Legislature set aside additional $5 million for Black Belt projects Nearly 400 public water
and sewer systems across
the state of Alabama have
applied for grants to repair
and upgrade their systems
under a special program
funded with COVID-19 relief money and overseen by
the Alabama Department of
Environmental Management.
In a Special Session in
January called by Gov. Kay
Ivey, the Alabama Legislature approved spending
$225 million out of the
state’s American Rescue
Plan Act (ARPA) funding to
help public water and sewer
systems with the greatest infrastructure needs as well as
individual residents in need
of water or sewer services.
Included is funding specifically set aside for several
trial projects to address
unique sewer problems in
the Black Belt that have
plagued families for generations.
“This is an historic opportunity to address longstanding water and sewer
needs to benefit hundreds of
thousands, and potentially
millions, of Alabamians,”
ADEM Director Lance
LeFleur said. “There is
nothing more basic to good
health than clean drinking
water and sanitary wastewater disposal.”
The Legislature created
three funding categories for
the water and sewer grants.
Up to $120 million will
be awarded to public water
and sewer systems that have
emergency or high-needs
projects. These are systems
previously identified by
ADEM through the Clean
Water State Revolving
Fund and the Drinking
Water State Revolving
Fund administered by
ADEM, or through enforcement actions necessary due
to failing infrastructure.
(The Clean Water State Revolving Fund is for sewer
projects.)
Grants will be awarded
on a ranking system that
gives special consideration
to projects that improve access to water or sewer services in communities
disproportionately affected
by COVID-19 or that lack
local funding to complete
the projects on their own.
No local match funding is
required for these projects.
An additional $100 million in grants will be
awarded to public water and
sewer systems that may require local matching funds
based on their ability to pay.
These projects will be based
on need as well – both system infrastructure need and
financial need.
The Legislature also designated up to $5 million for
demonstration sewer projects in the Black Belt.
These projects will target
problems such as soil conditions that prevent wastewater from septic systems
from being absorbed into
the ground, failing sewer or
septic systems, the use of
“straight pipes” in the absence of a functioning septic system or sewer service,
and other issues related to
poor, sparsely populated,
rural areas of the Black
Belt.
As of March 25, 398
water and sewer systems in
the state had applied for either drinking water or sewer
grants. That’s more than 37
percent of all public water
and sewer systems in the
state.
“This is an indication of
the tremendous needs that
exist among water and
sewer systems,” LeFleur
said. “It is also indicative of
the vast water and sewer infrastructure needs across the
country due to aging systems, increased demand because of population growth
and the need to provide
services to people who are
currently unserved or underserved. Many of these
systems haven’t upgraded
their infrastructure in 40 to
50 years.”
Addressing sewage disposal problems in the Black
Belt will be a priority. State
Rep. Kelvin Lawrence, DHayneville, said the funding
could be life-changing for
many people in his district,
which includes the Black
Belt counties of Lowndes
and Wilcox.
“Whether you’re rich,
poor, young or old, black or
white, it doesn’t matter.
Every citizen in the state of
Alabama should be afforded the opportunity to
have clean drinking water
and also to dispose of their
waste in a proper way so
they won’t have to worry
about dealing with health issues (that may result),”
Lawrence said.
Republican State Sen.
April Weaver, whose district includes parts of Bibb,
Chilton and Shelby counties, noted the benefits these
projects will mean to people
across the state. “Water and
sewer infrastructure plays a
vital role in health, and
we’re so excited to be able
to invest in these projects,”
Weaver said.
ADEM has encouraged
public water and sewer systems to apply for the grants
by April 1. LeFleur said
systems that don’t meet that
deadline can still apply for
additional funding that is
available.
LeFleur said ADEM is
ready to assist systems that
need help applying or simply want more information
about the grants. The Department has created a webp a g e ,
www.alabamawaterprojects.com, to provide the
public information about
the program and regular updates on grant applications.
The webpage includes links
to the application forms for
the water and sewer projects.
“It’s important for the
public to understand that
these grants will be
awarded based on needs,”
LeFleur said. “Those with
the greatest needs and the
least ability to pay are the
priority.”
