The Town of Winamac is moving ahead with efforts to get funding for wastewater plant upgrades. The town plans to apply for $700,000 in federal funds, available as part of the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs’ Wastewater/Drinking Water Program.
The town council held the first of two required public hearings on the grant application Tuesday. Town Manager Brad Zellers explained that the upgrades would help with ammonia removal. “We don’t have the capabilities at the wastewater plant to remove ammonia, and in our NPEDS permit for our discharge at the wastewater plant, it is in our limit,” he explained. “We have to meet that. We’ve got 36 months to meet that.”
Zellers said it’s the latest in a series of regulations the plant has had to comply with. “Previously, we’ve had to do phosphorous removal,” he said. “Ammonia should be our last hurdle, and we’ll be in good shape down there at the plant. The lagoon system that we have typically doesn’t remove ammonia.”
No concerns were brought up during Tuesday’s public hearing. Grant Administrator Mike Kleinpeter with Kleinpeter Consulting Group said the next step is to submit a formal proposal to OCRA. “It will then be reviewed by our community liaison and a site visit will be scheduled mid-December,” he explained. “There will be a second public hearing for residents in late December or the beginning of January, and our application will be submitted on February 9, 2018. Funds available for this program are competitive. If the town is successful with their application, award announcements will be in April of 2018.”
If Winamac is selected, the town would agree to contribute a local match of $550,000 from its Wastewater Depreciation Fund. Construction would have to be completed within 18 months of the grant being awarded.
One of the communities Winamac will likely be competing against for the grant funds is North Judson. They plan to apply for $550,000 for various water system improvements. The Town of Winamac was awarded $550,000 for its own water project, during the last grant cycle.
