Quinte West has received federal funding for the completion of two environmental assessments to help determine the future of the city’s waste water treatment system.

Both grants are contained in the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund.

The city received $33,000 for an environmental assessment (EA) currently being completed on the proposed expansion of the waste water treatment plant in Trenton. A second grant of $27,500 has been received for an assessment of the waste water treatment plant in Frankford.

Both studies are being completed by J.L. Richards and Associates of Kingston.

Public works director Chris Angelo said the Trenton assessment should be completed in October or early November.

It will then be up to the public works committee and city council to determine how much money will be plowed into expanding the plant.

Preliminary estimates have pegged the cost between $40 million and $50 million.

The Trenton plant EA also takes into account adding CFB Trenton and Norampac to the city’s waste water treatment system.

Angelo said there are several options that could determine the size of the expansion for the Trenton plant.

The first is to base the expansion on a 20-year growth projection, outlined in the new official plan.

The second, said Angelo, could be to adopt what’s referred to as the ‘open for business’ option, basing the expansion beyond the 20-year growth time frame.

The Frankford EA should be completed in spring 2012.