Unalaska, AK – The State Senate released its capital budget yesterday, and included in it are three big projects for Unalaska.

The Senate would like to allocate $4 million for the city's new wastewater treatment plant, $3.1 million for the water treatment plant, and $25.7 million for the repaving of the airport runway. That's over $32 million in funding, and close to half of what District 37 is getting from the state.

"In a typical year, some districts only get $30 million to spend district-wide," says City Manager Chris Hladick.

He adds that all three projects have been top priorities for Unalaska, and he's pleased that the Senate would like to see money appropriated to them. He says that getting the wastewater project completed has been a major goal since the Environmental Protection Agency has demanded that the city be in compliance with its wastewater rules by 2014.

Last year, the city was slotted to get $2.3 million from the state for the wastewater treatment plant, but Gov. Sean Parnell ultimately vetoed the project. This year, Parnell has warned state legislators to expect budget cuts if legislation to lower taxes for oil companies fails, and since the bill has stalled in the Senate there's some concern for capital projects like Unalaska's wastewater treatment plant. But Hladick says that the governor is aware that the plant is a vital project and he's hoping that it will survive any cuts.

Meanwhile the airport repaving is expected to go through, since it's a state Department of Transportation project. The renovations could lengthen the runway up to 500 feet, and make it more likely that larger passenger planes could pass through Unalaska.

"We would like to get larger and faster airplanes coming in," says Hladick.

Dillingham is also expected to get funding for airport renovations. Other projects being funded in District 37 include renewable energy projects in Akutan, False Pass, and Nelson Lagoon. The Senate's capital budget total $2.9 billion.