State issues warning similar to one sent to Marion the same day
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) has warned the City of Uniontown that it could lose nearly $6 million in federal funding for water infrastructure if the city cannot demonstrate it will finish the project on time.
In a March 18 letter obtained by The Times-Standard-Herald, ADEM Director Edward Poolos told Mayor Ronald Wade Miller that his staff has “concern that the recipient may not be in position to complete the project by the December deadline,” and that any unused funds “would be redirected to other critical need projects that can meet the timeline requirements.”
The $5,911,306 was awarded on December 21, 2023, under the American Rescue Plan Act through a Drinking Water/Wastewater Agreement with the Waterworks and Sewer Board of the City of Uniontown for a project designated “Uniontown, WW&SB of the City – Water Rehab Project.” Under the terms of the agreement, all project funds must be expended by December 31, 2026. The agreement also requires the city to demonstrate by June 1, 2026, that it can complete construction by the end of the year.
Poolos gave the city until April 10 to respond with a current narrative on where the project stands relative to completion, a detailed project outlay schedule with monthly milestones, and any impediments or concerns that may delay the schedule.
“Time is growing short on the use of these funds, and we do not want any of these one-time funds to be reverted,” Poolos wrote. The letter was copied to five ADEM staff members. Unlike a similar letter sent to the City of Marion on the same date, the Uniontown letter does not indicate copies were sent to the city’s engineering firm or to the office of Congresswoman Terri Sewell.
The Uniontown warning is the second such letter ADEM sent to a Perry County municipality on March 18. As reported in the March 26 edition of The Times-Standard-Herald, ADEM sent a nearly identical letter to Marion Mayor Dexter Hinton warning that the city could lose $2,475,000 in ARPA funding for sewer and wastewater infrastructure upgrades. In that letter, Poolos expressed the same concern about the city’s ability to meet the December 31 deadline and imposed the same April 10 response requirement. The Marion letter was also copied to the city’s contracted engineering firm, Utility Engineering Consultants of Homewood, and two staffers from Congresswoman Sewell’s office.
Together, the two Perry County cities stand to lose more than $8.3 million in one-time federal infrastructure funding if they cannot satisfy ADEM’s requirements. The ARPA funds represent a one-time federal investment that cannot be replaced. The American Rescue Plan directed money to communities like Uniontown and Marion specifically because they lack the local tax base to fund major infrastructure work on their own.
