Congressman Eric Sorensen Secures More Than $2 Million in Federal Community Project Funding for the Peoria & Bloomington-Normal Area Region

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Eric Sorensen (IL-17) announced today that he has secured more than $33 million in federal Community Project Funding (CPF) for communities across Illinois' 17th Congressional District, with more than $2 million invested directly in the Peoria and Bloomington-Normal region to strengthen critical wastewater and flood infrastructure.

The federal funding is a part of a broader bipartisan government funding bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week. Next, it goes to the Senate, where it will debated and voted on before being signed by the President and enacted.

"Communities across our district are dealing with aging infrastructure that need urgent repairs, but too often they lack the ability to fund these critical projects without help from the state or federal government," said Congressman Sorensen. "I'm proud to work with local leaders in Elmwood and Bloomington to help secure federal funding that will help them improve wastewater infrastructure and construct new stormwater basins to better mitigate flooding. I urge the Senate to act quickly to take up this legislation and pass it into law so these critical projects can move forward."

"We are grateful to Representative Sorensen for championing this request and recognizing how important the East Street Basin Project is to Bloomington families," said City of Bloomington Mayor Dan Brady. "His advocacy helps move us closer to long-term flood mitigation and stronger, safer neighborhoods. We appreciate his partnership and continued commitment to our community."

"This project is about protecting homes," said City of Bloomington City Manager Jeff Jurgens. "These dollars will go directly to the City's work to add detention basins in a core area of Bloomington that has experienced repeated flooding challenges."

"We are deeply appreciative of Congressman Eric Sorensen's continuing efforts to secure funds for Elmwood's wastewater treatment facility," said City of Elmwood Mayor Andrew Almasi. "This federal funding will be used to clean sludge and upgrade our current waste, water filtering system. Without this needed upgrade our nearby waterway and surrounding ecosystem would be endangered from runoff. This federal funding will greatly ease the financial burdens that will be placed upon the citizens of Elmwood and our sanitary system users for decades to come. I cannot overstate our appreciation for Mr. Sorensen's continued efforts for and on behalf of our citizens.

Projects for the Peoria and Bloomington-Normal area region:

City of Bloomington - $1,092,000

The funding will be used for a multi-phased project that will provide flooding relief throughout the City of Bloomington. The project includes the construction of three stormwater basins, and one smaller basin upstream, as well as improvements to an existing upstream basin. Additionally, stormwater pipes will be relocated, a combined sewer will be separated, and conveyance features will be created for each of the four stormwater basins.

City of Elmwood - $1,000,000

The funding will help the City of Elmwood replace its existing wastewater system's rock filter. It will also help the City remove sludge from the bottom of its wastewater lagoon's four cells (ponds) by draining the water in the cells and pumping the sludge out.

The Community Project Funding process provides an opportunity for local projects to receive federal funding assistance to complete them. Members of Congress are allowed to submit requests for projects in cities, towns, or villages in their district to be considered for eligible funding by the House Appropriations Committee.