St. Joseph, Mo., set to receive $25 million in federal funding for sewer updates
(UI) — The Water Resources Development Act is expected to provide $25 million to St. Joseph, Missouri, for sewer upgrades, Yahoo Finance reported.
Passed by both the House and Senate, the Water Resources Development Act — an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act — will head to the White House for the President Biden’s signature. The act authorizes $50 million for funding sewer and stormwater projects throughout North Missouri, including $25 million in sewer updates allocated specifically to St. Joseph, Missouri.
"Luckily we received $25 million with the help of Congressman (Sam) Graves and his staff," Abraham Forney, St. Joseph's Public Works and Transportation director, told Yahoo Finance. "Five million of that will be used for the lining of our storm drains and then the $20 million will be used for phosphorous reduction."
For the city of St. Joseph to get the funds after the Water Resources Development Act is signed, financing will need to be approved by Congress. The finances, according to Graves, are one of his main objectives.
The cash, according to Forney, will enable some much-needed improvements to the sewer infrastructure in St. Joseph.
"We have a really old sewer system and some of our sewer system is a combined sewer system, which means that our stormwater runs into the treatment plant," Forney told Yahoo Finance. "So eliminating some of that groundwater to our treatment plant has helped reduce the amount of treatment that we need and that'll help reduce cost too. Any of those federal dollars that are out there that are coming to St. Joe is going to benefit us in the long run."
Forney explained the greater costs as a result of the EPA's new restrictions.
"The EPA has given lots of municipalities different regulations that they have to comply with and those EPA regulations have put a burden on municipalities and their wastewater treatment plants," Forney told Yahoo Finance.
Residents have also asked for an explanation of how their money is used.
Forney said that the base amount for sewage bills for homeowners is $37.69. Of the base fee, $16.80 is allocated for operations and upkeep, and the remaining $20.89 is allocated for capital enhancements.
According to a press statement from Graves, this financing will not only benefit St. Joseph's sewer infrastructure but also bring down rates for locals.
Graves also commended the city of St. Joseph for striving to secure this crucial funding and for its efforts to freeze sewer rates since 2018.
The decision to award the monies to the city of St. Joseph was made with excellent representation, according to Forney.
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