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Grant, loan puts sewage plant in the works Existing Shady Cove system has been in violation of its environmental permit By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune SHADY COVE - A revamped sewage treatment plant is on the horizon, thanks to a $1 million grant and a $2.3 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development. "We have been working on this for five and a half years," said Mayor Tom Anderson of the $3.7 million project. "This is a key hurdle." The money is part of $108 million in grants and loans being distributed to 46 rural water and wastewater projects nationwide. Shady Cove's project also is receiving state grants and loans as well as city funding, but the federal money provides the last chunk the city needed. "Without the assistance from the U.S., we couldn't do the job, and DEQ requires us to do the job," said Anderson, who had promised to work toward an upgraded treatment system in his mayoral campaign six years ago. Constructed in 1981, the system is at maximum treatment capacity and has been in violation of its Department of Environmental Quality permit. At times the city has had to pay to haul and dispose of its waste. The loan will be paid back over 40 years through an incremental increase in user fees. The $2.50 annual increase started in 2001 and will continue through 2004, increasing residents' monthly bills by $10 total to $36.50. The increase is part of the condition of the rural development loan. The next $2.50 increase will begin July 1. Through public hearings and a poll, the council learned the public wanted to retire the debt through user fees, not a property tax. Planning, designing and engineering for the expansion and rehabilitation of the wastewater treatment plant have already started. "We're currently in the final design (phase) of the wastewater treatment plant improvements," said Bill Simonds of Carollo Engineers in Portland. Upgrade of the collection pump stations has begun, and Simonds estimates work on the treatment plant could begin in September. He said the entire project should be complete by March 2004. Simonds said the city of 2,307 residents is being proactive in upgrading its treatment plant rather than trying to get away with a quick fix. "What they're doing is extremely prudent," he said. Anderson agrees. "We are going to have a wastewater treatment facility that meets DEQ standards and will provide capacity for 20 years," he said. USDA will be present the city with a ceremonial check at 1 p.m. Monday at the River House at the Upper Rogue Regional Park on Rogue River Drive in Shady Cove. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.