Governor Haslam Announces 2 Community Development Block Grants

Grants to Assist McMinn County Communities with Sewer System Improvements

ATHENS – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced today two recipients of Community Development Block Grants that will assist with sewer system improvements in the McMinn County communities of Athens and Etowah.

“Community Development Block Grants help our rural Tennessee communities and impact the lives of citizens across the state,” Haslam said. “I’m pleased this CDBG funding will go toward important infrastructure improvements in Athens and Etowah and will ultimately help push economic development efforts and future growth.”

The Athens project involves conversion of the sewer system to a pressure system. This will eliminate inflow into the system that currently causes overflow and will reduce the amount of sewage that must be treated. Upon completion of the project, the current sewer moratorium will be lifted and new residential, commercial and industrial customers can be added.

Etowah’s current sewer system experiences frequent blockages that lead to overflow in basements and yards of residents and businesses. With the help of CDBG funding, the community plans to repair the sewer lines to decrease the number of blockages as well as the amount of inflow into the system.

The funds were allocated under a procedure authorized by the Tennessee General Assembly. Allocation of CDBG funds is based on priorities set at local levels where community needs are best known. The CDBG program is administered in Tennessee by the Department of Economic and Community Development.

The grants were approved following an application by each community and are supported by Sen. Mike Bell, Rep. John Forgety, and Mayors Jimmy Bull and Hal Buttram.

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann also aided in securing the funds.

Details on the project and funding include:

Community	Project	CDBG Amount	Local Funds	Total Amount for Project
Athens	Sewer System Improvements	$500,000	$341,700	$841,700
Etowah	Sewer System Improvements	$500,000	$75,000	$575,000

Additional CDBG recipients will be announced in the upcoming months.

 

About the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s mission is to develop strategies which help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. The department seeks to attract new corporate investment in Tennessee and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth. Find us on the web: tn.gov/ecd.  Follow us on Twitter: @tnecd.  Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/tnecd. 

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