NEWS
RELEASE NEWS
RELEASE
United States Department of Agriculture • Rural Development
1221 College Park Drive, Suite 200, Dover, DE 19904
Phone: (302) 857-3580 • Fax: (302) 857-3640 • TDD: (302) 857-3585 • Web: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov
Contact:
Kathy Beisner (302) 857-3582
(302) 943-3818
DREAM OF NEW WATER SYSTEM IS WITHIN REACH
Jonestown, Md., Nov. 16, 2009 – U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) today joined with USDA Rural Development State Director Jack Tarburton at Coppins A.M.E. Church located on Harmony Road to praise the federal, state and county partnership that has been formed to help provide financing in the amount of $1.6 million for a new water system that will serve the unincorporated village of Jonestown.
“Congress passed the Recovery Act to help jumpstart our economy by investing in our states and local communities,” said Senator Cardin, chairman of the Environment and Public Works Water and Wildlife Subcommittee. “Jonestown residents have been more than patient over the years. I am proud we are able to help deliver clean, healthy drinking water with these funds. Shoring up the needs of our aging water infrastructure system, in big cities and rural America, is critical to creating and saving jobs that will help restore our nation’s economic growth.”
For more than a decade, Coppins Church has served as a facility for the residents of Jonestown to meet with employees of non-profit organizations, county officials and federal and state agencies to promote a new water system and enhance the livability of the area. “I know that in many ways the residents of Jonestown feel like their prayers have been answered and I cannot think of a more fitting place to highlight the funding announcement than at Coppins Church where discussions began years ago for this project,” said Tarburton. “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funding that USDA Rural Development is providing will help ensure access to a safe, clean and reliable water source that will help protect the health of the residents for years to come.”
The Jonestown village is located on the outer edge of Preston, Md. and includes a subdivision known as Nelpine Heights that consists of 22 homes. Nelpine Heights is currently serviced by an antiquated water system that was once owned by Preston Water Works, Inc. The owner of the water system passed away in 1995 and after years of legal and state negotiating the County has ownership of the system and provides water service to the Nelpine Heights community. In addition to Nelpine Heights, altogether there are approximately 100 homes in Jonestown that have shallow private wells that are at risk of contamination from adjacent septic systems. The Caroline County Commissioners are the recipient of the funds that will provide for a new water system that will serve the entire Jonestown community.
The $1.6 million dollar project is being funded by a $912,500 grant from the Maryland Department of the Environment, $285,000 grant from USDA Rural Development, $95,000 low-interest USDA loan, $250,000 grant from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, and $75,000 from Caroline County.
A wooden plaque was presented to long time resident Mable Friend, a community advocate for Jonestown who helped organize the Jonestown Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization that was established to support the new water system. For more than 15 years, she has worked tirelessly for her friends and neighbors. “We have had many good times and bad times throughout this process, but today we are finally within reach of our dream of a new water system for the Jonestown Village,” said Mable Friend.
Tarburton also highlighted $6.9 million in Recovery Act funds that USDA is providing to the Commissioners of Sudlersville. The funding is helping with improvements to the town’s water and wastewater systems. “Some of the toughest and most expensive challenges that small communities are faced with are the maintenance and operation of community water and wastewater systems,” he said. “USDA Rural Development’s Water and Environmental Program is designed to help make the process easy to deal with and affordable for the entire community.”
"These Rural Development funds are invaluable in helping improve the quality of life for residents in Sudlersville. I will continue to champion the need for safe and effective water systems across Maryland and across the country,” said Senator Cardin, author of the Water Infrastructure Financing Act, which will provide a strong foundation for our nation's drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.
USDA Rural Development’s mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural residents. In fiscal year 2009, the agency provided more than $397 million to rural Maryland and approximately 50 percent of that funding was a result of the Recovery Act. USDA Rural Development funds more than 40 programs that support agriculture, business opportunities, home ownership, home repair, rental housing, broadband technology, public safety, health care, education, community facilities such as libraries, schools and day care centers, and energy-related projects. Additional information on rural programs is available by calling the office in Denton at (410) 479-1202 ext. 5 or by visiting www.rurdev.usda.gov.
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