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r <br /> 4 <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> TO: County Commissioners <br /> FROM: Paul Thames, County Engineer <br /> DATE: August 18, 1994 <br /> SUBJECT: Report on the grant funding process for the Piney <br /> Mountain waste treatment system <br /> As you will recall from staff presentations and BOCC <br /> discussions earlier this year, the BOCC agreed that Orange <br /> County would pursue state "high unit cost" grant funds for <br /> replacing the failing community alternative waste treatment <br /> system at the Piney Mountain subdivision. Conditions <br /> attached to the grant funding process required that the <br /> County agree to become - at least in name - the owner/ <br /> operator of the grant funded waste treatment facilities <br /> (pumping station, force mains and possibly step systems and <br /> collection network) . The ownership issue, in turn, required <br /> that the County develop agreements with OWASA and the <br /> home owners to provide for: a) oversight of system <br /> construction, management and operation; b) transfer of system <br /> ownership to OWASA as soon as grant requirements allow; and <br /> c) home owner financing of the costs of engineering, <br /> construction and start-up prior to receipt of grant-funded <br /> reimbursements. All of the necessary agreements were <br /> developed and grant conditions met, and the grant application <br /> was submitted to the Division of Environmental Management <br /> (DEM) by the March 1994 application deadline. The NC <br /> Division of Environmental Management (DEM) evaluated the <br /> grant request and prepared grant funding recommendations for <br /> presentation to the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) <br /> for its decision on awarding grants. In its July 14th <br /> meeting, the EMC reviewed DEM' s funding recommendations, <br /> including the recommendation to fund the Piney Mountain <br /> project for $331,500, and voted with only one dissension to <br /> deny Orange County' s grant request. <br /> The EMC' s July 14 decision to deny funding for the Piney <br /> Mountain project does completely end all prospect of grant <br /> funding. However, only two potential sources of grant <br /> funding remain available. The first is through the second <br /> stage or phase of the normal "high unit cost" grant funding <br /> process. The "high unit cost" grant process consists of a <br /> yearly cycle with two stages. The first stage is represented <br /> by a March application deadline and a July grant award. The <br /> second stage consists of a September 30 application deadline <br /> and a December or January grant award. The second stage is <br /> generally considered to be less significant because most of <br />