Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) announced today that two communities in her District—Bridgton and Rockland—will receive a total of $30 million in grants and loans to make critical improvements to their wastewater systems. Funding comes from the USDA Rural Development Water and Waste Disposal Loans and Grants Program, which Pingree has defended in Congress.
“Having good systems in place to collect and treat wastewater so it doesn’t create environmental issues is crucial to the health of any community. But maintaining and updating these systems is costly for towns,” said Pingree. “This significant investment from USDA Rural Development will allow these communities to make critical fixes to their wastewater infrastructure without breaking local budgets. I’ve been proud to advocate on the Appropriations Committee for the combination of federal grants and loans that help projects like these move forward.”
In previous budget proposals, the Trump Administration has recommended eliminating Water and Waste Disposal Grants while leaving the loan program in place. Pingree has fought successfully on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture to restore funding for the grant program.
Project Amounts and Summaries from USDA Rural Development
City of Rockland has been selected to receive a total of $10,000,000 ($8,028,000 loan/$1,972,000 grant). This Rural Development investment will be used to rehabilitate the city of Rockland, Maine's, wastewater treatment facility, upgrade some aging sewer collection infrastructure, and correct some Combined Sewer Overflow abatement issues. The proposed project will focus on the wastewater system as it is in need of immediate upgrades. Some of the plant's original equipment and processes are upwards of forty years old, and the overall facility is well beyond the twenty-year useful life for which it was originally designed. The rehabilitation improvements address the aging infrastructure and capacity issues in the project area, as well as restore the design capacity of the facility at a reasonable cost. The proposed upgrades will help the system operate more effectively and efficiently. The upgrades included in this project will have the greatest benefit to the distribution system, which serves 2,943 users.
Town of Bridgton has been selected to receive a total of $20,437,000 ($10,437,000 loan/ $10,000,000 grant). This Rural Development investment will be used to rehabilitate the Town of Bridgton's wastewater treatment system. The proposed project is to construct a new wastewater treatment facility, upgrade some aging sewer collection infrastructure, and to expand the system which will enable additional users in the greater downtown area to have access to public wastewater services. The expansion portion of the project is expected to add 448 new users, increasing the total number of users on the system from 207 to 655. The proposed project will focus on the wastewater system/facility as it is in need of immediate upgrades. Some of the plant's original equipment and processes are upwards of thirty-five years old, and the overall facility is well beyond the twenty-year useful life for which it was originally designed. Several key unit processes at the plant are inefficient, inadequate, or obsolete. The rehabilitation improvements address the aging infrastructure and capacity issues in the project area, as well as restore the design capacity of the facility at a reasonable cost. The proposed upgrades will help the system operate more effectively and efficiently. Additional funding includes $2,000,000 from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and $443,000 from the Town of Bridgton.
