Five county towns on list for wastewater funding

Five Whitman County towns have made the list of clean water projects that will be funded by the state Department of Ecology next year.

Ecology last Thursday, May 6, announced the list of projects it intends to award a total of $108 million in loans and grants to next year.

Making the list were projects in Garfield, Palouse, Rosalia, St. John and Uniontown. They were among the list of “hardship communities” that are slated to receive nearly $50 million to build or improve wastewater treatment facilities.

The department is asking for public comment on the proposed funding list. Submit comments to Cindy Price at the department’s Olympia office. Comments must be received by 5 p.m. next Tuesday, May 18.

The list of all projects is posted on ecology’s web site:

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/funding/funding.html.

A separate state agency, the state department of commerce, awarded Farmington and Tekoa municipal grants this spring.

Farmington will recieve $113,000 for a project dealing with water. Tekoa was awarded $993,000 for a water project as well. The department selected 18 cities or counties to recieve over $14 million in Community Development Block Grant General Purpose Grants for 2010. The grants are targeted to small towns or rural communties.