State approves $26M for regionalized facility

Regionalized wastewater treatment will soon be coming for Owatonna and Medford.

The two cities will be receiving more than $26 million for a new wastewater treatment facility after state lawmakers approved funding on the final day of the legislative session Monday.

The Legislature struck a bipartisan agreement to pass $2.6 billion in bonding projects and deliver $300 million in much-needed funding to the state’s struggling nursing homes. The Senate approved a series of bipartisan bonding and cash bills that fund critical infrastructure projects across the state, including the wastewater treatment facility for Owatonna and Medford.

“Clean water is one of the fundamental services that people expect from government, but infrastructure upgrades of this size and scope are hard for a lot of Greater Minnesota communities to manage on their own,” said Sen. John Jasinski, R-Faribault, who was author of the bill. “Investing in these important infrastructure projects will help us guarantee that folks have safe and reliable water infrastructure for generations to come.”

Included in the bonding bill is $22 million for a grant to the City of Owatonna to design and construct a new wastewater facility. An additional $4.5 million will be provided to the City of Medford to demolish its existing plant and design and build a connection to Owatonna’s new facility.

Representatives from both Owatonna and Medford testified at the Capitol in March. They told lawmakers that the regional facility will provide lower costs per gallon for treatment as well as better performance and reliability.

In Owatonna, the current treatment facility is at the end of its life despite many upgrades.

The bonding bill would cover 31% of the cost of the $70 million project. The remaining funds would come from Owatonna, $40 million and PSIG Grant and other funding of $8 million.

For Medford, the bonding bill would cover 41% of the $11 million project. The city will kick in the remaining $6.5 million.

With the bonding bill, cities will be able to set sewer rates at the federally recognized affordable rate of 1.5% of the median household income.

Medford residents currently pay about $63 per month. The bonding bill will allow the rates to jump more modestly to around $100 per month. Without help from the state, Medford would have been forced to have its own facility. Rates would have skyrocketed in that scenario to at least $180 per month.

Read a letter from the Owatonna City Administrator here.