NEWS
RELEASE
United States Department
of Agriculture Rural Development
3001 Coolidge Rd. 2nd Floor North Suite 200 East Lansing, MI 48823
Phone: (517) 324-5204 Fax: (517) 324-5225
alec.lloyd@mi.usda.gov
Contact: Alec Lloyd (517) 324-5204
USDA CEREMONY CELEBRATES EARTH DAY IN BLOOMINGDALE
EAST LANSING, April 20, 2007 USDA Rural Development Director for Michigan Gene DeRossett today presented a ceremonial loan and grant check for $6.4 million to Bloomingdale Area Utilities Authority Chairman Tom Rock and joined local officials in an Earth Day tree planting at Haven Park, in Bloomingdale.
Earth Day is about helping the environment and leaving a better world for future generations to enjoy, said DeRossett. This new sewer system will protect local water for decades to come. Like the tree we planted today, it is an investment in the future.
Other participants included Bloomingdale Village President George Ewbank, Cheshire Township Supervisor Troy Tooker, Bloomingdale Township Supervisor David Bly and state Rep. Tonya Schuitmaker.
The project merges sewer lines from the Village of Bloomingdale with those of Cheshire and Bloomingdale townships into a Bloomingdale Area Utilities Authority. Currently, the village is in violation of state Department of Environmental Quality discharge standards. The townships are also causing environmental damage because of failing individual septic systems.
The money will pay for 25,000 feet of gravity collection sewer with six lift stations and six smaller grinder stations to serve the two townships. It will also cover the construction of a new oxidation ditch mechanical treatment plant with surface water discharge to the Great Bear Lake outlet. The existing village lagoon treatment facility will be decommissioned.
The new system will bring the village back into compliance with MDEQ discharge requirements, eliminate health and sanitary hazards, and will serve 437 rural households and businesses.
USDA Rural Development's mission is to deliver programs in a way that will support increasing economic opportunity and improve the quality of life of rural residents. As a venture capital entity, Rural Development provides equity, liquidity, and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure. Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA's web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/
###