Crockett council approves intent to apply for state water loans, including $11.54M Clean Water SRF for North plant

Crockett’s City Council authorized staff to submit intent‑to‑apply notices for both the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds and to begin procurement of engineering, financial and bond‑counsel services needed to complete formal applications.

City staff said the Drinking Water SRF can include loan forgiveness depending on the city's ranking and funding availability; the city must secure advisory and engineering services to enter the application pipeline. On the Clean Water side, staff requested permission to apply for $11,540,000 to perform a complete overhaul of the North wastewater plant.

"We qualify for 70% loan forgiveness, 30% low interest rate loan," a city staff member said, describing the Clean Water SRF scoring and the city’s position in the queue. Staff described the plant as built in the 1970s, with a maximum daily capacity of 6,000,000 and an average operating capacity of about 2,000,000; the plant is currently functioning below peak capacity, the digester is non‑functional and the system is down to one clarifier, which has resulted in regulatory pressures and ongoing violations that must be addressed.

Staff said a successful application would allow the city to fix violations, increase capacity and avoid future penalties; council members approved staff’s request to submit the intents and to hire the necessary consultants for application work.

Next steps: staff will procure an engineering firm, bond counsel and financial adviser, then return to council with detailed cost estimates and contract recommendations before committing to loan terms.