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Rising Sun says federal, state funds could cover millions to decommission lagoon and meet MS4 rules
Summary
Town staff outlined pending funding efforts — BRIC, MDE and appropriations requests — to finance lagoon decommissioning and MS4 stormwater work estimated at roughly $3 million and $2.75 million respectively, which the town says would avoid raising local taxes.
Town Administrator Calvin told the board the town is pursuing multiple funding avenues to decommission the wastewater lagoon and meet MS4 (stormwater) requirements, and that those combined projects were estimated in earlier studies at roughly $3,000,000 for the lagoon and $2,750,000 for MS4 improvements.
Calvin said the town applied for BRIC funding and for support through the Maryland Department of the Environment; he reported that the town had been one of about 75 BRIC applications nationally that had received funding consideration and that congressional appropriations requests had been forwarded with senator support. "We were one of about 75 applications in the entire country that got funded," Calvin said, adding that the town had also sought state funding as a backup. He said securing those funds would avoid raising the town's real estate tax or sewer rates to pay for mandated work.
Calvin explained the timeline constraints of grant programs and why the town could not incur reimbursable expenses before the program deadlines, and warned that while officials are optimistic, federal appropriations and administrative steps remain necessary before work can proceed. The town plans to pursue BRIC, MDE grants and appropriations simultaneously to improve the chance of full funding.
