Sewer line replacement held up by paperwork

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September 3, 2009

By Karen Middleton The News Courier Thu Sep 03, 2009, 09:10 PM CDT

Water/Wastewater Department Manager John Stockton said Thursday that paperwork with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management is all that remains before work can begin on replacing 100-year-old clay sewer pipes under downtown Athens.

Several weeks ago Stockton revealed in a City Council meeting that the city had been approved for $6.8 million through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to replace the deteriorating pipes that are allowing millions of gallons of rainwater to flow into the waste treatment plant during heavy storms.

ADEM recently determined that the project would have no detrimental environmental impact.

The delay in the city getting to use the funds is because the $6.8 million is stimulus funds that must pass through a state agency.

“We’re still working to try to get this together,” said Stockton. “We don’t have to pay the entire $6.8 million back. This is an unusual program that has not progressed because of stimulus debt forgiveness. ADEM can’t give out grants and the EPA appointed them as the ones this has to go through.”

Meanwhile, 38 miles of clay sewer pipes remain in the ground deteriorating and allowing millions of gallons of rainwater to infiltrate the water treatment plant, which must treat the rainwater as it does regular sewage.

Stockton said the crockery pipes are under the Hobbs Street railroad crossing and in the downtown area. The exception is a trunk line that runs along the south side of U.S. 72 West out to Kings Drive in Vestavia. Also, a network of clay pipes north of Athens State University are in danger of “catastrophic failure” within the next five years, he said.

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