USDA Rural Development Supports New York Water Quality Improvement Effort

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Lee Telega, USDA Rural Development New York State Director, on September 6, 2013 at 10:40 AM

Water Quality Agreement: From left, Liz Van Buren, Saputo Dairy Foods; Richard Maxey, Delhi mayor; James Thompson, Delaware County; SUNY Delhi President Candace Vancko and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. USDA Photo.

Late last month, I had the privilege of joining New York U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Delhi College President Candace Vancko, Chairman James Thomson of Delaware County and Saputo Dairy Foods USA Manager Liz Van Buren to discuss the Center of Excellence in Watershed Applications and Technology Based Economic Revitalization (COE in WATER) Initiative.

The COE in WATER is an innovative partnership with the State University of New York (SUNY), the local business community as well as federal, state and local governments who are committed to stimulating economic development and creating jobs in rural upstate NY.

While I was there, I was able to share the good news that USDA Rural Development received authorization to assist in administering a nearly $2 million Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant through the Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) program. This project will transfer post process municipal wastewater from the Village of Delhi Wastewater Treatment Plant into retention ponds for storage on the SUNY Dehli.  The water will then be utilized to irrigate college green space.  Utilizing the waste water in this manner allows the treatment plant to accept other sources of waste.  A local dairy processing plant and two other manufacturers in the village will now pursue expansion plans with the knowledge their increased waste streams can be handled by the village’s wastewater treatment plant. It is estimated the expanded businesses will create new jobs in the area.

Delhi is located in the sensitive watershed that provides drinking water to 12 million people of New York City and the metro area.  This partnership between the college and local community and economic interests not only protects such a valuable resource, but allows for business growth and opportunity in this rural part of upstate New York.

To learn more about this and other projects, please visit http://www.delhi.edu/community/coe/. To learn more about USDA Rural Development programs in NY please log on to: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/NYHome.html.

CDFI - Important Part of Infrastructure

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Tammi Schone, USDA Rural Development, South Dakota, on August 28, 2013 at 5:00 PM

The 8th Annual Governor’s Native American Summit was held last week at Utah Valley University in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Utah’s Rural Development State Director Wilson “David” Conine wanted to share with attendees the importance a community development financial institution (CDFI) can play in tribal development.  He turned to his counterpart, South Dakota Rural Development State Director Elsie M. Meeks who has over 20 years of experience working for Native community economic development.

Meeks recognized CDFI as an important part of the infrastructure for delivering consistent funding for housing and small business development activities that benefit low and moderate income people.  They combine multiple sources of public and private capital in order to make loans and investments available in ways tailored to the particular underserved geographies and types of businesses or borrowers.  Developing capacity among these types of organizations can increase utilization of USDA programs in a region, many of which provide long-term below-market capital for permanent improvements in rural areas.

A successful example from South Dakota includes The Lakota Fund.  A certified Native CDFI established in 1986 that serves the Oglala Lakota Oyate on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Its products and services include microloans, small business loans, business loans, credit builder loans, training, and technical assistance.  Sources of funding from Rural Development include rural business opportunity grants (RBOG), rural business enterprise grants (RBEG), Intermediary Relending Program (IRP), and rural microentrepreneur assistance program (RMAP).

The keynote speaker for the event was Governor Gary Herbert and Meeks was a guest speaker. The Governor’s Native American Summit provides a forum for Utah’s American Indian population to network with state agencies and other organizations, and more importantly, a chance to strengthen relationships with the eight Sovereign Tribal Nations of Utah.