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Rural Development, Village of Fairmont and Fillmore Central Middle School Celebrate Earth Day in Fairmont

Name
Vicki Schurman
City
Fairmont
Release Date

USDA Rural Development Nebraska staff and partners today joined Fairmont residents and the Fillmore Central Middle School students to celebrate Earth Day 2017. Rural Development highlighted a $293,000 investment in Fairmont’s wastewater improvement project.

USDA Rural Development Acting State Director Denise Meeks presented the Village of Fairmont Board Chairperson Donald Moses with a plaque and an United States of America flag in celebration of the funding received.
 
“We are very grateful for the assistance from Rural Development,” said Moses.  "We look forward to working with them on future projects.”

“It is a real honor to be here today to announce USDA Rural Development’s funding commitment for a wastewater project that will serve nearly 600 residents, and enhance the communities’ infrastructure,” said Meeks. “The theme for Earth Day 2017 is Building Rural Infrastructure.  This project will positively impact the lives of Fairmont  residents for years to come.”

Students from the Fillmore Central Middle School received special recognition for their Earth Day poster contest.  Winners were:  Fifth Grade-Jackson Turner; Sixth Grade-Jackson Taylor; Seventh Grade-Finn Nieman; and Eighth Grade-Michelle Fessler.  The overall winner was Emily Ready.

"Fillmore Central Middle School was happy to partner with the USDA Rural Development and the Village of Fairmont to celebrate Earth Day 2017.  Our students enjoyed participating in the poster contest and finishing the afternoon with our Community Cleanup day.  The program was another opportunity to educate our students on the importance of working together to take care of our resources," said Principal Steve Adkisson, Fillmore Central Middle School.

The Village of Fairmont’s four cell complete retention lagoon system, installed in 2005, is oversized with only one of the four lagoons being used.  Grasses and other vegetation are growing in the unused lagoons that compromise the integrity of the cell liners.  The one used lagoon is nearly full. If this lagoon overflows into the unused lagoons, then there is large risk that partially treated wastewater will contaminate the groundwater in the immediate area. The engineer calculated that only half of another lagoon is necessary for full retention into the future. 

USDA Rural Development funded this project with a $126,000 direct loan for 40 years at two percent and a grant in the amount of $167,000. These funds will increase the capacity of the lagoon system from 12 acres to 18 acres and the unused lagoon cell will be divided in half using an earth berm. Overflow pipework will be installed in order to increase the capacity of the wastewater system.
   
For additional information visit:  https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/water-waste-disposal-loan- grant-program/ne or contact Janice Stopak at 402-437-5743, janice.stopak@ne.usda.gov.