FY 2026 Community Project Funding Requests
Note: The projects are listed in alphabetical order by intended recipient.
1. Wallace Heights Septic Elimination Project
Requested Amount: $2,215,000
Intended Recipient: Clark Regional Wastewater District
Intended Recipient Address: 11012 NE Stutz Rd., Vancouver, WA, 98686
This funding will be used for construction and installation of 4,225 feet of 8-inch gravity mains serving 66 residential properties in Wallace Heights. The project addresses failing septic systems, an urgent public health need, in Wallace Heights. The neighborhood is located within the Lower Salmon Creek Watershed, which is subject to a state Department of Ecology Water Cleanup Plan for fecal coliform bacteria. Clark County also recognizes tributary streams in the vicinity of the Project to be in poor health due in part to elevated levels of bacteria and nutrients that are contributing to stream health degradation. This is because when septic systems unnoticeably fail to fully treat waste, effluent can migrate into nearby streams and ponds, and is often a source of increased nitrates in groundwater.
2. Northwest Service Area Grid Resiliency
Requested Amount: $2,750,000
Intended Recipient: Cowlitz County Public Utility District No. 1
Intended Recipient Address: 961 12th Ave., Longview, WA 98632
Cowlitz PUD seeks funding to relocate and underground 5.5 miles of electric distribution lines that will improve reliability, community resiliency and reduce wildfire risk in the northwest region of its service area. This line provides service to approximately 700 residents, including the rural senior citizen community of Ryderwood, many of whom are dependent on electric medical devices. The heavily forested and remote area regularly experiences lengthy power outages during severe weather from downed branches, and there is an increased wildfire risk during extreme heat conditions. Outages in this area are more frequent and longer than most of Cowlitz PUD’s service area, with the average length of service disruption exceeding 8 hours. Federal assistance would reduce impacts to ratepayers, and completion of the project will result in a virtual elimination of outages during severe weather and ensure reliable electric service is available when power is most needed.
3. Lewis County Regional Fire Service Training Center
Requested Amount: $3,000,000
Intended Recipient: Lewis County Fire District #15
Intended Recipient Address: 609 NW Kerron Street, Winlock, WA 98596
The funding would be used for the purchase of land for and development of a prefabricated combined training facility to provide up-to-date training for regional agencies on the complexities of changing fire behaviors created by new technologies. With federal funding, the project is expected to be completed by the end of year 2026, improving Lewis County’s ability to address rising community concerns regarding electric vehicle fires. A regional training facility will also allow different fire districts, as well as regional law enforcement, the Department of Emergency Management, and other public safety entities, to train together locally in real-life situations, saving taxpayer dollars otherwise spent on out-of-area training and strengthening specialized emergency responses across Lewis County.
4. Longview Dedicated Fill Line to Water Reservoir Project
Requested Amount: $2,000,000
Intended Recipient: City of Longview
Intended Recipient Address: 1525 Broadway Street, Longview, WA 98632
In 2013, the city switched its water source from the Cowlitz River to well water and opened its new Mint Farm Regional Water Treatment Plant. Instead of having a direct fill line, the system now had to charge the entire water distribution system to fill the Main Reservoir. This change in how the reservoir is filled has caused a multitude of unanticipated effects, including overflowing at the Mt. Solo Reservoir and sloshing of water in the distribution system. The project would install a dedicated fill line from the new Mint Farm Regional Water Treatment Plant to the Main Reservoir. Water then can be pumped to the Main Reservoir, then gravity fed to our main pressure zone. The Mt. Solo Reservoir would once again be filled from the Main Reservoir, eliminating the potential of overflows and “cloudy” water complaints.
5. Napavine Agriculture Building Project
Requested Amount: $2,000,000
Intended Recipient: Napavine School District
Intended Recipient Address: 404 4th Avenue, Napavine, WA 98565
The funding would be used for the construction of a multi-function lab facility to meet the needs of the school district’s agriculture program during the normal school hours and the greater community after hours. Student interest in long-term careers in the trades is expected to exceed the School District’s infrastructural capacities in the next five to seven years. With federal funding, the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, allowing more students to participate in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, including apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and other workforce development opportunities, and ensuring a well-trained workforce and strong local economy in Napavine now and in the future.
6. Willapa Medical Clinic
Requested Amount: $8,000,000
Intended Recipient: Pacific County Hospital District #2, Willapa Harbor Hospital
Intended Recipient Address: 800 Alder Street, South Bend, WA 98586
The funding would be used to pay for the construction and equipment to replace the Rural Health Clinic at the Willapa Harbor Hospital. This project is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars because North Pacific County is a rural, medically underserved area, and this clinic provides vital access to primary care for residents. The current facilities cannot accommodate additional providers to keep up with growing demand. This project will improve access to timely medical care in the community.
7. Raymond Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant
Requested Amount: $950,000
Intended Recipient: City of Raymond
Intended Recipient Address: 230 Second Street Raymond, WA 98577
Following construction of the Willapa Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant in 2013, the plant has experienced long-term consolidation of the soft soils underlying the site, resulting in settlement related damage to the utilities and infrastructure. Settlement ranges from 3” to 13” in some areas. The funding would be used to carry out critical repairs, including mitigating the most egregious subsidence-related damage and repairing the underground electrical system. This wastewater plant supports residential, commercial, and industrial development in the cities of Raymond and South Bend.
8. Kennedy Farms Well Project
Requested Amount: $2,000,000
Intended Recipient: City of Ridgefield
Intended Recipient Address: 230 Pioneer Street, Ridgefield, WA 98642
The Kennedy Well project will provide a crucial source capacity increase and add much-needed resilience to Ridgefield’s water system. The funding would be used for the development of two new source wells to serve the over 15,000 residents of the city, and each well is anticipated to provide up to 300 gallons per minute for water distribution. Water demand is projected to exceed supply in 2026 or 2027. Providing upgrades to the water system will ensure first responders wouldn’t drain the system if an emergency occurs. With the anticipated population and economic growth for the City, an adequate water system is crucial.
9. Underwood Water Rehabilitation Project
Requested Amount: $2,400,000
Intended Recipient: Skamania County Public Utility District No. 1
Intended Recipient Address: 1492 Wind River Highway, Carson, WA 98610
Skamania PUD’s Underwood Water Rehabilitation Project would upgrade drinking water sources and booster pump stations that are critical to supplying water and fire protection to the burgeoning agricultural community of Underwood. In 2023, the community endured the Tunnel 5 Fire, which ran the town’s existing water infrastructure dry due to firefighting efforts. The absence of available water not only hampered fire control efforts but also created hardship for residents as it caused a lack of safe drinking water and a water boil advisory. Existing water facilities were constructed in the 1970s and are reaching the end of their useful life. The worsening wildfires and projected population growth, together with unpredictable water sources, make these upgrades essential. This project would strengthen resiliency and ensure the rural area has adequate water infrastructure to fight wildfires and provide safe drinking water for residents.
10. Vancouver Wastewater Lagoon Aeration Blower Upgrade
Requested Amount: $2,000,000
Intended Recipient: City of Vancouver
Intended Recipient Address: 415 West 6th Street, Vancouver WA, 98660
The funding would be used to replace the aeration blower for the City of Vancouver’s Industrial Pretreatment Lagoon Facility. This project will improve the city’s wastewater treatment system performance and reliability, protect water quality outcomes and reduce energy consumption for a publicly owned treatment works. The pre-treatment lagoon facility treats concentrated industrial food process wastewater before it enters the municipal wastewater system, cost-effectively improving wastewater treatment processes for food industries while maintaining high quality services for residential customers. The lagoon is owned, operated and maintained by the City of Vancouver as part of the city’s wastewater treatment system, which includes 795 miles of sewer lines, 43 pump stations, and two wastewater treatment facilities.
11. Sea Lion Mitigation and Salmon Protection
Requested Amount: $5,500,000
Intended Recipient: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Intended Recipient Address: 1111 Washington Street SE, Olympia, WA 98501
Despite non-lethal and limited lethal-take measures, the number of salmon and steelhead consumed by sea lions below Bonneville Dam more than doubled between 2006 and 2015, as larger Steller sea lions increased in numbers and began to take a higher toll. WDFW submitted a proposal to the National Marine Fisheries Service to expand authority to manage pinniped populations on the lower Columbia River and its tributaries. The authority under this permit increases the scope and scale of current management and expands lethal removal to include Steller sea lions. It also expands the area of potential removals, and it will increase removal activity from six or eight weeks per year, to 10 or more months per year. The federal permit to expand these operations was issued, and this new authority streamlines this process and has already begun to increase the number of trappings and lethal removals, decreasing the number of pinnipeds impacting listed salmon and steelhead. This funding would help fully implement this program under the new permit.