WESTMORELAND COUNTY CELEBRATES EARTH DAY WITH ANNOUNCEMENT OF FUNDING FOR A NEW SEWER EXTENSION PROJECT

(APRIL 20, 2012) WESTMORELAND COUNTY CELEBRATES EARTH DAY WITH ANNOUNCEMENT OF FUNDING FOR A NEW SEWER EXTENSION PROJECT
MONTROSS, Va.,, Apr 20, 2012 -- USDA Rural Development officials today celebrated Earth Day by presenting a ceremonial funding plaque to the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors for major improvements to the County’s sewer system.

“I am proud to mark this Earth Day partnership with the county,” USDA Rural Utilities Service Administrator Jonathan Adelstein said. “Rural Development’s support for infrastructure projects like these helps the environment, improves the lives of rural residents, and ensures that rural communities have modern, up-to-date facilities.”

USDA gave the Board of Supervisors a $5.6 million loan to build a new, innovative storage basin integration system. Many of the private septic systems used by residents in the Glebe Harbor, Tidwell and Drum Bay areas of Westmoreland County are failing, resulting in raw sewage standing on residents’ properties and possible runoff into nearby streams. This area is in close proximity to the Potomac River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay.

The project will enable the region’s rural citizens to connect to new sewer lines that will utilize the existing sewer treatment facility at Coles Point. It also will allow for a more environmentally friendly way to treat the wastewater and is expected to be more cost effective.

A low-pressure grinder pump system with a force main will be installed, along with a residential grinder pump and a new pump station. A 3-million-gallon wastewater storage basin will be built at the Coles Point Plant. The new extension will serve approximately 450 homes.

USDA, through its Rural Development mission area, administers and manages housing, business and community infrastructure and facility programs through a national network of state and local offices. Last year in Virginia, USDA Rural Development provided more than $664 million in loans and grants for community infrastructure projects like this. For more information on all Rural Development programs to assist rural Virginia, please visit www.rurdev.usda.gov/va.

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