Officials in N.C. rush to bid for stimulus cash

Rushing to beat a deadline Friday, local governments applied for up to $3 million each from more than $65 million in federal stimulus money available for North Carolina drinking water projects.

Local officials were told in a Web-based seminar on Feb. 20 to submit plans for a project ready for construction as part of an effort to jump-start the economy, said Paul Fredette, Elizabeth City's engineer. Notices of approval are expected in 30 to 60 days, he said.

Applications had to include a pitch about why a project was needed and how it would spark local growth, Fredette said.

It all happened quickly.

"Considering the package they wanted and not having all the rules of the road, I would say it was relatively intense," Fredette said. "Everybody was really scrambling."

Applications went to the North Carolina Public Water Supply Section of the state's Division of Environmental Health.

The agency announced the possibility of stimulus money being available for drinking water projects in December. It gave no details on the amount or scope then, said Diana Kees, spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which heads environmental health.

Since then, officials kept hearing the term "shovel ready" and tried to quickly get projects ready for construction.

Before the stimulus bill passed, the Environmental Protection Agency told the state's Public Water Supply Section to submit a list of projects, including funding. From that, local governments were asked to send a letter of intent by Feb. 13, Kees said. That deadline was followed by the Feb. 27 deadline for specific projects ready for construction.

Each project would get up to $3 million from $65.6 million in stimulus funding, she said. It was not clear Friday if every qualified project would be funded.

A mix of loans and grants would make up the funding, Fredette said.

Local governments must provide other documentation, including environmental permits, by a March 31 deadline, according to a notice on the Public Water Supply Section Web site. Local governments would pay for costs over $3 million, Fredette said.

Among the local projects:

- Elizabeth City submitted plans for an expansion of the well field, including digging four additional wells that would produce an additional one million gallons of water per day, Fredette said.

In 2006, the state put Elizabeth City under a moratorium on adding new water mains, which has held up some projects, Fredette said. It was lifted for a short time, then reimposed. The city draws water from its wells 14 to 15 hours a day. The state recommended drawing water for 12 hours a day, Fredette said.

New wells would allow the moratorium to be removed, and projects on hold could get under way, helping the local construction industry, Fredette said.

Elizabeth City also requested money to clean and repair a 3-million-gallon raw water reservoir built in the 1930s and to upgrade filters.

Total cost of the projects is estimated at $3.55 million.

- Pasquotank County submitted plans for a 24-inch water line to run from the proposed reverse osmosis water treatment plant on Okisko Road to Halstead Boulevard, where it would connect to an existing water line, said Randy

Keaton, county manager. Total cost would be $3.5 million.

- Camden County applied for a project to double the capacity of its reverse-osmosis water treatment plant to produce 1.4 million gallons a day at a cost of $4 million, said Randell Woodruff, county manager.

- Currituck County did not apply for a drinking water project but did send a letter of intent for waste-water projects that was due Feb. 20 to the North Carolina Division of Water Quality, Peter Bishop, economic development director for Currituck, said. More specific plans and costs will be due later, according to a letter sent to local governments.

Currituck County's projects include an upgrade to the Ocean Sands waste-water treatment plant in Corolla, installing a main sewer line in Moyock and building a plant that would treat wastewater to water reuse standards.

Total costs of the projects are estimated at $11.2 million.

Elizabeth City, Pasquotank County and Camden County did not send letters of intent on waste water projects.

Jeff Hampton, (252) 338-0159 jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com