Governor Gregoire Announces Grant to Town of Concrete

For Immediate Release: June 27, 2006

Skagit County town awarded $850,000 grant to construct new wastewater treatment plant

OLYMPIA � Governor Chris Gregoire today announced that an $850,000 grant and a $1,744,000 interim loan have been awarded to the town of Concrete for the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant.

�Support for local projects, like Concrete�s new treatment plant, helps communities develop plans and build facilities that will serve their residents efficiently,� said Governor Gregoire.

The new plant will effectively treat Concrete�s wastewater and bring it into compliance with an order from the department of Ecology. The grant was awarded from the Washington Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), which is administered by the state�s department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED).

�Funding basic community needs is an important part of our work and we�re pleased to help Concrete offer clean water to its residents,� said Juli Wilkerson, CTED director.

Since Washington began operating the CDBG program in 1982, more than $342 million has been distributed to local communities for over 1,000 community development projects. The program serves 33 of the state�s 39 counties and is ranked fourth in the nation for its timeliness in distributing the grants.

�We�re very proud of our team�s ability to respond so quickly,� said Dan Aarthun of Community Development Programs at CTED. �We accomplish this by awarding grants to those jurisdictions whose projects are ready to go.�

�The Board of Commissioners is acutely aware of the importance of this project and the town�s decision to enhance the water quality of the Baker and Skagit Rivers,� said Skagit County Commissioner Ted W. Anderson. �All 832 residents of Concrete will benefit from this project. It will protect drinking water quality, aquatic habitat and public recreation.�

Total project costs for the wastewater treatment plant are approximately $5,324,000. Other funding sources anticipated for this project include $3,355,000 from the U.S. Department of Agricultural - Rural Development, $769,000 from the State Department of Ecology and $350,000 from Skagit County.

The town also will receive technical assistance from the Small Communities Initiative Program. The Small Communities Initiative is a collaborative effort between the state departments of Ecology, Health and CTED to assist small rural communities in upgrading their wastewater or drinking water systems.

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