U.S. Congressman Peter Welch and USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Lisa Mensah joined federal, state and local officials in Williamstown on Earth Day to celebrate the town’s efforts to upgrade a 47-year-old wastewater system. The Town of Williamstown received a $2,161,000 grant and loan combination from USDA Rural Development to improve their wastewater infrastructure and reduce the phosphorus flowing from the plant into the Winooski River and on to Lake Champlain.
“USDA Rural Development is committed to working with towns across Vermont to fulfill their role to safeguard the quality of the State’s most critical natural resource, water,” said Mensah. “I applaud Williamstown for pro-actively complying with Vermont’s new water quality standards and for their progressive efforts to deliver efficient wastewater services to their citizens while playing their part to protect their natural environment and the waters of Lake Champlain.”
USDA Rural Development State Director Ted Brady said Williamstown will use a $1,277,000 grant and an $884,000 loan from the agency to make upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant and to ensure that the plant’s outflow meets the projected Total Maximum Daily Load of phosphorus anticipated from the Environmental Protection Agency this summer. The phosphorus removal will decrease the plant’s yearly phosphorus output by 84 percent. The upgrades will also result in an increase in operational and energy efficiencies.
Brady noted that the funding for Williamstown was only possible thanks to a provision of the 2014 Farm Bill setting aside funds for projects of regional significance. The Williamstown project tied into a state-wide Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy established by the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development following Tropical Storm Irene.
Welch, who supported the 2014 Farm Bill, said without the set aside in the Farm Bill, Williamstown residents would have been left to shoulder more of the burden of the project, as the project would have received less grant funding.
Following the news conference, the Congressman, members of Vermont’s ECO AmeriCorps program, USDA staff and others removed trash from a small tributary of the Winooski River. Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Alyssa Schuren oversees the ECO AmeriCorps program, as well as many of the state’s water quality efforts. Schuren noted that her agency and her parent agency, the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, works with USDA and other partners to help municipalities provide clean drinking water and environmentally sensitive wastewater treatment facilities.
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State Conservationist Vicky Drew said the efforts in Williamstown complement a holistic approach to cleaning up Vermont’s water ways through engaging partners across all sectors to contribute to water quality efforts. Drew cited the environmental stewardship practices her agency assists farmers with as well as Vermont’s landmark water quality legislation passed by the Vermont legislature last year, Act 64.
USDA Rural Development funded Williamstown’s improvements through the Water and Environmental Program. Since 2009, USDA Rural Development has invested $107.8 million to bring improved water and waste water services to over 84,372 Vermont residents. Williamstown has taken advantage of the program’s historically low interest rates to bring a cost effective improvements to its water system which will benefit 260 Williamstown residents, 15 commercial enterprises and seven institutions.
USDA, through its RD mission area, administers and manages housing, business and community infrastructure programs through a national network of state and local offices. Rural Development has an active portfolio of $212.8 billion in loans and loan guarantees. These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural areas. For more information on Rural Development visit the Vermont Rural Development website (www.rd.usda.gov/vt ) or contact USDA RD at (802) 828-6000.