Giles Co. towns receive more than $6 million for new wastewater system

Here’s the complete news release from Congressman Rick Boucher’s office:

I am pleased to return to Giles County today to announce two significant provisions of federal funding totaling more than $6 million, which together will improve wastewater service for businesses and residents of Glen Lyn and Rich Creek.

At my request, the U.S. Department of Agriculture through its Rural Development Agency is providing a total $5,288,000 to the Town of Rich Creek and a total of $782,000 to the Town of Glen Lyn to enable the construction of a new, combined wastewater system to serve the towns.

Safe and reliable wastewater systems are essential to maintaining Southwest Virginia’s excellent quality of life and critical to meeting our economic development goals for the region. For these reasons, I work actively with local governments to secure the funding necessary to construct and improve the region’s wastewater infrastructure.

Currently, the wastewater treatment plant serving the Town of Rich Creek has reached its capacity and is in need of either heavy repairs or replacement. At the same time, the Town of Glen Lyn’s 20 year old wastewater treatment plant is also in need of improvements in order to continue to serve Glen Lyn’s residents effectively.

To address these problems, the towns have worked closely to find a unique and mutually beneficial solution, and the $6,070,000 announced today will enable the towns to connect their wastewater systems to better serve both communities. The Rural Development Agency is providing a total of $5,288,000 to the Town of Rich Creek. Of that total amount, $3,383,000 is being provided in the form of a federal grant, and $1,905,000 is being provided in the form of a low-interest federal loan. The Town of Glen Lyn is receiving from the Rural Development Agency a federal grant of $578,000 and a low-interest, federal loan of $204,000.

With the benefit of the federal funds, the Rich Creek wastewater treatment plant will be removed from its current location across the street from the Town Hall, where we gather today. The capacity of the Glen Lyn wastewater treatment plant will be increased from 40,000 gallons per day to 200,000 gallons per day. A pump station in Rich Creek will be modified to send wastewater to the treatment plant in Glen Lyn. Finally, 15,000 feet of new wastewater line will be installed and 7,600 feet of wastewater lines will be improved to connect the two systems.

When completed, residents of the Towns of Glen Lyn and Rich Creek will have more reliable wastewater service, and the wastewater system for both towns will operate more efficiently. The new, combined wastewater system will enable growth in the number of businesses and residents for both towns as well as improve the appearance of downtown Rich Creek.

I would like to take this opportunity of these remarks to recognize a number of individuals who have been instrumental in the success we celebrate today.

I want to thank Travis Jackson and Robert Hilt with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Agency for their outstanding work to secure the funds for this project.

I would also like to thank Darlene French, Mayor of Rich Creek, and Rick Ould, Mayor of Glen Lyn, for their continued efforts on behalf of these communities.

Howard Spencer, Town Manager of Glen Lyn and Member of the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors, and Roger Jones, Town Manager of Rich Creek, also deserve our thanks today for their work to improve the quality of life for residents of these communities.

I would also like to recognize Doug Hubbard and Mark Blaylock for contributing their engineering expertise to this project.

I also want to thank Dave Rundgren with the New River Valley Planning District Commission for his excellent work on behalf of this project.

Finally, I would like to thank my Project Manager, Derek Lyall, for his persistent and persuasive work on behalf of this project.

The improvement of the Glen Lyn and Rich Creek wastewater systems is an excellent use of federal funds, and I congratulate the towns’ leaders for their cooperation and combined efforts to improve wastewater services in both towns. Residents will broadly benefit from the economic development potential and more reliable wastewater service afforded by this project.