$38M in aid sought for water system, sewage; anything for Asheville?

A $10 million grant to expand a North Buncombe County municipality's drinking water plant, $4.8 million to deal with a looming sewage problem, $1 million to replace lead drinking water pipes in a far-western county, $80,000 to give law enforcement a boat in an area with expansive and popular lakes ― these are some of the $38 million in requests made by Rep. Chuck Edwards in community projects for the fiscal year starting in the fall.

Edwards, a first-term Henderson County Republican representing the 15 counties of the 11th District, submitted his requests through Congress' community project funding process, which replaced the often criticized practice of tacking on expenditures to unrelated bills, or "earmarking."

Whether the projects are funded will depend on how much other members of Congress request, said Edwards who called his requests "competitive."

More:As Canton mill closure looms, Rep. Chuck Edwards seeks $9.8M in aid. Here's what it's for

One notable municipality not included in the requests was the region's biggest, Asheville.

The requests:

Project Name: Town of Canton Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant

Eligible Account: State and Tribal Assistance Grants - Clean Water State Revolving Fund

Project Description: This project request would cover the first phase of construction of a new regional wastewater treatment facility for the Town of Canton and its neighbor the Town of Clyde, specifically the necessary land acquisition, permitting, technical design and services and project costs.

More:As smell, smoke clear with mill closing, real estate agents turn eyes on Canton

Project Name: Town of Weaverville Water Treatment Plant Expansion

Eligible Account: State and Tribal Assistance Grants - Drinking Water State Revolving Fund

Project Description: This funding would be used for expansion of the water treatment plant operated by the Town of Weaverville. Weaverville and the neighboring Town of Mars Hill maintain an infrastructure interconnection and currently have an intergovernmental agreement for the mutual provision of short-term emergency water should the need arise. Without a plant expansion, including addressing aging components in the current facility, Weaverville will not be able to provide emergency water should the need arise, thus presenting a drinking water accessibility issue to the surrounding community.

More:Massive, 577-unit residential development could be coming near Weaverville

Project Name: Graham County Sheriff's Department First Responder Boat

Eligible Account: USDA-Rural Development, Rural Community Facilities Program

Project Description: The funding would be used for the acquisition of a first responder boat, storage cover and trailer for the Graham County Sheriff's Department. The boat would be used to respond to emergencies in any of the four lakes in the area. In Graham County, there are four lakes with some distance in between each one. One of these lakes is shared with nearby Swain County. The Graham County Sheriff's Department will be able to utilize the boat trailer to quickly respond to emergencies at any of the four lakes, including providing assistance to authorities in Swain County as needed.

More:Asheville woman drowns at Lake James, Sheriff's Office says

Project Name: Cherokee County Broadband Expansion

Eligible Account: USDA-Rural Development, ReConnect Pilot Program

Project Description: This project will expand high-speed broadband service to an area in northwest Cherokee County, which currently only has access to legacy DSL bandwidth. The expansion would cover 1,400 households, businesses and farms.

Project Name: Transylvania County Broadband Expansion

Eligible Account: USDA-Rural Development, ReConnect Pilot Program

Project Description: This project request would expand high-speed broadband service to 404 addresses in an unserved area in Transylvania County. Twenty-two businesses are included in the 404 addresses.

More:Could this state grant finally bring high-speed internet to your address? Find out here

Project Name: St. Luke's Hospital Facility Upgrades

Project Description: The funding would be used for much-needed electrical and water upgrades at St. Luke's Hospital, a nonprofit, community-owned Critical Access Hospital. A Hill-Burton hospital, St. Luke's provides crucial access to health care services to rural Polk County and other areas in Western North Carolina. The facility's infrastructure in power and water would not meet current codes that would be triggered by permittable renovations. Completion of these necessary upgrades will allow St. Luke's to commence upon future facility upgrades and renovations to provide continued vital health services to rural residents.

Project Name: Town of Rutherfordton Wastewater Treatment Plant Repairs

Eligible Account: USDA-Rural Development, Rural Water and Waste Disposal Grants

Project Description: The project will fully update the electrical components of Rutherfordton's 20-year-old wastewater treatment plant as well as upgrade the operational effectiveness of the plant. This rehabilitation project will be used to replace and repair components in the headworks, aeration basins, clarifiers, sludge handling and aerobic digester systems.

Project Name: Town of Murphy Water Line Replacement

Eligible Account: USDA-Rural Development, Rural Water and Waste Disposal Grants

Project Description: The funding would be used for the replacement of cast-iron and lead water lines in downtown area of Murphy. This project will also enhance Murphy's fire protection service with new, ductile-iron pipe water lines.

More:Asheville newspaper requests Cherokee police shooting bodycam; tribe moves to stop access

Project Name: Clay County EMS Facility Construction

Eligible Account: USDA-Rural Development, Rural Community Facilities Program

Project Description: The funding would be used for the construction of a new EMS facility in Clay County. The existing facility is being used at its maximum capacity, hindering the growth of quality EMS services in rural areas. Further, a planned road widening project will remove a large portion of the existing EMS facility's parking lot. A new facility, for which the land has already been acquired, will promote the provision of quality comprehensives EMS services to this historically-underserved area in WNC.

Project Name: Clay County Broadband Expansion

Eligible Account: USDA-Rural Development, ReConnect Pilot Program

Project Description: This project would provide high-speed broadband service to an unserved area in rural Clay County. Specifically, the project will expand symmetrical gigabit fiber optic service to 613 households, one farm and five businesses.

Project Name: Haywood County Broadband Expansion

Eligible Account: USDA-Rural Development, ReConnect Pilot Program

Project Description: This project would expand high-speed broadband service to 121 addresses in rural Haywood County. This includes five businesses and one farm. These unserved locations covered by the request are last mile projects for which no funding has previously been available.

Project Name: Haywood Community College Workforce and Industry Center Renovation

Eligible Account: Economic Development Initiatives

Project Description: This project would make several critical upgrades to the Workforce and Industry Center at Haywood Community College, including HVAC replacement, remodeling of the Small Business Center, roof replacement and plumbing repairs. This three-phase construction project, totaling $9 million, is well underway – with the first two phases funded and under construction. The third phase includes securing funding and renovations of the existing Regional High Tech Center and final renovations to the adjacent Construction Trades building.

Project Name: Madison County Public Safety Communications Upgrades

Eligible Account: Community Oriented Policing Services, Technology and Equipment

Project Description: This project would fund the replacement of end-of-life communications equipment in Madison County's network of emergency dispatch infrastructure, in order to allow for seamless interoperability between the Madison County Sheriff's Department, other emergency response departments in the area and state and federal partners as necessary. This upgrade will eliminate existing no service areas that place county first responders at risk. This project is a valuable use of taxpayer funds, as it will allow the Madison County Sheriff's Department to respond to incidents in all corners of this rural county without the threat of loss of communications coverage.

Project Name: Transylvania County Public Safety Communication Equipment Upgrade Project

Eligible Account: Community Oriented Policing Services, Technology and Equipment

Project Description: This project would provide for a total of 30 mobile unit radio replacements, 116 handheld radio replacements and radio frequency tower equipment to support public safety in Transylvania County, which includes the Transylvania County Sheriff's Office. This project will address existing challenges with equipment that has been leaving officers without communications in certain areas. This endangers officers, local citizens and tourists who visit the community every year. By providing seamless and reliable communications for Transylvania County law enforcement, this project represents a valuable use of taxpayer funds.

Project Name: Yancey County Sheriff's Department Portable Substance Analyzer Project

Eligible Account: State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, Byrne Justice Grants

Project Description: This project would allow the Yancey County Sheriff's Department to acquire four devices that can be used to test substances encountered in the field to identify potentially dangerous narcotics. The project is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will allow the Yancey County Sheriff's Department to carry out critical substance analysis in the field on an on-demand basis, which could pose potential threats to officers' health and safety if handled directly. As a result, this project provides stronger protections to keep officers on the street and promote efficiency through expanding the capabilities of officers in the field.

The $9.8 million for Canton comes with Pactiv Evergreen's anticipated June 9 closure of the town's 125-year paper mill operation, putting more than 1,000 people out of work.

The biggest request, $10 million for Weaverville's water plant expansion, would help with a "shovel-ready" project that would benefit residents around the region, Edwards said.

"The intention of this project is for Weaverville to be able to assist surrounding jurisdictions in the case of emergencies and given that they’ve worked out the project to meet the House Appropriations Committee's eligibility standards, I understood the merit of this request," he said.

Mayor Patrick Fitzsimmons said Mars Hill, Marshall and Madison County were looking to work together on a regional plan that would center on the plant and cost around $20 million, including the plant expansion.

"We are trying to create not only regional interconnectivity of water systems, but creating a regional water plant, because all of us are suffering from lack of capacity," Fitsimmons said.

As for Asheville's absence, particularly after a major winter water service shutdown, Edwards said the city-initiated independent investigation is still underway with the after action report only recently been made public. That means any needs that were determined would be too late for the House Appropriations Committee's deadline, he said.

Regarding the city's absence from funding for water or other projects, Mayor Esther Manheimer noted Asheville does receive federal funding in ways outside the community projects process. City staff could not immediately produce a list of such funding the afternoon of April 24.

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at [email protected], 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.