lane/Cedar Swamp sewer project.

The Congress, when it wrote the bill, decided to use existing funding channels to dole out the stimulus cash. Therefore, the state will use its clean water operating revolving fund to pay for the projects.

But Manning said that not every project on that list will receive funding, and how the money is spread out is also up in the air.

The Clean Water Finance Agency, which borrows on behalf of communities throughout the state for infrastructure projects, will leverage the $26 million in federal stimulus money to create favorable interest rates at a bond sale sometime this spring or late summer. The agency will use the $26 million to borrow up to an additional $25 million.

Those funds will be combined with an additional $50 million that the AAA rated agency is authorized to borrow for a total of somewhere between $90-$100 million.

“We’ll be able to borrow for thirty three and one third less than the average borrower could do on their own and then forgive part of the principal on those loans,” said Anthony Simeone, the Executive Director of the Clean Water Finance Agency.

The “principal forgiveness” is the mechanism by which the state will decide which communities on the short list to directly subsidize. By that mechanism, the communities will have a portion of those loans paid back to them.

But the portion of the principal, and even which communities will receive the relief is undecided at this point.

“The die was essentially cast, Congress decided that this was going to go through existing programs and they chose the state revolving fund,” said Manning.

“I think people had dreams of shovels full of free money coming down from Washington in the stimulus bill.”

Manning said he couldn’t speculate as to whether or not the Sandy Lane Project would receive any principal forgiveness.

“I don’t know at this point. They could, but I can’t really hazard to guess,” said Manning.

On Tuesday, WSA executive director Janine Burke sounded hopeful, but less than optimistic with respect to receiving funding for sewer upgrades in the city.

“I am pleased that the federal government is putting their money where their mouth is with respect to funding important water infrastructure projects,” said Burke.

“But I’m certainly not going to bank on getting any money.”