Homer may receive a grant for the furtherance of the Kachemak Sponge Green Infrastructure Stormwater Treatment System.

At its last meeting on June 26, the Homer City Council introduced Ordinance 23-46, which will amend the 2024 fiscal year capital budget by accepting and appropriating a $1,171,410 grant from the University of Alaska Anchorage for the treatment system.

A public hearing and second reading for the ordinance will be conducted at the next regular council meeting on Monday, July 24.

According to the ordinance, the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve has worked with the city to identify wetlands or peatlands that could be used as a wetland treatment system. KBNERR also worked with the city to submit a grant proposal to acquire such lands.

UAA, operating at the fiscal agent for KBNERR, has received a grant from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in which the above acquired wetlands or peatlands will be “preserved for conservation in perpetuity as part of the Kachemak Sponge Green Infrastructure Stormwater Treatment System,” the ordinance states.

The city of Homer will be a sub-recipient of the NOAA grant, should the council accept it, and will also be responsible for conducting the environmental reviews, surveys, appraisals and other services required to support the acquisitions, according to the ordinance.

The sponge treatment system is one of four specific projects that make up the city’s Slope Stability and Erosion Mitigation Program, which is currently included in the 2023-28 City of Homer Capital Improvement Plan as a legislative priority.

The full audio recording of the June 26 city council meeting is available at www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/citycouncil/city-council-regular-meeting-284.

For more information on the grant or the erosion mitigation program, contact city manager Rob Dumouchel at 907-235-8121.