On July 27, 2022 Governor Roy Cooper announced a record $789.4 million dollars was awarded to North Carolina communities for Water and Wastewater projects. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) received more than 700 applications for a spring funding round of their Clean Water and Wastewater State Revolving Fund program and funded more than 385 statewide, including 140 construction projects. This application round, as well as the one coming up in the Fall, is unique due the fact that it used American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funds from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund established in S.L. 2021-180, which allowed DEQ to offer the awards as grants instead of the usual low-interest loans.
The program provided from $400,000 to $15,000,000 for local governments to address their water and wastewater infrastructure needs and provide safe drinking water. Application submissions included planning grants, merger studies, and construction projects.
The Town of Burnsville submitted applications for five construction projects totaling $12,169,494 and received awards for all five from the NC State Water Infrastructure Authority at their meeting on July 13-14, 2022.
The Town received ARPA funding for the following water and wastewater projects.
- Replacement of the Bakers Creek Pump Station — $599,500
- Rehabilitation of the Main Sewer Interceptor (East side of Town) — $2,153,570
- Replacement of waterlines along Main Street, Bennett Street, Ramsey Street, and lines in the western Glendale Avenue area — $5,849,527
- Replacement of waterlines from the Bolens Creek Intake and the Cane River Intake and rehabilitation of the Cane River pump station — $2,221,191
- A loan conversion to a grant for a project to make improvements to the Water Treatment Plant — $1,345,706
The Town will be selecting engineering firms to complete the project designs as soon as possible, with construction commencing no later than 2024. All ARPA funding must be spent by the Town before December 31, 2026.