Matching grants are available for some Northwest Georgia homeowners who need to repair or replace aging or failing septic systems, according to the Limestone Valley Resource Conservation & Development Council.
“If you help a person with their septic repair, you’re ultimately improving the downstream impacts of water quality for everyone,” Stephen Bontekoe, the council’s executive director, said.
Matching grants are available in areas of the South Chickamauga Creek and Lookout Creek watersheds, part of the Trenton-based nonprofit organization’s partnership with Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
The council received $243,000 from the federal government for the project, which also has a match of $166,597 that includes money from landowners, volunteer time and local sources, Bontekoe said. All total, it’s a nearly $410,000 investment, Bontekoe said, for a project that’s begun but hasn’t paid out any funds yet.
Homeowners pay contractors for the work. Once verification is received from the Georgia Department of Public Health that the work was done according to state standards, the homeowner is reimbursed by the council in 10 days or less, Bontekoe said.