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Sedro‑Woolley secures $750,000 Public Works Trust Fund award to advance treatment‑plant planning
Summary
Public Works Director Bill Bullock told council the city received $750,000 from the Public Works Trust Fund to complete a facility plan and begin initial design for the wastewater treatment plant after a DOE grant request was unfunded.
Public Works Director Bill Bullock told the council Sedro‑Woolley did not receive Department of Ecology (DOE) grant funding for a treatment‑plant facility plan but was awarded $750,000 from the state Public Works Trust Fund to complete a facility plan and start initial design.
Bullock said the DOE list left the city as a high‑scoring but unfunded project. The $750,000 award will fund the facility plan and provide approximately $250,000–$300,000 for initial design work. Bullock said the city expects some portion of the Public Works Trust Fund award may be forgivable because the city may qualify as a distressed community; the agency will determine the forgivable percentage during underwriting.
Bullock outlined a multi‑source financing approach for construction, including future DOE grants, the Public Works Trust Fund, and other funding partners. He estimated planning now keeps the city on track for possible construction in 2028–2029. He said the Trust Fund loan carries a 0.5% interest rate and a typical five‑year payback for the planning phase. Bullock said the contract with the Trust Fund would return to council for approval once underwriting is complete.
Council members asked whether climate‑related grants could fund the plant; Bullock and others explained the climate grant cited in the packet targets vehicle emissions reductions and is not designed for treatment‑plant construction. Bullock described the Trust Fund award as “very good” financing that will allow the city to advance planning while reapplying for DOE construction funds in the next cycle.
No formal council action was recorded on the facility‑plan award; staff said the Trust Fund contract will come back to council for approval when underwriting is complete.
