Hats off to Butler County for becoming the first county in Pennsylvania to partner with a state program which will bring at least $20 million in low-interest loans for large-scale infrastructure projects here.

The county began working with the PennVEST program to establish the local funding stream at the beginning of the year, according to Mark Gordon, county chief of economic development.

The loans, at 1% with a 20-year repayment term, will be another tool in the tool bag for Butler County municipalities to use. The longer repayment term can help some municipalities complete projects which may otherwise have been financially impossible.

Funds through the PennVEST pilot program will be available through the Butler County Infrastructure Bank, and applications will be available in the coming months.

Gordon said he is eager to see how the program can help municipalities such as Marion Township, where a project to replace both the sewage system and on-lot septic systems has been going on for several years.

Gordon believes, too, that the PennVEST pilot program is a testament to Butler County’s success with its infrastructure bank and other work to bring funds to municipalities.

“They have done this nowhere else in the commonwealth,” Gordon said. “We're the first.”

— JGG

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