The City of Grants Pass has been dealt a significant financial blow to its plans for a replacement water treatment plant, which was scheduled to break ground in May. This, thanks to sweeping budget cuts by the Trump administration.
Due to sweeping budget cuts by the Trump administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has cancelled the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program for fiscal years 2020-2024, which means Grants Pass will not receive the $50 million grant that had been awarded to the city in summer 2023.
The loss of these funds will require the Grants Pass City Council to consider borrowing additional funds and possibly raising rates to pay for the loan. How much the rates will increase and when the increase will go into effect are still to be determined.
Grants Pass officials said inflation and current tariffs have also negatively impacted this project, though the city would have been able to proceed next month without borrowing money and raising rates.
The risk of flooding is the main reason Grants Pass was awarded the BRIC grant. While it has been a while since the city has seen a significant flood, Public Works Director Jason Canady said that serious flooding would impact the current water treatment plant, which was built in the 1930s.
The bottom line -- Canady said -- is the current plant needs to be replaced.
