USDA Rural Development--Earth Day 2003 Event

Committed to the future of rural communities

Earth Day 2003: Town of Leipsic, Delaware

Loan:    $720,900
Grant:   $1,603,900

Loan:*    $100,000
Grant:*   $1,885,952
Other:*   $150,000

* Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

Total:    $4,510,752

Outline of Need:

Residents, living between the City of Dover, (Kent County) Delaware, along West Denney Road and Dyke Branch Road to the residents and businesses in Leipsic, (Kent County) Delaware, are currently using individually owned septic systems, many of which have been failing for years. The project impact area is on the eastern side of Kent County, which borders the Delaware Bay. Ground water is very close to the surface and soils in the area are very poorly drained. Conventional private onsite systems are costly to replace. Lot sizes in the Town of Leipsic are very small, which would limit available approved alternatives for waste disposal and would also not allow the proper distancing between private wells. Businesses in the area cannot expand due to the inability to meet State standards on septic disposal.

How Rural Development Helped:

In FY 2000, Rural Development provided funding for an extension of sewer that will serve approximately 200 homes and 9 businesses in the amount of $720,900 loan and $1,103,900 grant. In addition, the State originally committed $1,601,700 in grant. Construction estimates for the project were very high and would not allow for an affordable user rate for the residents. The population of the area to be served is estimated to be 600 people and the MHI is $26,528. In FY 2001, Rural Development provided additional grant funds in the amount of $500,000 and the State provided additional grant funds in the amount of $284,252 to keep the user rate within an affordable range. Many of the residents are on low and fixed income.

The Results:

The centralized system will improve water quality and the quality of life for the residents. This project will help eliminate harmful nutrients from discharging in the Leipsic River that is a tributary of the Delaware Bay, and will serve approximately 200 homes and 9 business in the Leipsic, Delaware area.

Delaware Rural Development State Director Marlene Elliott addresses the crowd at the Leipsic Earth Day 2003 event Groundbreaking for the Northeast Sanitary Sewer District Project. Group pictured standing in an arc formation with shovel tips in the ground.

Pictured, above: (L) Delaware Rural Development State Director Marlene Elliott addresses the crowd at the Leipsic Earth Day 2003 event; (R) Groundbreaking for the long-awaited Northeast Sanitary Sewer District Project. Taking part in the ceremony were Representative Bruce C. Ennis; Kevin Donnelly, Director of DNREC's Division of Water Resources; David R. Burris, President of Kent County Levy Court; Levy Court Commissioner Richard E. Ennis; Congressman Mike Castle; Levy Court Commissioner Michael P. Cebrik; Levy Court Commissioner P. Brooks Banta; Levy Court Commissioner Donald A. Blakey; Norma Mohler, Mayor of Leipsic; Marlene B. Elliott, State Director, Delaware/Maryland USDA Rural Development; Senator James T. Vaughn; and Gary Morgan, Assistant Administrator, Water and Environmental Programs, USDA Rural Development.

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Rural Development is within the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administers rural business, cooperative, housing, utilities and community development programs.