USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced loans and grants for 141 projects to build and improve water and wastewater infrastructure in rural communities across the nation. Nebraska has two recipients with funding exceeding $3.1 million.
The Village of Clearwater, Nebraska was awarded $2,659,000, to be leveraged by $90,000 from the village and a Community Development Block Grant of $250,000. Total project cost is $2,999,000. The funds will be used to upgrade the existing collection system and to construct new lagoons required to meet applicable health and sanitary standards.
“USDA funding will help to alleviate the health and sanitary standards as the project will reduce the amount of infiltration and contain all wastewater in a complete retention lagoon,” said Community Programs Specialist Bert Mues, USDA Rural Development.
USDA Rural Development awarded $458,000 to the Village of Lewiston, Nebraska. The funds will be used to upgrade the existing wastewater facilities and to construct new facilities.
“The Village truly appreciates the assistance that USDA provided in helping us to obtain the funding needed for our wastewater needs,” said Chairperson Jim Kinghorn, Village of Lewiston.
“USDA funding will ensure that the Village’s wastewater system will meet applicable health and sanitary standards, specifically the standard for ammonia and E.coli in treatment effluent. This project will alleviate this problem by reusing the treated wastewater in production agriculture,” said Community Programs Specialist Mary Sneckenberg, USDA Rural Development.
"Many rural communities need to upgrade and repair their water and wastewater systems, but often lack the resources to do so," Vilsack said. "These loans and grants will help accomplish this goal. USDA's support for infrastructure improvements is an essential part of building strong rural economies."
USDA is awarded $299 million for 88 projects in the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program and $15 million for 53 grants in the Emergency Community Water Assistance Grant (ECWAG) program.
ECWAG grants enable water systems that serve eligible rural communities to prepare for, or recover from, imminent or actual emergencies that threaten the availability of safe drinking water. Water and Waste program recipients can use funds to construct water and waste facilities in rural communities.
Since 2009, USDA has helped provide improved water and wastewater services to nearly 18 million rural residents by investing $12.3 billion in 5,174 projects.
Funding of each award announced today is contingent upon the recipient meeting the terms of the grant and loan agreement.
USDA Rural Development is accepting applications for loans and grants to build rural water infrastructure. Applications may be completed online through RDAPPLY, a new electronic filing system, and at state and local Rural Development offices. Public entities (counties, townships and communities), non-profit organizations and tribal communities with a population of 10,000 or less are eligible to apply. Interest rates for this program are at historically low levels, ranging from 2 percent to 3.25 percent. Loan terms can be up to 40 years. For more information, visit http://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/rd-apply.
President Obama's plan for rural America has brought about historic investment and resulted in stronger rural communities. Under the President's leadership, these investments in housing, community facilities, businesses and infrastructure have empowered rural America to continue leading the way – strengthening America's economy, small towns and rural communities.