Middletown wastewater project among federal funding requests

Ryan Marshall, The Frederick News-Post, Md.
·2 min read

Middletown could be in line for more than $5 million in federal funds to help the town fund a replacement for one of its two wastewater treatment plants.

U.S. Rep. David Trone’s office announced more than $28 million in funding requests Tuesday for projects across Frederick County, including a $5.72 million request for enhanced nutrient removal upgrades for Middletown’s west wastewater treatment plant.

The town faces a projected $40 million project to replace the plant, which is in a floodplain, and equip its other plant on the east side of town to handle the increased capacity.

While state Bay Restoration Fund money would cover about $30 million of the project, officials say that even the remaining $10 million is unaffordable for the town, which has about 5,000 residents and 1,400 accounts in its water and sewer fund.

Along with the possible $5.72 million federal earmark, the town is also waiting to hear back from the state on possible funding for the project, Town Administrator Paul Mantello said Thursday.

The town applied to the Maryland Department of the Environment for funding in January, and expects to hear back this month, he said.

But while the federal request is a positive step, the money is still a long way from being secured, he said.

The wastewater project was one of seven requests by Trone for projects in the county, worth more than $28 million, that were approved by the House Appropriations Committee.

With their approval by the committee, on which Trone serves, the requests will be included in the federal fiscal year 2025 budget package.

The funding would greatly help the town deal with the enhanced nutrient removal requirements imposed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and MDE, Middletown Burgess John Miller said in a press release from Trone’s office.

The lagoon-style facility on the west side of Middletown was built in 1967. A more modern facility on the east side of town was built in 2000 to handle increased development in that area.

Since the western plant is in a floodplain, the town plans to turn the lagoon facility into a pump station and pump the material from that facility about two miles and up a 130-foot rise in elevation over to the plant on the east side of town.