USDA Officials Present Hill City with Check for Wastewater Project

City Received over $1.451 million for wastewater infrastructure

HILL CITY, April 26 – Steve Wenzel , State Director of Rural Development in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, visited Hill City today to present city officials with a $1,451,000 check for the city’s wastewater treatment project. The funds come from a $1,018,000 loan and a $433,000 grant.

    “I want to congratulate Hill City for having the foresight, leadership and initiative in seeking ways to better its community,” Wenzel said. “This project will ensure clean water for area residents. President Bush has made providing clean water to rural communities a top priority of his administration.”

    The funds will be used to reconstruct the city’s secondary wastewater ponds, which were showing excess leakage, with a high density polyethylene liner. Construction will begin later this spring.

    USDA Rural Development plays a major role in keeping rural communities environmentally friendly. In addition to providing funding for clean water, USDA Rural Development also has funds available for renewable and energy efficiency ventures. The agency also assists rural communities with housing, job creation, hospitals, emergency response equipment and buildings, and high-speed Internet.

    Since 2001, USDA Rural Development has invested over $2 billion throughout Minnesota – more than twice the national average. For more information on USDA Rural Development, visit www.rurdev.usda.gov/mn, or call your local office in Duluth at (218) 720-5530.

Construction on the new Hill City wastewater system will begin in the next couple of months.
Bill Slininger, Community Programs Director of Rural Development in Minnesota, compliments his staff and Hill City officials about the new wastewater project.