Lincoln Council orders rate study, weighs alternatives after state funding shift for sewer project

Lincoln city leaders on May 22 directed staff to commission a wastewater rate study and create a small steering committee to evaluate alternatives for the city’s wastewater treatment plans after federal funding for the project failed to materialize.

Mayor (speaking as mayor) told the council that Lincoln had completed required filings for a federal grant but the funds were not released and the grant was rescinded. She said state legislation, House Bill 1577, would make $7,800,000 available as a loan through the Bank of North Dakota that could be repaid if federal funding later arrived.

The decision to commission a rate study followed a presentation from Matt, an SEH consultant, who summarized a technical memorandum re-evaluating four facility-level alternatives. Matt said the memorandum recommends additional flow monitoring, updated population projections and a rate study to estimate user fees for each alternative.

“Some of the recommendations were to do some phone monitoring…