Randolph wastewater facility opens, USDA announces $17.9 million for 18 water projects

Tom Berry (Senator Leahy’s office), Ted Brady, Mel Adams (Randolph Town Manager), Elizabeth Walker (Plant Manager), Chuck Goodling (Dabois and King), George Twigg (Representative Welch) Burce Kenney (T-Buck Construction).

Vermont Business Magazine During a grand opening celebration of Randolph’s new wastewater facility Thursday, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials announced that 18 communities across Vermont are receiving a total of $17.9 million in loans and grants to improve water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure through the USDA’s Water and Environmental Program. The funding is the largest single-year investment the agency has made in Vermont’s environmental infrastructure since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. 

“Communities across the state are taking important steps to ensure that Vermonter’s can access safe drinking water and to protect our rivers, lakes and streams,” said Ted Brady, Vermont and New Hampshire State Director for USDA Rural Development. “USDA Rural Development supports towns and non-profits in these efforts by providing low interest loans and grants that incentivize a town to act immediately, while interest rates are low and construction costs are manageable.”

Brady joined officials and community members from the Town of Randolph to celebrate the completion of the Randolph Sewer District’s new wastewater treatment plant funded by an $8,867,000 USDA loan/ grant package beginning in 2013.  Randolph town manager Mel Adams noted that the plant replaces a four-decades-old facility that reached the end of its useful life. The newly constructed plant will be more cost effective to run, due in part to new energy efficient technologies, and will treat the water for nitrogen helping to improve water quality in the Connecticut River Basin and Long Island Sound. Adams stated that the new plant will serve roughly 2,000 residents as well as major community institutions including Vermont Technical College.

At the ribbon cutting, Brady announced that 18 Vermont communities will use USDA funding this year to make water and wastewater improvements in the coming years. For a full list of funded projects, see chart below.  Projects include construction of new stormwater infrastructure for the Town of Bristol, a new water storage tank in Wells River to replace a century-old tank, and a $175,414 grant to help the Town of Berlin make water main improvements to guarantee potable drinking water to residents.  These projects result from a strong partnership between the USDA, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and local partners. The projects ultimately aim to improve water and wastewater systems serving nearly 30,000 Vermonters.

Brady noted that USDA Rural Development funded these projects through its Water and Environmental Program that provides support to municipalities and non-profits that seek to improve the water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure serving their communities. Since the beginning of the Obama Administration, the Water and Environmental Program has directly impacted 18 million rural residents nationwide, including more than 84,000 Vermonters.

USDA, through its RD mission area, administers and manages housing, business and community infrastructure programs through a national network of state and local offices. Rural Development has an active portfolio of $214 billion in loans and loan guarantees. These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural areas.

USDA Rural Development

2016 Vermont Water and Environmental Projects

*This project was previously announced in April of 2016.

Source: RANDOLPH, VT. (September 1, 2016) – USDA. For more information on Rural Development visit the Vermont Rural Development website (www.rd.usda.gov/vt ) or contact USDA RD at (802) 828-6000.