Illinois EPA Announces More than $500,000 in Unsewered Communities Planning Grant Awards

SPRINGFIELD —Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Director John Kim today announced grant awards totaling $515,500 in funding to assist unsewered communities lacking wastewater collection and treatment systems. In 2020, Illinois EPA committed to making up to $1 million available for four years for planning grants to assist small and disadvantaged communities in developing a project plan that identifies a solution to wastewater collection and treatment needs. This is the second round of Unsewered Community Planning Grants, following $1 million in grants announced in the spring of 2021.

"Since day one of my administration, I've been committed to the health, safety, and wellbeing of all Illinoisans," said Governor JB Pritzker. "It is unconscionable that—in the year 2022—there are still underserved neighborhoods throughout our state without access to up-to-date wastewater collection and treatment systems. Thanks to the EPA's investment, our communities will get the resources they need and deserve to upgrade their water infrastructure—creating a cleaner, healthier, and better Illinois."

"Communities that lack proper wastewater collection and treatment systems have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of their residents as well as Illinois waterways," said Director Kim. "Illinois EPA is excited to see more communities take advantage of this funding, which we will continue to make available to help identify solutions and plans to meet their needs and protect the health of our residents."

Communities are considered "unsewered" if they lack wastewater collection and/or treatment systems. Many of these communities have patchwork systems or decades-old underground "wildcat" pipes that illegally discharge to surface waters. For a majority of these communities, there is a lack of local revenue to invest in the construction and long-term operation and maintenance of adequate collection and treatment facilities. Additionally, many do not have the planning capacity needed to identify solutions and develop project plans.

The Unsewered Communities Planning Grant Program (UCPGP) provides communities an opportunity to obtain funding to develop a Project Plan that will address problems with the collection and treatment of wastewater. Information from the Project Plans may also be used to apply for a grant from the Unsewered Communities Construction Grant Program (UCCGP). Illinois EPA's UCCGP is making $100 million available over a five-year period through Governor Pritzker's bipartisan Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan for construction of wastewater collection and/or treatment facilities.

A list of grant recipients under the UCPGP is below.

County	Recipient	Grant Amount
Champaign	Ludlow	$30,000
	Pesotum	$25,000
Clay	Flora	$30,000
Effingham	Effingham Water Authority	$30,000
	Teutopolis	$25,000
Fayette	Vandalia	$30,000
Ford	Piper City	$30,000
Jo Daviess	Elizabeth	$28,000
Kane	Burlington	$22,500
LaSalle	Dana	$30,000
	Grand Ridge	$30,000
	Troy Grove	$30,000
Livingston	Cullom	$30,000
Logan	Elkhart	$27,500
Madison	Williamson	$30,000
McLean	Danvers	$27,500
Stark	Toulon	$30,000
White	Carmi	$30,000
TOTAL		$515,500