MONTGOMERY – Gov. Robert Bentley has announced a $200,000 grant to help the city of Fayette complete needed sewer system improvements.
The grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission will help the city replace 16,400 feet of deteriorated sewer lines with stronger PVC lines. The improvement project will alleviate health risks caused by infiltration, overflows and backups from the damaged lines. Fayette also is using a $450,000 Community Development Block Grant and local funding of $666,100 to complete the project.
“Efficient sewer service is important for the health and safety of any community,” Bentley said. “I am pleased to help the city complete this much needed sewer system upgrade to protect the health and safety of residents.”
The project area includes 192 households and four businesses along 3rd, 5th and 6th Avenues NE and 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Streets NE. City officials said that video analysis of the sewer system showed that nearly 60 percent of the clay and concrete sewer lines in the area were badly damaged by tree roots, partial collapse, disconnected joints, or clogged with sand, gravel and dirt.
The ARC is an economic development agency of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 420 counties, including 37 in Alabama, across the Appalachian Region. The agency’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the Region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation.
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs manages the ARC program in Alabama and is administering the grant. ADECA administers an array of programs supporting law enforcement and traffic safety, economic development, energy conservation, water resource management and recreation development.
“Projects like this one really showcase the local-state-federal partnerships that work together to improve the lives of Alabamians,” ADECA Director Jim Byard Jr. said. “Our mission at ADECA is to make Alabama communities stronger, and improvements to the Fayette sewer system are important to the growth of the community.”
Bentley informed Mayor Ray Nelson that the grant had been approved.
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Contact: Josh Carples; Mike Presley