USDA Marks Earth Day with 11 Clean Water Projects
                                                               
                                                               
                                           Release No.  0127.00
                                                               
                                    Susan McAvoy (202) 720-4623
                                          susan.mcavoy@usda.gov
                                  Steve Thompson (202) 720-2446
                                 sathomps@rdmail.rural.usda.gov

USDA MARKS EARTH DAY WITH 11 CLEAN WATER PROJECTS

     WASHINGTON, April 18, 2000--In celebration of Earth Day 2000,
Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today announced 11 new USDA-financed rural
clean water initiatives. The waste-water projects, totaling $72.6 million,
will significantly improve water quality across America and protect several
designated wild and scenic rivers and other environmentally-sensitive bodies
of water.

     "From the Bering Sea to the Chesapeake Bay and wild and scenic rivers of
the South, these projects help protect some of our nation's most precious
water resources," Glickman said.  "As we celebrate Earth Day, all Americans
should recognize that proper disposal of waste-water is a vital health issue
not only for humans, but for the environment and wildlife."

     The projects include replacement of deteriorated water and sewer mains
in Nome, Alaska, on the Bering Sea and a new sewage collection system in
Shawnee Hills, Ohio, that will end the discharge of untreated effluent into
the Scioto River, used as a water supply by the City of Columbus.

     Also included is a $6 million project in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania to
construct a centralized sewer system that will end the dumping of raw sewage
into the Susquehanna River, which is designated a Heritage River system and
empties into the Chesapeake Bay.
     
     Other new USDA-financed projects include waste-water improvements in
Gadsden, Arizona; Concordia, Louisiana; St. Peter, Minnesota; the Three
Affiliated Tribes Reservation in North Dakota; Jefferson County, New York;
Orangeburg County, South Carolina; Green River City, Utah; and Huttonsville,
West Virginia.

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Project list attached