Announces Federal Funds For Chatham Water Protection Project Money Will Help Town Fund Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements and Ease Burden on Local Taxpayers

Press Release

Announces Federal Funds For Chatham Water Protection Project: Money Will Help Town Fund Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements and Ease Burden on Local Taxpayers

Congressman Bill Delahunt announced today that the federal government will provide $2.4 million in federal funding to assist with the development and expansion of the Town of Chatham's wastewater treatment facilities.

"Over the years, the Town of Chatham has worked very hard to protect the quality of its coastal waters through upgrading its wastewater treatment facilities," Delahunt said today. "While much of the financial burden has fallen on the local taxpayers, I am very pleased that the federal government will be able to step up and offer this critical assistance. Our towns deserve all the federal help they can get."

The funding will come from the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Development Office and will be broken down into a $723,120 in a direct grant and a $1,763,460 low interest loan over a term of 40 years.

The total project is estimated to cost in the vicinity of $35 million, with a bulk of the financing coming from the State Revolving Loan Fund program. Funds to capitalize this fund have come from the federal government and in recent years, the Bush Administration has attempted to cut assistance.

Over the past several years, towns across the Cape and Islands have worked on updating their wastewater treatment plans. With the skyrocketing costs of construction and cuts in federal water pollution control funding, local towns have been forced to finance a larger share of these projects which are required under the federal Clean Water Act. Up until 1985, the federal and state governments funded 90% of the total costs through grants. Today, towns qualify for few grant dollars, and competition is very high.

Delahunt was very pleased with the decision on the Chatham project, because the amount of federal grant dollars is among the highest grant amounts given to a Cape municipality by the Department of Agriculture.

"As Cape and Islands towns work toward upgrading their wastewater treatment plants, I will be working closely with Senators Kennedy and Kerry to make sure that the Cape and Islands is able to tap into these important federal funding programs," Delahunt said today.

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