The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality will loan the city of Newport more than $5 million to make some much needed improvements.
A portion of the marina in Yaquina Bay is so clogged with silt that it's not usable. Some of the money will be used to upgrade the area's storm system.
Jaime Isaza, a project officer for the D.E.Q., says the loan will also pay for improvements to the Nye Beach Pump Station.
ISAZA: "It clogs and overflows. Therefore, it causes sewage spills into some of the public beaches. They have had to close the beaches."
Isaza says Newport closed its beaches 3 times due to sewage spills the year it applied for the loan – not a good thing for a city that relies so heavily on tourism.
The loans will also pay for a redesign of Sam Moore Creek to reduce flooding in the adjacent park.
Newport has 20 years to pay it back with an interest rate of 1%.