Release No. 0375.96


                                     Tom Amontree  (202) 720-4623
                                     Laura Trivers (202) 720-4623

USDA AWARDS $1.4 MILLION IN LOCAL WATER PROJECTS

     HANNIBAL, Mo., July 15, 1996--As part of a nationwide initiative
providing safe drinking water to rural communities, Agriculture Secretary
Dan Glickman today presented officials of Knox and Shelby Counties with
loans and grants for water projects totaling $1.4 million. These funds are
made available through Water 2000, the Clinton Administration's initiative
to address rural America's most pressing water needs.

     "In rural communities across the country -- like in the rural areas
around Hannibal -- many households either do not have drinking water or
their tap water is still undrinkable, fire hydrants non-existent, and
business development is halted due to non-existent or substandard public
water service.  President Clinton wants to change that," Glickman said.

     Launched by the Clinton Administration in August of 1994, Water 2000
targets resources to the estimated 2.5 million people who have some of the
nation's most serious drinking water availability, dependability and quality
problems.  This number includes the one million rural Americans without
access to drinking water in their homes.

     "In an age when the great majority of Americans take safe and clean
running water for granted, many rural towns are working hard to achieve the
basics for sound public health and real economic opportunity," Glickman
said.  "The Clinton Administration is committed to working with these
communities to address this fundamental need."

     Knox County will use their $400,000 grant and $485,000 loan to provide
an additional storage tank to remedy water quality problems for the existing
1,366 customers in the service area. In addition, the county will construct
water lines to 80 households currently without service.

     The Shelby County Public Water Supply District (PWSD) #1 currently
serves approximately 1,000 households in the county. Many of the residents
who are currently not served by this system rely on cisterns, springs and
wells that do not meet state-approved construction criteria and are at risk
for bacteria, nitrates and pesticides.  The Water 2000 funding--a loan of
$309,000 and a grant of $225,000--will help construct new lines to 60
households currently without water.

     "Water 2000 is one of the Clinton Administration's highest economic
investment priorities and continues the progress the Federal government has
made to help rural Americans over the past half century," Glickman said.
"In President Franklin Roosevelt's Administration, safe drinking water loans
were first awarded to rural communities in the greatest need.  Now, under
President Clinton's leadership, we are carrying on the legacy by providing
millions of rural Americans with safe, affordable running water.  The grants
and loans announced today provide strong foundations for improving water
service and the quality of life for those living in these communities."

                                #