The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved nearly $10 million in funds for the cities of Burden and Belle Plaine for infrastructure improvements.
According USDA Kansas State Director for Rural Development Christy Davis Wednesday, the loans and grant are part of nine infrastructure projects across the state funded by USDA totaling $22.4 million.
The City of Burden has been approved for a nearly $2.3 million loan and grant close to $1 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help complete rehabilitation work for water and wastewater systems.
The City of Belle Plaine was approved for a $5.8 million loan to help construct a new 300,000-gallon elevated storage tank and a new ion exchange nitrate removal treatment plant for the city. The project will also replace the water distribution system, the telemetry systems and automated meter reading system.
The monies for the Burden and Belle Plaine projects come from the USDA Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program.
According to USDA Public Affairs Specialist Allen Pickert of the Kansas Rural Development office in Topeka, funding for such projects increased following the passages in Congress of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.
