Robin Wright, clerk and treasurer for the town of Drummond, told the House Appropriations Subcommittee F that her town of about 271 people cannot complete an $8,350,000 wastewater upgrade without the MSAP grant the 2023 legislature awarded.

Wright outlined the project’s scope: sludge removal from a single‑cell facultative lagoon, construction of a three‑cell configuration, installation of an impermeable liner (two leakage studies showed substantial leakage), and ultraviolet treatment before discharge as required by the Department of Environmental Quality. She said the preliminary engineering report was submitted in May 2022 and that the legislature awarded $500,000 in MCEP funding in 2023.

“Our town cannot afford to complete this project without the awarded MSAP funding,” Wright told the committee. She said the town had secured a competitive grant of roughly $2,405,600 and an RRGL award of $125,000, that an adjacent landowner has agreed to accept sludge land‑application, and that Northwestern Energy will supply power for the UV system. Wright said the town expected to advertise for bids in February and begin construction in April, with completion in November of the same year.

Brad Koon, the town’s engineer, estimated the town had secured approximately $3.5 million in funding to date and said the town had applications pending with USDA Rural Development and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs. He told the committee he expected Rural Development to issue a commitment in January and CDBG in February, subject to the agencies’ timelines.

During questioning, Commerce staff clarified that MSAP awardees must meet five startup conditions before Commerce will execute a contract: an updated budget, an implementation schedule, a management plan, compliance with local auditing and financial reporting, and commitments for other funding sources. Several lawmakers noted inflation has raised construction costs since awards were made and that funding contingencies remain a common reason projects remain on the “not met startup” list.

Ending: With a low median household income of $31,667 and nearly 69% of households classified as low to moderate income, Drummond officials said the MSAP grant is critical to completing the project and avoiding environmental and public‑health risks tied to lagoon leakage.