PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Three Aroostook County communities are set to receive federal funding dedicated for sewer and wastewater infrastructure projects — including one that may help an economic development effort in Washburn.
The funding, awarded through the Northern Border Regional Commission, will provide $500,000 to the Presque Isle Utilities District, $340,000 to the Mapleton Sewer District and $500,000 to the town of Washburn.
The funding for the Presque Isle Utilities District will support construction of a pump station as part of a sewer system upgrade at the site of the former Tater Meal facility in Presque Isle’s Skyway Industrial Park.
Presque Isle Utilities District Director Frank Kearney said the project “will address one of the worst performing areas of the city’s sewer collection area and will benefit future expansions or additions of businesses for decades into the future.”
Kearney said the project’s cost will total $1.3 million, with the $500,000 grant being used in combination with an $800,000, 20-year loan from the Maine Clean Water Fund.
The project will replace sewer pipes, add a new pump station and should improve the sewer system around the entire industrial park by eliminating water inflow from bad pipes and manholes, Kearney said.
“The industrial park water and sewer system was designed and built during and just after World War II. After 70 years, it has reached the end of useful life and is a constant source of inflow, infiltration and repairs.”
In Mapleton, the town’s sewer district is receiving $340,000 for a construction project to extend the sewer line across Route 163. The Mapleton sewer district serves about 280 properties representing about 700 people.
In Washburn, the town is receiving $500,000 to add 3,600 feet of water main pipes to the wastewater system.
Town manager Donna Turner said she applied for this grant “in conjunction with” the new federal Opportunity Zones program that could see a new economic development project in Washburn.
Turner said she is limited in what she can say about this project, as the town is in discussions about a potential development project at the site of a former potato factory.
The Opportunity Zones program was created as part of the 2017 federal tax cut law and allows investors to reduce or eliminate taxes paid on capital gains profits from certain investments made in communities with low average incomes as determined in the U.S. Census. In Maine, 32 Census tracts spanning more than 40 communities received the designation, including both urban and rural areas.
“For now, all I can say about this is that I applied for this basically in conjunction with the Opportunity Zone,” Turner said in an email. “It is all part of our economic development that we are working on for the town.”
This year, Washburn also applied for a $1 million grant from the Maine Community Development Block Grant program to help fund replacement of a 70-year-old stormwater drainage catchment system that often floods during spring around portions of Main Street in downtown Washburn.
Turner said the town did not receive that funding, but that the application is being held for consideration in the next round of grants.
