Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $27.4 million to modernize rural drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in seven rural Michigan communities. Two of them are in the Upper Peninsula.
“As people in many parts of the nation battle drought and fires brought on by climate change, there has never been a more urgent need for this assistance,” Vilsack said. “When we invest in rural infrastructure, we build opportunity and prosperity for people in rural communities. These investments support the local economy by making rural communities attractive, economically viable and safe places to live and work, therefore helping to create and save jobs by attracting and retaining employers and workers. Investing in rural water infrastructure is one of the many things the Biden-Harris Administration is doing to help the nation build back better during the ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
USDA is financing 114 projects through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program. These investments will help improve rural infrastructure for 270,000 people and businesses.
The Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program provides funding for clean and reliable drinking water systems, sanitary sewage disposal, sanitary solid waste disposal, and storm water drainage. The program serves people and businesses in eligible rural areas with populations of 10,000 or less.
- The City of Ironwood, in Gogebic County, will use a $5,439,000 loan and $3,192,000 grant to make improvements to their water system. The project includes the construction of a water treatment plant with dual-media filters, chemical feed rooms, a 500,000-gallon concrete clear well, backwash water infiltration basin, and the conversion of the pump station to cold storage.
- The Torch Lake Area Sewage Authority, in Houghton County, will use a $6,023,000 loan and $6,477,000 grant to install additional lined lagoons, liners in the seepage lagoons at each site, lagoon treatment piping and structures, and lagoon discharge piping and outfall for seasonal discharge to local rivers.
To learn more about investment resources for rural areas, contact a USDA Rural Development state office.
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