WASHINGTON — Senator Chuck Grassley said today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Rural Development is awarding $270,000 in loans and grants to South English and the Regional Utility Service Systems Commission in Fairfield through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program.
According to the Department of Agriculture:
•South English will receive a $118,000 loan, and the funds will be used to help construct a new gravity sewage collection system and a new controlled discharge lagoon treatment facility to serve approximately 99 residential and 13 commercial customers in South English, in order to bring the community into compliance with the wastewater and treatment requirements of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
•The Regional Utility Service Systems Commission in Fairfield will receive a $48,000 loan and a $104,000 grant. The funds will be used to help construct a new gravity sewage collection system and a new controlled discharge lagoon treatment facility to serve approximately 68 customers in Pleasant Plain and East Pleasant Plain.
“This funding will help these rural communities meet their infrastructure needs,” Grassley said.
According to the Department of Agriculture, the Water and Waste Disposal Grant program provides funding to develop water and waste disposal systems, including solid waste disposal and storm drainage, in rural areas and towns with a population not in excess of 10,000.
Each year, local Iowa organizations, colleges and universities, individuals and state agencies apply for competitive grants and loans from the federal government. The funding is then awarded based on each local organization or individual’s ability to meet criteria set by the federal entity administering the funds.