h, Municipal Support Division. We briefly describe some of these methods, and have attached EPA's more detailed information.
Tax Revenue in Washington
Washington's 20-year-old Centennial Clean Water Program is primarily funded with tobacco tax revenue, although it has recently been supplemented with state appropriations. Approximately 9 cents of the state's $1.42 tobacco tax goes to water quality projects, including the financing of planning, implementation, design, purchase, construction, and improvement of water pollution control facilities. The Fund has an annual budget of between $10 million and $12 million.
Lottery Revenue in Oregon
In 1998, Oregon voters approved a constitutional amendment allocating 15% of the state's lottery revenues to support parks and watershed health and habitat conservation. Half of the money goes to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and half to a conservation trust fund administered by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board. Two-thirds of the conservation funds are reserved for capital investment. For FYs 03-05, the watershed board's revenue share was expected to total almost $55 million. However, the legislature allocated about $25 million to other agencies.
Specialty Credit Cards in Connecticut
People's Bank donates 0.5% of the interest on all purchases made with its Long Island Sound Affinity Credit Card to the Long Island Sound Fund. The Department of Environmental Protection's Long Island Sound License Plate Program manages the fund to provide grants for education, research, public access and habitat restoration projects benefiting the Sound.
Planning and Design Assistance in Michigan
Michigan's S2 grant program helps Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) and Strategic Water Quality Initiative Fund (SWQIF) loan applicants prepare projects more quickly. Using up to $40 million of SWQIF funds, with a maximum of $1 million per municipality, Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality covers 90% of the costs incurred to complete a loan application. Recipients have to repay the grant with interest if they do not proceed to construction using loan assistance from either the SRF or SWQIF. (The SWQIF is a state low-interest loan program that allows qualified municipalities to obtain financing for water pollution control facilities that do not qualify for SRF assistance). More information on Michigan's SRF and SWQIF programs can be found at http://www.deq.state.mi.us/documents/deq-ess-mfs-cw-ar06.pdf.
In addition to the attached documents, more information on state conservation funding programs is available at http://www.biodiversitypartners.org/policy/Funding_Mechanism.pdf. We also are attaching OLR Report 2005-R-0820, which describes state funding mechanisms used to acquire watershed land.