HURON, S.D., July 30, 2020 – The Trump Administration announced that the United States U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe a $21,400 Community Facility Grant to purchase a garbage truck and dumpsters.
“This project will benefit approximately 400 residential and over 100 commercial accounts with the continuation of safe and efficient trash collection services,” said Julie Gross, South Dakota USDA Rural Development State Director. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Perdue, USDA has been working tirelessly to be a strong partner to rural South Dakota in building stronger and healthier communities, because we know when rural America thrives, all of America thrives.”
The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe (LBST) Indian Reservation is located on the west bank of the Missouri River and covers portions of Lyman and Stanley Counties. The Tribe oversees the solid waste program, including trash collection services, under the direction of the Environmental Protection Office (EPO).
The Tribe has two garbage trucks to collect all residential and small commercial trash on the reservation which encompasses 207 square miles. One of the trucks, a 2009 Freight liner rear-load compaction collection truck needed to be replaced as repairs and maintenance costs were constant. It is important to have two trucks available. When one vehicle is out of service, the collection is delayed and can cause a negative impact on the health of the environment and its citizens.
The federal funding was leveraged with $174,000 from the Indian Health Service (IHS) and $21,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency – Performance Partnership Grant for a combined project cost total of $216,400, the Tribe purchased a replacement vehicle that is new and of a similar size and design, along with a fuel efficiency feature as the trucks drive over an average of 600 miles a week. In addition, the Tribe purchased 12, 8-yard rear load metal dumpsters as the Tribe's current commercial grade dumpsters were rusting through and past useful life.
Interested in USDA Rural Development programs, please contact the USDA Rural Development state office for information.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.
If you’d like to subscribe to South Dakota USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.