NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 16, 2021 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is investing $5.2 billion to build and improve critical rural infrastructure in 46 states and Puerto Rico. The investments reflect the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to Building a Better America by investing in rural communities and will help expand access to high-speed internet, clean water and reliable electricity in people’s homes and businesses across rural America. Tennessee Rural Development Acting State Director Dan Beasley is pleased to announce more than $163 million in loans and grants to be invested across rural Tennessee.
“Today’s investment will impact the lives of rural Tennesseans by expanding access to broadband and electricity, and improving wastewater infrastructure in our communities,” Beasley said. “These investments will highlight our agency’s commitment to a stronger rural Tennessee for years to come.”
This announcement follows the recent passage of President Biden’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and reflects the many ways USDA Rural Development’s programs are helping people, businesses and communities address critical infrastructure needs to help rural America build back better.
In Tennessee:
• Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) will use a $150 million loan under the to connect 13,200 consumers, and build and improve 848 miles of line. This loan includes a smart grid project to upgrade infrastructure with a buildout of a fiber-optic cable network. Cumberland EMC is headquartered in Clarksville, Tenn. and provides service to 102,957 consumers over 8,261 miles of line in seven Tennessee counties and five Kentucky counties.
• Ben Lomand Communications LLC will use a $325,531 grant to construct an approximately ten-mile Fiber-to-the-Premises system to benefit 119 residents and two businesses in Franklin County, Tenn. Subscribers will have access to service up to 1 Gbps, expanding access to economic, educational, healthcare, and public safety opportunities. A community center will be provided in a mobile facility placed in the service area as part of the project where residents can access the internet free of charge for at least two years.
• Scott County Telephone Cooperative will use a $3 million grant to construct a 176-mile Fiber-to-the-Premises system to benefit 2,330 residents and 25 businesses in Clinch Valley, VA and parts of Grainger and Hawkins County, Tenn. Subscribers will have access to service up to 1 Gbps, expanding access to economic, educational, healthcare, and public safety opportunities. A community center will be provided in an existing building where residents can access the internet free of charge for at least two years.
• West Kentucky Rural Telephone Cooperative Corporation Inc will use a $2.8 million grant to construct an approximately 70-mile Fiber-to-the-Premises system to benefit 877 residents and seven businesses in the Pillowville Community in Kentucky and Weakley and Carroll County, Tenn. Subscribers will have access to service up to 1 Gbps, expanding access to economic, educational, healthcare, and public safety opportunities. A community center will be provided in a modular building placed within the service area where residents can access the internet free of charge for at least two years.
• The town of Baxter will use a $1.5 million loan and $1.5 million grant to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant. The improvements include several infrastructure upgrades within the treatment plant and one sewer pump station. This will allow the town to remove health and safety issues they are currently experiencing and ultimately provide safe and sanitary wastewater service to approximately 1,350 customers.
• The town of Monterey will use a $500,000 loan and $2 million grant to complete the construction of a new Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The new WWTP will improve the town’s ability to treat wastewater which will improve the quality of life and the environment for more than 1,900 customers.
• The Sneedville Utility District will use a $186,000 loan and $219,000 grant to provide potable water to the Newman’s Ridge Community. The project consists of installing 9,140 feet of 4” water line. The project will also consist of upgrading an existing pump station and adding additional pump stations.
• The Surgoinsville Utility District will use a $306,000 loan to upgrade the water infrastructure in the Phipps Bends Industrial Park. These upgrades include the installation of 900 LF of 12” waterline which will allow the creation of loops in the system providing additional redundant supply routes during periods of system isolations. The project will also restore a 750,000-gallon water storage tank located within the park.
• The West Warren-Viola Utility District will use a $1 million loan to make needed improvements to the wastewater treatment plant in Morrison, Tenn. The improvements consist of new sequencing batch reactor equipment and electrical upgrades. The project will benefit the residents by improving sewer services.
Background
Vilsack highlighted 359 investments that USDA is making in seven programs designed to help people in rural areas access high-speed internet, clean water and dependable electric power. These programs include Community Connect Grants, Electric Infrastructure Loan and Loan Guarantee Program, Telecommunications Infrastructure Loans and Loan Guarantees, Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program, Water and Waste Disposal Loan Guarantees, Water and Waste Disposal Technical Assistance and Training Grants and Water and Waste Disposal Predevelopment Planning Grants.
The investments announced today will support rural infrastructure projects in Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming and Puerto Rico.
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov. If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, promoting competition and fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
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