Rutherford County, TN - The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) announced Wednesday 102 grants totaling $232,709,981 from the state’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) fund, part of which TDEC is administering in the form of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure grants. Since August, TDEC has awarded and announced $634,404,544 in grant funds through ARP programming.

Specificlly in Ruthertford County, more than $14-million in funding has been approved. The money will go towards water projects in Murfreesboro, LaVergne and Eagleville.

Murfreesboro, receiving the largest sum of funds in the county, will get more than $10-million to bring their Wastewater Treatment Plant up to capacity while making improvements to the wastewater system. In total, Murfreesboro will be able to complete four projects for its wastewater system, which will correct defects in its large diameter mainlines, address issues with their small diameter mainlines and associated manholes, and address the upsizing in lines resulting in restrictions in a portion of the system.

Eagleville, receiving over $600-thousand, will use ARP funds to address critical needs in their wastewater system and develop an Asset Management Plan. Projects include the modernization of its Wastewater Treatment Plant by identifying lands for drip irrigation disposal and planning and designing a physical pipe connection between two decentralized treatment plants.

In LaVergne, $3.4-million will go towards improvements to their drinking water system. Projects include modernizing SCADA hardware and software, replacing the Water Treatment Plan clarifiers' tube settlers, and upgrading an aging water line.

There were a total of 102 grants announced on Wednesday, 17 of which are collaborative grants and 85 are non-collaborative grants. Collaborative grants involve multiple entities (cities, counties, or water utilities) partnering on projects to work toward a shared purpose. The awards announced today include funding for 132 individual drinking water, wastewater, and/or stormwater infrastructure projects. 

Tennessee received $3.725 billion from the ARP, and the state’s Financial Stimulus Accountability Group dedicated $1.35 billion of those funds to TDEC to support water projects in communities throughout Tennessee. Of the $1.35 billion, approximately $1 billion was designated for non-competitive formula-based grants offered to counties and eligible cities to address critical systems needs. Those include developing Asset Management Plans, addressing significant non-compliance, updating aging infrastructure, mitigating water loss for drinking water systems, and reducing inflow and infiltration for wastewater systems.

The grants announced today are part of the $1 billion non-competitive grant program. The remaining funds ($269 million) will go to state-initiated projects and competitive grants. 

“These grants will address important water infrastructure needs for local communities across Tennessee,” Gov. Bill Lee said. “We look forward to the improvements these projects will bring, and we commend the communities who have gone through the application process.”

“More than ever, infrastructure is critically important to our local communities,” said Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge. “This money will allow cities and towns to address deficiencies and make improvements that will pay dividends not just in the present but in the years to come as well. I greatly appreciate the work of the governor and my colleagues on the Fiscal Accountability Group for their work in making sure these funds were spent appropriately and efficiently.”

“We continue experiencing considerable growth across the state, and many of our communities require additional resources to address their evolving needs,” said Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville. “These grants will play a major role in ensuring cities and towns have access to infrastructure solutions that will enable them to continue thriving so Tennessee remains a preferred destination for both businesses and families.”

“We are grateful to the local applicants, and we anticipate excellent results from these grants,” said TDEC Commissioner David Salyers. “This shows that Tennessee recognizes the need for improved water infrastructure, and we are grateful for the leadership of Governor Lee and the General Assembly in seeing that communities get this assistance.”

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