U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury has secured $20 million for improvements to Bernalillo’s wastewater treatment plant in the House of Representatives’ version of the Water Resources Development Act.
On July 22, the House passed the act by a vote of 359 to 13, authorizing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to enhance the nation’s water resources infrastructure.
“Modernizing wastewater treatment plants and systems is crucial to ensure clean water supplies in our communities,” Stansbury said in a statement to the Signpost. “Leveraging federal funding is one of the most powerful tools we have to make investments in our districts.”
However, this is just the start, as the bill must still pass the Senate and be signed into law by President Joe Biden before the funds can be released. Bernalillo Mayor Jack Torres was unaware of the funding until contacted by the Signpost.
“We didn’t know it had even gotten through the House yet, which is kind of weird to me, usually staff will let you know right away,” Torres said.
If approved, the funding will be spent on a “total overhaul of the entire wastewater plant,” Torres said. “It would, essentially, from my point of view, give us the equivalent of a brand-new plant.”
According to the 2021 Wastewater Treatment Plant Master Plan developed by Molzen Corbin, the Bernalillo treatment plant was built in 1960 and was fully overhauled in 1980. The plant underwent minor upgrades in 2002. A new plant was constructed in 2009 in response to capacity improvements identified in a 2004 report.
The master plan has identified several critical areas for improvement, including service life replacements, capacity upgrades, safety enhancements, deferred maintenance and equipment failures. The highest priority was replacing the UV disinfection equipment, with installing new technology for post-treatment aeration as the second-highest priority.
Other funding
In addition to Stansbury’s funding, Sen. Martin Heinrich — whose spokesperson provided a statement to the Signpost — has also been pursuing funding for local initiatives.
“Senator Heinrich has fought hard to secure funding for wastewater infrastructure and management projects,” Heinrich’s spokesperson said. “As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Heinrich locked in $2.5 million for the Army Corps’ environmental infrastructure program to support projects like the one being pursued by the town of Bernalillo in the FY25 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill.”
Stansbury also appropriated $1.5 million in community-directed funding that will support the construction of a new fire station in Bernalillo. The funding will come to the town through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development program.
According to Torres, the $1.5 million in funding for the fire station will only be released once the project is fully funded. This will happen after the town receives an estimate, gets contract bids and the USDA confirms that sufficient funds are available.
“We’ll have to come up with additional funding before we get our hands on the $1.5 million,” he said.