Senators Secure $2.5 Million
For Pownal Wastewater Treatment Project

November 14, 2001

Senator Patrick Leahy and Senator Jim Jeffords have secured a $2.5 million grant to help in the Town of Pownal’s efforts to develop a wastewater treatment system.

Pownal, as a small community comprised of three distinct population areas, cannot address its wastewater treatment needs alone. In recent years, town residents have joined together to develop a joint water supply system and to clean up the Tannery Superfund site. Pownal’s remaining environmental challenge is the development of a wastewater treatment system -- the cost of which is estimated at over $15 million – an amount which has been out of reach without Federal assistance.

The senators included the funds in the Veterans Affairs /Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill. The bill passed the Senate on Thursday and now goes to President Bush, who will sign the bill in a matter of days, they said. Leahy and Jeffords have secured more than $7 million to date for Pownal’s wastewater treatment needs.

Jeffords said, "The residents of Pownal have shown real strength in taking on such a large project. The well-being of the community and of the environment are at stake, which is why I have made this project my highest priority for EPA funding."

"There is a great need in Pownal to establish a wastewater treatment system," said Leahy. "This additional funding will help relieve the burden now resting on Vermonters’ shoulders."

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