Monterey Will Need State, Federal Help for Sewer Problems

Monterey will likely need to rely on state and federal grant funding in order to address their sewer issues.

State Senator Paul Bailey says the town is in need of expanding wastewater treatment but is unable to due to its size.

“Due to financial constraints they’re not able to currently do that,” Bailey says. “I know that they are seeking grants, whether it be state or federal grants to try and be able to expand that wastewater treatment facility.”

Bailey says he has spoken with the city and state departments about how they can possibly address some of the city’s problems.

“I know [Monterey] is working very hard to get something in place,” Bailey says. “We wish them well and I’m certainly willing to work with them on the state level in every way possible to try and get them what they need.”

Bailey says one of Monterey’s biggest problems is having to compete with other small towns across the state for state and federal funding that could help in their wastewater and sewer struggles.

“Tennessee’s made up of a lot of towns all the way from Mountain City all the way to Memphis so the money is spread out equally,” Bailey says. “Any time there’s a small town that I represent, I fight to try to get every dollar that I can for those towns, especially when they need to expand their infrastructure.”

Monterey suffered flooding in its streets following heavy rainfall in late September, with over a foot of water entering some businesses in town. The city voted less than two weeks later to try and address some of their sewer and flooding issues.