Village of Durand
Project Summary & Preliminary Environmental Impacts Determination
To the Village of Durand Residents:
The Village of Durand is in the process of securing funding for a Wastewater Treatment Plant and Collection System Improvements Project. Durand’s project entails the construction of a new main influent lift station, including pumps, motors, structure, valve and valve vault. It also includes modifying the standby influent lift station, along with modifications for supervisory control and data acquisition system. Additionally, the project proposes to modify piping associate with the lagoon located at the wastewater treatment plant and to dredge two of the four lagoon cells to remove sludge. The total estimate cost is roughly $1,685,980.
The Village is working on a loan application with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) Water Pollution Control Loan Program. Currently, an interest rate of 1.35% is being made available to the Village for a twenty-year (20) year period. The annual loan repayment amount based upon a $1,685,980 loan would be roughly $96,238; each customer would pay a monthly debt fee of roughly $12.92.
If the Village of Durand secures financing through the IEPA Water Pollution Control Loan Program, there are provisions for incentives for which the Village would be eligible for, such as principal loan forgiveness, a lower loan interest rate and longer loan terms. Taking into consideration the above incentives, Durand is eligible to receive a 1.04% small community interest rate, 30% in principal forgiveness, and has the option of obtaining a longer loan term. Based upon the above financing plan, the Village’s final loan amount would be $1,180,186, with the annual loan repayment of roughly $65,386, resulting in a monthly debt fee of $8.77 per user. With the above IEPA incentives, it has reduced the annual loan repayment amount and the monthly fee (from an estimated $12.92 to $8.77). As part of the planning process, the Village has already implemented a portion of the increased monthly sewer rate needed for the new debt.
As part of the loan application process, IEPA has reviewed the financial impact to users and environmental impact as a result of the proposed project. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has noted that the projected average annual residential cost of services is 0.71% of the median household income, and that any amount less than 2% is considered to be affordable under State and Federal loan program criteria. IEPA determined that no significant financial impact of the Durand sewer customers should occur due to the construction of the proposed project under the aforementioned funding possibilities. Additionally, the Agency has completed an environmental review process and has made determination that adverse effects of the project are unlikely, in that the proposed wastewater system improvements will have little to no potential for having negative environmental impacts related from construction.
Prior to granting its approval of the proposed project and plan, the IEPA requires that the public be granted an opportunity to comment on the information presented. The Village of Durand is hereby making notice that the IEPA has issued a Preliminary Environmental Impacts Determination report and also making notice that a public hearing for the Wastewater Treament Plan and Collection System Improvements Project will be held on November 23, 2020 at 7:30pm at Village Hall located at 308 W. Main Street in Durand. After the public hearing, a 10-day public comment period will commence on November 24th and will end on December 4th. Information on the proposed project and the IEPA Project Summary and Notice are available for public inspection at Village Hall located at 308 W. Main Street, Durand, IL 61024, 815-248-2606 between the hours of 9:00 and 4:00 Monday thru Friday or by opening or printing the report at the link below. During this public comment period, written comments may be provided to the Village of Durand or directly to the IEPA contact person, which is Ellen Watters, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Infrastructure Financial Assistance Section, Bureau of Water, 1021 North Grand Avenue East, Springfield IL 62794-9276.
Sherry Bessert, Durand Office Manager