T-R FILE PHOTO The Community Development Block Grant intended for the Green Mountain sewer project has been delayed until May. It is possible construction will start in the fall.

Residents of Green Mountain may have to wait a little bit longer for a new public sewer system. 

Director Marty Wymore of Region VI Resource Partners of Marshalltown prepared a $126,000 Community Development Block Grant application for the project. He said the state of Iowa, which manages the program, has required additional information.

That means a Community Development Block Grant decision will be delayed until May. 

If the grant is not funded it is likely the project will still move forward, but it will mean higher sewer rates for Green Mountain property owners. 

“Award of the $126,000 grant will help lower sewer rates for Green Mountain residents,” Marshall County supervisor Bill Patten said. “Since we sponsored the Community Development Block Grant application, we obviously want it to be funded. If not funded, we think the project must move forward. The lack of public sewer in that unincorporated village has brought sales of some homes to a complete halt. We know of a number of elderly property owners who wanted to sell their property and move into a nursing home but could not because the Iowa Department of Natural Resources required them to meet certain conditions.” 

Project manager Kristie Wildung of the Iowa Regional Utility Association in Newton, which will manage construction of the sewer lagoon and individual property hook-ups, said it is possible construction could still start in the fall.

“Assuming we have a mild fall and other project details are in place we could see construction start this fall,” she said. “Every project has its unique challenges and opportunities and this one is not any different.”

The Marshall County Board of Supervisors, Wymore and Region VI Resource Partners, and the Iowa Regional Utility Association have been working on the project for nearly 10 years. 

The need for public sewer arose about 10 years ago when the Iowa Department of Natural Resources determined numerous septic tanks from private properties in the village were contaminating a nearby creek. 

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Contact Mike Donahey at mdonahey@timesrepublican.com