Federal bill's grant includes half of requested funds for sewer projects

SHARON, Pa. -- A grant earmarked in a federal 2005 appropriations bill for sewer and water improvement targets four projects in the Shenango Valley.
Dan Gracenin, deputy director of the Mercer County Regional Planning Commission, said the bill sets aside $450,000 for the projects, about half of the amount requested.
The grant requires a local match, he said. Because the grant total is only half of what was sought, the municipalities involved in the project will have to come to an agreement on which projects the funds will help finance, he said.
U.S. Senators Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter, both R-Pa., announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the projects for inclusion in the 2005 appropriations bill, which must pass both houses of Congress and get signed into law.
The four projects, with a total estimated cost of $1.27 million, are:
UReplacement of 1,400 feet of a sanitary sewer siphon line on Budd Street in Sharon.
UUpgrading the Broadway industrial area sanitary sewer system in Hermitage.
UExtend the Pa. Route 18 sanitary sewer line in Hermitage.
UReplace 2,444 feet of sanitary sewer line on Victoria Drive in Sharpsville.