The Upper St. Croix Watershed was the centerpiece of an Earth Day celebration last month in the community of Solon Springs, Wisconsin.

Solon Springs and the Solon Springs School District commemorated the completion of a new and expanded wastewater treatment facility with ceremonies at both the Solon Springs School, and the site of the new treatment facility.

“The Upper St. Croix watershed impacts the quality of water resources from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico,” said Stan Gruszynski, USDA Rural Development State Director.  “The citizens of Solon Springs deserve to be commended for their civic-mindedness and willingness to make the investment in a clean environment and responsible stewardship of one of our most critical resources….water!” Read more »

Speaking to a room full of happy citizens in Westmoreland County, Rural Utilities Service Administrator Jonathan Adelstein congratulated them on the new sewer extension project that will be a real game changer for their community. “I am proud to mark Earth Day 2012 with this partnership between Rural Development and the Community and it is infrastructure projects like this that ensures that rural communities have their basic needs met in terms of clean water and modern, up-to-date sewer facilities,” said Adelstein.   The ceremony highlighted the new $5.6 million dollar regional sewer extension project that will upon completion provide over 450 new homes and numerous businesses in the area with connectivity to the Coles Point wastewater treatment plant.

Also speaking at the event, Mr. Darryl Fisher-Chairman of the Westmoreland Board of Supervisor and local business owner said, “We would not be able to move forward in this community without this critical assistance.  We have several areas of the community where land just would not be suitable for individual septic systems to construct homes and businesses and this new extension will provide us viable options for the future of this region. Read more »

USDA Rural Development State Director Trina George and numerous local officials and leaders were in two Mississippi counties this spring to commemorate Earth Day and highlight USDA’s commitment to good environmental practices.

State Director George met with officials of the Tallahala Water Association in Bay Springs, Mississippi to mark a recent loan and grant from USDA Rural Development to the water association for improvements to their existing system. The event was held at the office of the water association in Bay Springs. Read more »

What better way to celebrate Earth Day last month  than to recognize projects that are environmentally friendly and to educate our elementary school youths.  That’s exactly what we did in northwest Missouri. The Missouri Rural Development (RD) staff partnered with the Senior Citizens Nursing Home District of Ray County and the Richmond Sunrise Elementary School for one celebration and with the City of Carrollton and Carrollton Elementary School for the second celebration.

In Richmond, Debra Berry, USDA Rural Development Area Specialist, talked with second graders in the Sunrise Elementary School about energy conservation and recycling and a poster contest was held for the students to demonstrate their creativity about the environment.  The gym full of students, teachers and the principal, showed great knowledge and excitement about caring for the environment.  When the top three poster winners were announced smiles lit up all the faces.  One of the student winners whose father was present to see the award had to call her mother at work – what excitement! Read more »

USDA Rural Development in Nebraska celebrated with the City of Pawnee City last month in honor of Earth Day, the recent delivery of a multi-bin recycling trailer.  City officials, school children and those instrumental to the project attended.  The ribbon was cut signifying the community dedication to this project and a plaque from Rural Development was presented applauding the City for securing the funds needed.  Rural Development assisted with a grant of $8,000 leveraged with $6,555 from the City.  A host of children took part in the event and poster contest winners were announced.

The recycling trailer establishes a stable, sustainable recycling connection for all citizens of Pawnee City.  A City staff member shuttles the trailer to a regional recycling center at least twice a month.  The Pawnee City Student Council leaders volunteered to assist in the oversight and maintenance of the trailer and were present at the event to give a demonstration. Read more »

On April 28, 2011, Fall River Students attended a special school assembly and were joined by Local, State and National Officials in a 2011 Earth Day Celebration.   They honored their village’s new wastewater regionalization project, which was recently selected by USDA as a National 2011 Earth Day Project.  When completed, the enhanced system will provide adequate wastewater treatment to the Village of Fall River; now and into the future; by preventing untreated seepage from the system into area ground water, nearby creek, and the Crawfish River.

The event included a formal program where USDA Wisconsin Rural Development State Director, Stan Gruszynski, presented the Village of Fall River with a National Earth Day Award, and announced that the Village had been approved for a $6.4 million Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant combination from USDA Rural Development. Funds will be used to upgrade and regionalize the village’s wastewater treatment system. Attendees were also treated to a performance by the Students, who sang Earth Day songs to kick-off the event. Read more »