Meeting tonight on North Havre sewer upgrade

The Hill County Commission will hold a hearing tonight to talk about finding some additional funding for a major project for some North Havre districts: repairing or upgrading some sewer lines before a major catastrophe occurs.

The project has received more than $200,000 in state funding so far, with an equal local match required.

The issue is pipes that transport sewage across the Milk River from two rural special improvement districts in the unincorporated community en route to the wastewater treatment plant.

Erosion and shifting of the bed of the Milk River have exposed the force mains, which could lead to their being broken or damaged.

The two districts affected are Hill County RSID 11, north of the Milk River from about 10th Avenue North to where the Wild Horse Road splits off from River Road, and RSID 21, north and east of RSID 11.

Another issue is an outmoded lift station that pumps sewage across the river for one of the RSIDs, which engineers estimate is costing the residents in RSID 11 more than $15,000 a year in additional work to maintain and repair the station.

RSIDs are formed to pay for construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure. The residents in the district are assessed fees to pay the costs.

The engineers studying the problem have said the exposed force mains could be broken at any time. That would lead to immediate repairs or replacement being required, and probably fines assessed by the Department of Environmental Quality.

The charges to repair or replace the system, and the fines, would have to be paid immediately by the owners of the systems — the county government and the RSID the force main serves.

The effort to repair the system has including looking for ways to find funds to pay for the project.

Michele Turville, director of community development for Bear Paw Development Corp., said Monday that the Legislature appropriated money for the project through the state Treasure State Endowment Program, and tonight's public hearing is a requirement for applying to the state's Community Development Block Grant program to try to help pay the required match.

The North Havre project was one of several funded through TSEP this legislative session. The Legislature appropriated $211,500 for the project, with a $1-to-$1 local match required.

Turville said Hill County applied for a hardship consideration that would have reduced the required match to $1-to-$3, but that consideration was not awarded.

The county government plans to apply for CDBG funds to help pay the required match from the TSEP program.

TSEP grants, administered by the Montana Department of Commerce, are funded with interest earned on the Treasure State Endowment Fund, which comes from a portion of the coal severance tax. Grants from the program are awarded on a competitive basis for: construction or upgrades to drinking water systems, wastewater treatment facilities, sanitary or storm sewer systems, solid waste disposal and separation systems, and bridges.

The CDBG Program is a federally funded grant program that provides assistance to communities with community development needs such as housing, public facilities, economic development and planning grants. All projects must be designed to principally benefit low and moderate-income families.

The program is administered nationally by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and on the state level by the Department of Commerce.

The meeting is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. in the Bear Paw Development Corp. Large Conference Room on the second floor of the Ryan Building, across from US Bank at 48 2nd Ave.