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Oct. 19, 2011
For immediate release
For more information, contact:
Bonnie Prigge or Kelly Sink-Blair, MRPC, (573) 265-2993
Steelville wastewater system improved through $171,000 in grants
STEELVILLE—The City of Steelville in Crawford County has had its sewage treatment plant upgraded to meet state requirements, thanks to grants totaling some $171,000.
The city was awarded a $76,125 grant through the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) for improvements to its wastewater system. The Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) prepared the DRA application and served as grant administrator.
The city also received a Missouri Department of Natural Resources Rural Sewer Grant of $95,209 for the project. The total project cost was $226,968.35, which included $55,634.35 from the City of Steelville.
The combined DRA and DNR funding allowed the city to upgrade the sewage treatment plant to be compliant with DNR effluent discharge standards. The treatment plant serves Steelville’s 1,429 residents.
The project featured the installation and construction of an ultraviolet disinfection system. The new system allowed the effluent of the treatment plant to be disinfected through ultraviolet light before being discharged into Whittenburg Creek. Disinfection of the effluent is required in order to meet DNR’s requirements and for the city to keep its Missouri State Operating Permit.
Steelville Mayor Terry Palmer explained the importance of having the new system in place.
“This ultraviolet lighting system kills any organisms that can produce e-coli bacteria,” Palmer said. “Without the grant money from DNR and DRA, it would have been very costly to have to do this on our own.”
The City of Steelville worked with Missouri Engineering Company of Rolla on the project plans.
Construction for the project began in the fall of 2010 and was completed in the spring of 2011.
Led by Federal Co-Chairman Chris Masingill and the governors of each participating state, the DRA is designed to remedy severe and chronic economic distress by stimulating economic development and fostering partnerships that will have a positive impact on the region’s economy. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon serves as the states’ co-chairman for DRA. The DRA helps economically distressed communities to leverage other federal and state programs that are focused on basic infrastructure development and transportation improvements, basic public services improvements, business development, and job training services.
DRA is an independent federal agency with a mission to provide assistance to economically distressed counties in the Mississippi Delta Region, as designated by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
MRPC is the Local Development District for the DRA and is responsible for providing information and technical assistance on the grant process. MRPC is responsible for making local governments and nonprofits aware of the grant opportunity and to assist them with the preparation of applications.
Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. A professional staff of 29, directed by the MRPC board, offers technical assistance and services, such as grant preparation and administration, housing assistance, transportation planning, environmental planning, ordinance codification, business loans and other services to member communities.
For more information on DRA grant opportunities in the Meramec Region, persons may contact Kelly Sink-Blair at 573-265-2993.
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