SPRINGFIELD —The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency have announced grant awards totaling $515,500 in funding to assist unsewered communities lacking wastewater collection and treatment systems. In 2020, Illinois EPA committed to making up to $1 million available for four years for planning grants to assist small and disadvantaged communities in developing a project plan that identifies a solution to wastewater collection and treatment needs. Troy Grove is set to receive $30,000 to address problems with the collection and treatment of wastewater.
“Since day one of my administration, I’ve been committed to the health, safety, and wellbeing of all Illinoisans,” said Governor JB Pritzker.
Communities are considered “unsewered” if they lack wastewater collection and/or treatment systems. Many of these communities have patchwork systems or decades-old underground “wildcat” pipes that illegally discharge to surface waters. For a majority of these communities, there is a lack of local revenue to invest in the construction and long-term operation and maintenance of adequate collection and treatment facilities. Additionally, many do not have the planning capacity needed to identify solutions and develop project plans.
The Unsewered Communities Planning Grant Program (UCPGP) provides communities an opportunity to obtain funding to develop a Project Plan that will address problems with the collection and treatment of wastewater. Information from the Project Plans may also be used to apply for a grant from the Unsewered Communities Construction Grant Program (UCCGP). Illinois EPA’s UCCGP is making $100 million available over a five-year period through Governor Pritzker’s bipartisan Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan for construction of wastewater collection and/or treatment facilities.
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