CENTREVILLE 鈥� New grant funding for a possible plan that would show ways to alleviate some flooding issues in Centreville, East St. Louis and Alorton has left some worried about its effectiveness.
In mid-November, the announced the Prairie du Pont Watershed grant, a grant worth up to $1 million in 鈥渋nitial funding鈥� for a firm that could develop a watershed-based plan to fix nearly constant flooding in Centreville, East St. Louis and Alorton.
The grant would go to a firm that would develop a community-endorsed plan and help implement 鈥渧oluntary鈥� projects that would reduce stormwater runoff and fix 鈥渕inor鈥� sewer system infrastructure issues in the area, according to the IEPA.
鈥淭he complex network of wastewater systems and flooding issues in this region require a focused approach and financial and technical resources from a number of different regulatory agencies,鈥� said Illinois EPA Director John Kim in a statement. 鈥淥ur staff has been engaged in productive discussions with local residents, community groups, advocacy organizations, and elected officials to identify short and long-term steps to reduce the stress on the existing sewage collective system and improve local surface and groundwater quality.鈥�
The firm would be tasked with engaging with local stakeholders in each community to develop a plan to tackle the infrastructure problems in the area and use that plan to create a final plan for the entire watershed.
For a local group of residents who say decades of neglected infrastructure and inaction from local officials have left their homes repeatedly inundated with floodwater and raw sewage, the grant opportunity came as a surprise.
Stormwater and raw sewage regularly floods homes, yards and roads causing damage and sometimes trapping residents in their houses.
Residents in the area said even causes enough flooding that some are trapped in their homes for days. Stormwater often inundated the city鈥檚 aging infrastructure, causing raw sewage to back up into yards, often leaving pools of brown water littered with toilet paper and tampons, they say.
The damage is extensive, expensive to repair and a drain on property values. . Those who remain live with the stench that hangs over their neighborhood. They have additional concerns about its effect on their health, they say.
In July, UD-Illinois, visited the city and pledged that her office would look for solutions.
Over the past several months the IEPA has met with residents during their monthly meetings, giving them updates on the progress of fixing the issues in the area.
Centreville residents worry over transparency, accountability
Nicole Nelson, an attorney who has been trying to help find solutions to the community鈥檚 issues, said there was never any mention of the grant before it was announced.
鈥淲e were surprised and a little disappointed in the lack of transparency,鈥� Nelson said. 鈥淚t was released under the guise of working with the community but they鈥檙e really not. The residents don鈥檛 know about it.鈥�
Nelson and her legal partner Kalila Jackson have been looking for solutions for the residents of Centreville for nearly three years. In the summer, the attorneys filed a lawsuit on behalf of several residents of Centreville against the city and Commonfields of Cahokia, the entity that operates wastewater systems in Centreville, in an effort to have the flooding issues fixed.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two Centreville residents, Cornelius Bennett and Earlie Fuse, just two of many residents in Centreville who say decades of flooding have damaged their homes and threatened their health.
IEPA spokeswoman Kim Biggs said more transparency on the possible project lies ahead and that the IEPA couldn鈥檛 legally discuss the grant with the public while it was developed.
鈥淲atershed stakeholder involvement is vital to the development of the watershed-based plan, and the facilitator that receives this grant will work with all interested watershed stakeholders,鈥� Biggs said in an email. 鈥淭his award is designed to engage a facilitator to deliver scientific and technical expertise and take the watershed stakeholders through the watershed-based planning development process.鈥�
Biggs said previous successful plans have included steering committees, planning committees and several other teams and subcommittees.
鈥淚llinois EPA will work with the grantee to ensure that the planning committee represents a broad range of interests and also ensures that a diverse and representative range of stakeholders are engaged in the process,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he planning committee needs to mirror the diversity of the watershed to ensure that the plan will be voluntarily implemented within the watershed.鈥�
However, at a meeting with the residents on Centreville on Tuesday, Nelson said the IEPA鈥檚 presentation of the project left many residents and the team supporting the residents with worries about accountability and how long it will take to get relief.
鈥淥ur questions as a team and residents is when do they get relief?鈥� Nelson said. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 a couple of years of planning and if it鈥檚 also a volunteer program with little accountability how and when will they get relief?鈥�
Residents at that meeting asked IEPA how those who were put in charge of planning would assure problems in North Centreville were resolved, but Nelson said no clear answer was given. She added that, because the plan and projects that came from the plan would be voluntary, there isn鈥檛 any assurance that relief for residents will eventually come.
Cities say deadline may be too soon
Alorton City Manager LaMar Gentry said the city is currently looking into the program as well, but said the speed of the process was unusual. The deadline for applications for the project is Dec. 10.
鈥淚t just came out on Thursday (Nov. 19), and it鈥檚 due at the beginning of next month, which is kind of crazy,鈥� he said on Tuesday. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to figure out what鈥檚 the rush, and it鈥檚 confusing to be quite honest.鈥�
Centreville Mayor Mark Jackson and East St. Louis Mayor Robert Eastern did not respond to requests for comment on the grant and plan and whether their cities would be engaging with the project. East St. Louis City Manager Brooke Smith said that she wasn鈥檛 aware of the grant.
Biggs said the speed of the application process was set in hopes of having the grant award in place so that its recipient could start working before leaves begin to return in spring, which could hamper the study of the area鈥檚 issues.
However, Gentry said there were other confusing parts of the news release that he has yet to have answered by IEPA. He hopes to receive answers to his questions on Monday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unusual, what I鈥檓 seeing so far,鈥� Gentry said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e talking about a watershed area that鈥檚 further south from here and near Columbia, and it鈥檚 confusing because it says (it鈥檚 for) Alorton, Centreville and East St. Louis, but the area that they鈥檙e talking about in question is south from here.鈥�
Gentry was one of the individuals named in the Centreville residents lawsuit along with Centreville Township Supervisor Curtis McCall Sr., Commonfields of Cahokia鈥檚 Superintendent Dennis Traiteur and Mayor Jackson.
Alorton and Centreville are currently in the process of merging to become one city and due to the results of the Cahokia Heights consolidation vote during the November election, the two cities will then merge with nearby Cahokia.
Alorton Mayor JoAnn Reed said the grant opportunity came at a 鈥減erfect time鈥� when the cities are set to become one. She said if the flooding issues that plague the town could be fixed before the consolidation is complete, it would help 鈥渂reathe new life鈥� into the community.
鈥淚t鈥檚 truly long overdue, but it鈥檚 an opportunity for us to solve the problems that we鈥檝e been having that has long plagued us,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he problem that they鈥檝e been dealing with was so beyond Alorton and Centreville. It encompassed some structural engineering problems that we simply couldn鈥檛 handle on a lower level, so this is something that has taken a while to manifest, and now it needs this attention.鈥�
Kavahn Mansouri and DeAsia Paige are reporters with the , a reporting partner of 漏 2024 外网天堂.
