(OKLAHOMA CITY) – Sen. Joe Sweeden and Rep. Lee Denney announced that Ripley recently received a state grant to help make necessary upgrades to the town’s wastewater system.
The Oklahoma Department of Commerce/ Office of Community Development (ODOC/CD) awarded a nearly $227,000 Community Development Block Grant in the Water and Wastewater (Phase II) Construction category. The funding will be used to construct an interior lagoon levee and will be adding filter blanket, rock rip rap, solid slab sodding and hydromulching to the existing wastewater lagoons.
ODOC/CD funds water and wastewater projects are based on a phased approach. The Water and Wastewater Engineering program funds the engineering and permitting aspects of a project. Phase II provides funding for the necessary costs of construction, inspection and administration required to complete the wastewater project. This phased approach helps ensure the most proper technical solutions to the applicants’ wastewater problems within the available budget. Additionally, it helps improve coordination among other state agencies (both permitting and financing) and improves the timeliness of CDBG expenditures.
Each year the Oklahoma Department of Commerce makes CDBG funds available to eligible incorporated towns, cities and counties. Funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through a competitive cycle process that utilizes an established set of threshold criteria that all applicants must meet.
