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Argyle gets $700,000 in loans and grants to build sewer system
By Cindy Iutzi/Gate City Staff Writer
ARGYLE - It took 15 years of work and waiting and a new Lee County supervisor to get Argyle funding for a community sewer system.
“It's been a very long time and an arduous thing for the people of Argyle,” said Lee County Supervisor Ernie Schiller. “They've had to wait while the project was probably sitting on an engineer's desk.”
But in conjunction with Earth Day celebrations, the USDA announced Tuesday that it has awarded funding for 61 new rural water and waste water systems nationwide - including Argyle.
The Regional Utility Service System Commission of Fairfield, the agency that will build, maintain and oversee the sewer, is receiving a $350,000 Water and Waste Disposal Loan and $350,000 Water and Waste Disposal Grant from Rural Development for the construction the 60-user system in Argyle.
All of the necessary paperwork had been completed for the first stage of the grant process, Schiller said, but he was able to take the project “off of the back burner and put it on the front burner.”
“RUSS and RFD (Rural Funding Development) are trying to put this on the fast track because the citizens of Argyle have been so patient,” Schiller said.
He hopes to see work in Argyle begin this summer.
There are stages left to complete, however. Right now the preliminary engineering report is with the Department of Natural Resources where it will be studied, modified and eventually approved, he said.
Argyle's sewer system will involve a lagoon and several cluster sites, Schiller said. An example of a cluster site is several residences near each other that are located away from the main part of the town. Argyle is divided by a highway and a railroad, and boring under the railroad track would be costly. Instead, a leaching field will be built for each cluster.
Investigating a few hundred dollars owed to the county by RUSS tipped Schiller off about the stalled sewer project. He followed the money trail through the recorder's office and learned about Argyle's longtime attempt for a sewer.
“I came back to the supervisors and said we really need to go after this,” Schiller said.
In the past year in Iowa, Rural Development has provided $41 million to help provide necessary water and wastewater services to rural areas.
A complete list of the 61 selected loan and grant recipients and projects in Iowa can be found at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rd/newsroom/news.htm.
Additional information about these programs and other key USDA accomplishments is featured on an Earth Day Backgrounder at www.usda.gov.
USDA Rural Development has 11 offices in Iowa serving 1.9 million Iowans living in rural areas.
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 and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure.
Call the local USDA Rural Development office in Mount Pleasant at 319-986-5800 or visit www.rurdev.usda.gov/ia. for more information about rural programs.
“It's been a very long time and an arduous thing for the people of Argyle,” said Lee County Supervisor Ernie Schiller. “They've had to wait while the project was probably sitting on an engineer's desk.”
But in conjunction with Earth Day celebrations, the USDA announced Tuesday that it has awarded funding for 61 new rural water and waste water systems nationwide - including Argyle.
The Regional Utility Service System Commission of Fairfield, the agency that will build, maintain and oversee the sewer, is receiving a $350,000 Water and Waste Disposal Loan and $350,000 Water and Waste Disposal Grant from Rural Development for the construction the 60-user system in Argyle.
All of the necessary paperwork had been completed for the first stage of the grant process, Schiller said, but he was able to take the project “off of the back burner and put it on the front burner.”
“RUSS and RFD (Rural Funding Development) are trying to put this on the fast track because the citizens of Argyle have been so patient,” Schiller said.
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There are stages left to complete, however. Right now the preliminary engineering report is with the Department of Natural Resources where it will be studied, modified and eventually approved, he said.
Argyle's sewer system will involve a lagoon and several cluster sites, Schiller said. An example of a cluster site is several residences near each other that are located away from the main part of the town. Argyle is divided by a highway and a railroad, and boring under the railroad track would be costly. Instead, a leaching field will be built for each cluster.
Investigating a few hundred dollars owed to the county by RUSS tipped Schiller off about the stalled sewer project. He followed the money trail through the recorder's office and learned about Argyle's longtime attempt for a sewer.
“I came back to the supervisors and said we really need to go after this,” Schiller said.
In the past year in Iowa, Rural Development has provided $41 million to help provide necessary water and wastewater services to rural areas.
A complete list of the 61 selected loan and grant recipients and projects in Iowa can be found at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rd/newsroom/news.htm.
Additional information about these programs and other key USDA accomplishments is featured on an Earth Day Backgrounder at www.usda.gov.
USDA Rural Development has 11 offices in Iowa serving 1.9 million Iowans living in rural areas.
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 and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure.
Call the local USDA Rural Development office in Mount Pleasant at 319-986-5800 or visit www.rurdev.usda.gov/ia. for more information about rural programs.
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