The Mount Vernon City Council voted to use some of the $150 million in state grants to greenlight several sewage infrastructure projects. This is the first time the council has voted to use these funds.

The council approved $6 million in state-funded contracts to address critical breaks in the city's crumbling sewer system.

Five million dollars is for priority wastewater projects identified as critically in-need of repair in the city's Discharge Action Plan this summer.

The other $1 million will go to installing cameras in the pipes and project consultants.

Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard says this is an historic level of investment in rebuilding the city's infrastructure.

"This really focuses on the sewers and the stormwater because those are both systems that are underground and we're going to have to address them both at the same time," she says. 

The city did not have a timeline for these projects but expects work to get underway quickly now that the money has been set aside. 

Home inspections are expected to take place this month after applications opened in July. Money from that grant will go to fixing sewage damage, cleaning up asbestos and installing flood prevention measures.