The city of Benton Harbor will enter into a consent agreement with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to improve its sanitary sewer system. At a Monday meeting, commissioners heard from consultants from Fleis and VandenBrink as the city seeks $20 million in sewer work in the coming years to get in compliance with EGLE rules. It’s pursuing loans or grants from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, and the consent order would put the city in a better position to be approved. Mayor Marcus Muhammad said now is the time to think strategically.
“This is an opportunity for the city of Benton Harbor, from my perspective, to have 85 to 90% of this funding,” Muhammad said.
Commissioners were told the city’s best chances of securing state money would be to sign the consent agreement by the end of the week. That would score it more points in the state’s application process. While the tight deadline caused some skepticism, they later voted to allow the city manager and mayor to sign the agreement. It was noted the state has about $1 billion on hand to award this year for such projects, with around $2 billion in applications coming in. It will be a few months before the city hears back on its funding applications. Commissioners are hoping for funds in the form of grants, and not loans.
