Somerton getting wastewater plant funds

Congressman Raul M. Grijalva announced Thursday that the city of Somerton will receive funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan for rural water projects.

Somerton will receive a $2,147,000 loan and $2,596,063 grant for water and wastewater infrastructure, according to the news release from Grijalva's office.

Somerton City Administrator Bill Lee could not be reached Thursday for information on which project the money would help fund.

Araceli Rodriguez, local representative for Grijalva, said the stimulus money will be used to help fund expansion of Somerton's wastewater treatment plant, now at about 90 percent capacity.

Total cost of the expansion project is $6.24 million, she said.

The stimulus funding is part of an additional $172.5 million in funding for water and environmental projects in 24 states being allocated by USDA.

"These funds will be used to ensure public safety for the city of Somerton," said Grijalva. "The funds will be used to protect the environment and provide much-needed infrastructure improvements for rural residents. These projects are also beneficial to Arizona because they will result in the creation of a large number of local jobs."

To date, USDA has announced $1.64 billion for loans and grants for similar projects. Altogether, the agency has announced $27.8 billion of the $28.0 billion in Recovery Act projects, benefiting people throughout the country.

The ARRA funding is being administered by USDA Rural Development's Water program. USDA Rural Development's Water and Environmental Program provides loans and grants to ensure that the necessary investments are made in water and wastewater infrastructure to deliver safe drinking water and protect the environment in rural areas.  

More information about USDA Rural Development can be found at www.rurdev.usda.gov.