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Wastewater treatment focus of funding push

Keweenaw County Board Commission Vice-Chair Del Rajala discussed funding for the wastewater treatment facility located at Mount Horace Greeley on Tuesday evening. (Houghton Daily Mining Gazette photo)

EAGLE HARBOR TOWNSHIP — The Keweenaw County Board at its regular July meeting unanimously approved a motion by Randy Eckloff to submit an Intent to Apply form to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund/Strategic Water Quality Initiatives Fund for the wastewater treatment facility located at Mount Horace Greeley.

The Clean Water State Revolving Fund is a low-interest loan financing program that assists qualified local municipalities with the construction of needed water pollution control facilities.

According to the Mich. Dept. of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy website, a community interested in applying for a loan must fill the Intent to Apply form out and submit it to EGLE-WIFS. Submittal of the form will allow the applicant to receive an indication of the funding/financing outlook as well as the next steps in the process.

“To help better serve our customers and improve our programs,” EGLE cautions, “please do not begin work on a project plan prior to submitting the ITA form. Following submittal of the ITA, a Water Infrastructure Financing Section project manager will follow-up with the community to set up a discussion.”

FY 2022 interest rates:

– 20-year loans – 1.875 percent

– 30-year loans – 2.125 percent

“You may have seen an email from Chuck (Miller, Keweenaw County attorney),” said Commission Vice-Chair Del Rajala. “And it kind of makes sense. If that money is available, why would we not allow this to occur? I think the discussion that we had before is that either we back up these lagoons and start relying on and identifying them as necessary infrastructure for the county, or we make plans to back out of this, so this clearly shows the intent that we want to go forward.”

Commissioner Randy Eckloff made a motion to submit the intent to apply.

At the regular June meeting, the board learned that the 10-inch valves needed for repairs to the system were not available at that time, and they are not sure when they might be, something Zach Garner had told the board at the regular April meeting he feared.

Garner, of Open Skies, the group that purchased the former Calumet Radar Base on Mount Horace Greeley from the county, addressed the board at the April regular meeting and informed them of the poor condition in which the sewage lagoons are.

Garner suggested to the board to start working on valve replacement, because there may be problems with availability.

There are seven valves that need to be replaced, which would cost about $45,000.

Garner said at the time that several of the valves between lagoons One and Two had failed and need to be replaced very soon. He said he has made inquiries into the probable costs of replacing the failed valves as an initial step into bringing the lagoons back into compliance.

He went on to say that there will be an inspection by the State in the spring and he was sure that the lagoons would be out of compliance. In the fall of 2023, the county will have to reapply for the permit for the lagoons and these three issues would need to be taken care of.

The valves are one of three issues, Garner said, the other two being cattail overgrowth and fencing.

At the July meeting, Commissioner Bob Demarois seconded Eckloff’s motion, saying he did not see where the county had a choice.

“It’s one of our last obstacles,” he said, “and we should move forward with applying for the grant.”

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