Federal Loan To Help Monticello Build New Wastewater Treatment Plant

The US Department of Agriculture has awarded the city of Monticello a $14 million loan to build a new wastewater treatment plant.

Monticello was sued last year by the Illinois Attorney General's office, after releasing untreated wastewater into streets after a heavy rain in 2014. Annie Thompson, a spokesperson with the Attorney General's office, said in an email, "The case is ongoing, and we are working with the city toward a resolution."

At the time the suit was filed, then-Mayor Chris Corrie said the wastewater release was done to prevent sewage backup into people's basements. He also said the city had been working on improving or replacing its wastewater treatment plant for some time.

The federal money being loaned to Monticello for the new plant comes through the Rural Water and Waste Disposal Loan program. It's part of more than $25 million dollars in infrastructure funding to Illinois communities that was announced Friday, through the office of Democratic Illinois Senator Dick Durbin.