News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Applications due soon for local governments to submit for Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation American Rescue Plan funding.
The state is providing funding for local governments to do needed water and sewer infrastructure upgrades, but requires a grading process to prioritize projects.
Part of that process requires entities to fill out a scorecard, a list of things utility departments have done well or need to do better on. Cookeville Water Quality Control Director Barry Turner:
“It’s sort of a qualification to get the grant so you aren’t spending money on pipe-dream-type stuff,” Turner said. “They want you to spend it on something that you need. So we score it and it’s based on information that we put into it.”
Turner said the scorecard was created by the state utility district. Turner said three places identified in Cookeville’s scorecard include the water plant’s capacity, asset management, and overflow.
Turner said Cookeville is set to get some $4 million to expand the water plant, which is over 80 percent capacity.
