Fehr Graham secures up to $4.8 million in funding for Buckley’s sanitary sewer system

Fehr Graham, a leading Midwest engineering and environmental firm, secured up to $4.8 million in principal forgiveness from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Village of Buckley's new sanitary sewer system.

Over several years, Fehr Graham has guided Buckley, among other Illinois communities, in planning and obtaining grants for critical infrastructure projects. In February 2023, we helped secure a $5 million grant from the Illinois EPA, bringing total funding potential to $9.8 million for the $12 million project.

Located in Iroquois County, 38 miles north of Champaign, Buckley is unsewered, meaning it has no wastewater collection or treatment facilities. The 600-person community will use the money to build a system that includes sanitary sewer, two pump stations and a sanitary sewer force main to a new covered lagoon wastewater treatment plant. As part of the project, all septic tanks will eventually be abandoned.

Most Buckley residents use privately owned septic tanks, which can pollute the environment and discourage economic development. Fehr Graham is helping the Village stay compliant with the Illinois EPA while developing plans to connect to a central wastewater collection system and find funding to help pay for the massive project. Fehr Graham's comprehensive approach to engineering, technical assistance, facility planning and funding make Buckley competitive during grant funding cycles.

In June 2021, Fehr Graham helped Buckley secure a $30,000 planning grant through the Illinois EPA and Gov. JB Pritzker's Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan to identify wastewater collection and treatment solutions. The Unsewered Communities Planning Grant Program gives disadvantaged communities across Illinois money to develop a Project Plan to address problems with the collection and treatment of wastewater.

Construction for Buckley's sanitary sewer system is slated for May 2025.