Community Project Funding Requests FY '24
Congressman Thanedar has submitted funding requests for important community projects in MI-13 to the House Appropriations Committee.
Under guidelines issued by the Appropriations Committee, each Representative may request funding for up to 15 projects in their community for fiscal year 2024 – although only a handful may actually be funded. Projects are restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments and eligible non-profit entities are permitted to receive funding. Additional information on the reforms governing Community Project Funding is available here.
In compliance with House Rules and Committee requirements, Congressman Thanedar has certified that he, his spouse, and his immediate family have no financial interest in any of the projects he has requested.
1. City of Detroit – I-75 Overbuild Project
Subcommittee: Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Funding Request: $1,878,176
Explanation: The I-75 Overbuild Planning Project aims to support community engagement and planning of a 4.9-acre cap over I-75 to transform a key Detroit neighborhood through the restoration of community connectivity, expanded mobility and improved economic opportunities for present and future residents of the city. By connecting the distressed Cass Corridor to the Downtown, Midtown, and the forthcoming University of Michigan Detroit Center for Innovation, this project will anchor future developments that will bring new opportunities for affordable and market-rate housing, education, commercial office space, retail, and restaurants. This project would further create a new community public space that would strengthen connections and offer programming responsive to and reflective of the surrounding neighborhoods.
Federal Nexus & Financial Disclosure
2. City of Grosse Pointe Park – Extreme Emergency Relief Valve
Subcommittee: Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Funding Request: $2,000,000
Description: The funding would be used to finish the Extreme Emergency Release Valve which is a sanitary connection of the city’s storm pump station sitting at our Patterson Park. In the event of a 100-year storm event when our pump station is unable to handle the amount of sanitary flow, we would be allowed to connect our sanitary to the storm line and deposit it into the lake.
Federal Nexus & Financial Disclosure
3. City of Wayne - Lead Line Replacement Project
Subcommittee: Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Funding Request: $4,800,000
Description: The City of Wayne is seeking to replace 480 lead lines in the homes of water customers throughout the city. The public benefit is that all citizens will eventually have access to safe drinking water. Removing the lead lines from the homes will have significant public benefits.
Federal Nexus & Financial Disclosure
4. Great Lakes Water Authority- Great Lakes Water Authority Wastewater System Improvements
Subcommittee: Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Funding Request: $4,000,000
Description: The funding would be used to over 180 miles of interceptor and trunk sewers that includes 56 combined sewage overflow (CSO) outfalls on the Detroit and Rouge Rivers, as well as 16 in-system storage devices (ISDs) and 20 valve remote (VR) sites that control flow throughout the system. During wet weather, when operated as intended, the ISDs and VRs allow for in-system storage that can help to minimize the risks of flooding and combined sewer overflow events. Funding would assist the utility’s efforts for periodic inspection, assessment, improvements, and replacement of technology and equipment necessary to support the operations of ISDs and VRs sites through the Wastewater System Improvements Project.
Federal Nexus & Financial Disclosure
5. City of Dearborn Heights - Ecorse Creek Flood Mitigation
Subcommittee: Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Funding Request: $2,000,000
Description: The funding would be used for a complete cleanout of the Ecorse Creek. The Ecorse Creek is a major storm water outlet for the City of Dearborn Heights with the tributary area being almost a third of the city. This waterway has been the cause of several federal-disaster declarations in the past decade for repetitive flooding in neighborhoods at that include areas in the top quartile of communities disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards. The creek is in need of maintenance to help with conveying storm water downstream to the Detroit River as efficiently as possible.
Federal Nexus & Financial Disclosure
6. City of Detroit - Detroit Lead Service Line Replacement
Subcommittee: Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Funding Requested: $10,000,000
Explanation: The funding will replace lead service lines throughout the city of Detroit, a significantly overburdened and disadvantaged community. Detroit has approximately 80,000 lead service lines that must be replaced in the next 18 years. With an average cost of service replacement at $10,000 per service, this equates to an $800 million dollar obligation for a community that is already overburdened. Under the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), the US Army Corps of Engineers can engage in assisting in the replacement of lead service lines. DWSD has already requested assistance, but Congressional appropriation is needed. This specific type of work has already been authorized under Section 219 of WRDA. DWSD has collected a significant amount of data including but not limited to density of lead service lines, demographics, identification of vulnerable populations to lead risk, elevated blood lead levels by zip code, socio-economic data, age of infrastructure, and other relevant data that will allow this project to efficiently and effectively target the highest risk areas and populations of Detroit.
Federal Nexus & Financial Disclosure
7. City of Dearborn Heights - Dearborn Heights Lead Service and Water Meter Replacement
Subcommittee: Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Funding Request: $ 2,000,000
Description: The funding will support efforts to serve the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act aims to protect public health. New water sampling rules have been added to better detect lead in drinking water. These changes require communities, including Dearborn Heights, with lead service lines and older housing stock, to do more sampling. Updating sampling methods is expected to result in higher lead results, not because the water source or quality for residents has changed, but because the Act has more stringent sampling procedures and analysis.
Federal Nexus & Financial Disclosure
8. Invest Detroit Foundation - Detroit Neighborhood Revitalization
Subcommittee: Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Funding Request: $10,000,000
Description: The program for which we request funding is one piece of our broader portfolio of work to revitalize Detroit neighborhoods through equitable economic development. A core component of our program is strategic infusion of capital into catalytic development projects in Detroit’s distressed neighborhoods. Invest Detroit plans to use Community Project Funding to acquire blighted, deteriorating, and undeveloped properties in key locations and to finance local developers in the construction and rehabilitation of such properties in ways that will positively benefit the neighborhood.
Federal Nexus & Financial Disclosure
9. City of Southgate - Southgate Pressure Relief Valves Project
Subcommittee: Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Amount: $900,000
Explanation: The funding would be used for the City of Southgate’s aging infrastructure and water mains that are often over 80 years old. As we work to replace and reline the water mains, stewarding the existing lines has become increasingly challenging. The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) recommends the installation of Pressure Relief Valves (PRVs) as a proven solution to reduce water main breaks. These devices prevent our aging pipes from breaking when GLWA experiences a temporary spike in pressure coming from the Southwest Pumping Station. PRVs can reduce the water main breaks that are associated with pressure spikes by over 80%. Due to the city’s proximity to GLWA's Southwest Pumping Station the temporary spikes in pressure often damage city water mains. By installing 3 PRVs, all water mains in Southgate would be protected saving the city thousands of dollars in annual repairs and preventing temporary shutoffs to schools, businesses, and residences.
Federal Nexus & Financial Disclosure
10. Great Lakes Water Authority - Great Lakes Water Authority Oakwood District Intercommunity Relief Sewer Modification Project
Subcommittee: Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Amount: $5,000,000
Explanation: The Funding would reduce the likelihood of sewer flooding events by making improvements to the Northwest Interceptor (NWI) sewer that flows from GLWA's Water Resources Recovery Facility (WRRF). The NWI brings wastewater from Wayne and Oakland County communities to GLWA’s WRRF for treatment. The growth in the communities using the NWI sewer has increased the amount of wastewater it receives. This increases the risk of untreated combined sewer system overflows and limits the ability for wastewater to enter into the system in significant rain events. The project will provide additional wastewater retention and treatment capabilities if GLWA’s WRRF’s wastewater treatment ability was interrupted or unavailable mitigating the potential for untreated wastewater discharge to the Great Lakes. Additionally, completion of this project will provide additional capacity in the NWI to support possible future sewer separation and/or stormwater management projects in local communities.
Federal Nexus & Financial Disclosure
11. Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency - Highland Park Detroit Community Response Center
Subcommittee: Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Amount: $10,000,000
Explanation: Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency (Wayne Metro) seeks to create a Community Response Center through the planning, demolition, renovation and improvement of the former Cortland Elementary School. In collaboration with local units of government and neighborhood groups, Wayne Metro will launch a community response hub to serve residents with disaster relief, vaccination outreach, and food distribution, along with wraparound services like utility and rental assistance, early childhood education, energy efficiency, home repairs, financial literacy, and other services as needs arise.
Federal Nexus & Financial Disclosure
12. City of Romulus - Romulus Community Service Road Infrastructure Project
Subcommittee: Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Amount: $8,900,000
Explanation: The funding would be used to focus on road maintenance and will bring widespread benefits by not only preserving current assets, but also lowering future costs for citizens, road users, and taxpayers. This would prevent these assets from depreciating in value, provided that timely investment is conducted in time. Both the Hunt Street and Vinewood Road projects within this program request, are in an area of the city that has significant project equity in the fact that they serve a district of low-income housing where most residents are a minority.
Federal Nexus & Financial Disclosure
13. City of Hamtramck - City of Hamtramck Green Alleyways
Subcommittee: Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Amount: $2,016,152
Explanation: The City of Hamtramck Green Alleyways proposes to reconstruct twenty alleyways and one parking lot in five census tracts in the city using porous pavement and water retention rain gardens. This project will improve multimodal transportation options and safety in the city’s densely populated residential and commercial streets and provide an important stormwater management strategy to mitigate frequent flooding. This project addresses multiple high priority needs for residents and businesses including reconstruction of dilapidated alleys, residential street safety, creating more walkable city, and strategies to combat basement flooding. Hamtramck is the densest city in Michigan and is made up entirely of areas of persistent poverty, historically disadvantaged community, and vulnerable immigrant groups.
Federal Nexus & Financial Disclosure
14. Focus Hope - Workforce Development and Education
Subcommittee: Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Amount: $2,000,000
Explanation: Focus Hope registered apprenticeship programs Detroit offers tremendous opportunities in skilled trade training programs, including registered apprenticeship programs (RAPs) and other advanced training programs. The biggest barrier to hiring and/or enrolling this talent is the lack of bridge programming between high school/GED completers and RAPs/advanced training programs. For years, Focus: HOPE has worked to fill that void, recognizing that racial disparities in Detroit, along with faltering education systems, have left a swath of thousands of people untethered to good job opportunities. COVID-19 continues to disrupt the nation’s workforce, compounding existing economic challenges as well as disparities in the American workforce.
Federal Nexus & Financial Disclosure
15. Michigan Department of Transportation - Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Bridges
Subcommittee: Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Amount: $3,390,000
Explanation: The funding would be used to replace Lemay Street bridge which is replacing an existing pedestrian structure at Springfield Street and is designed to be a Complete Streets bridge. A Complete Streets bridge is defined as a street-level bridge crossing over the freeway that is designed to accommodate vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic. The bridge is designed to fit the context of the residential neighborhood with narrow vehicular lanes to promote slower travel speeds as well as provide increased space for bicycle and pedestrian facilities.