Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emerging Contaminants topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Little Compton council OKs application for emerging-contaminant grant, names school department fiscal agent
Summary
The council voted to approve the towns application to the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank for an emerging-contaminants (PFAS) grant to fund a treatment system for the school-owned water system that serves multiple town buildings, and designated the school department as fiscal agent.
The Little Compton Town Council voted to authorize an application to the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank for an emerging-contaminants grant intended to fund a treatment system for the school-owned water system that serves the school building and five other town facilities.
Superintendent (name not provided) told the council the town—s water system currently measures about 6 parts per trillion for PFAS, below the regulatory threshold discussed in the packet, but that new EPA standards taking effect by 2029 will require upgrades. He said the school department has operated the small system for decades and requested the council—s approval to submit the grant application and name the school department as fiscal agent.
Aaron Curacie of the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank described two funding buckets for the federal and state program and said Little Compton qualifies for a 100% grant aimed at smaller systems, with no local match required. A bank representative added the program includes low-interest loan options for larger systems but that the grant tranche for towns like Little Compton is fully funded and intended to help communities meet upcoming regulatory requirements.
The superintendent and Infrastructure Bank representatives said the town has contracted engineer/consultant Haley & Aldrich to assist with grant writing and technical planning; they also noted the need for licensing of system operators, with the superintendent describing efforts to build redundancy for licensed operators should the primary operator be unavailable.
Councilor [mover recorded in the transcript] moved to approve the application and name the school department as fiscal agent; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote. The council asked staff to forward any resulting grant agreement to the town solicitor for review before final execution.
Next steps: the Infrastructure Bank will review the application and its board must approve funding; any grant agreement will return to the town solicitor and council for final sign-off before work begins.
