Release No. 0405.96

                                     Tom Amontree  (202) 720-4623
                                     Jim Petterson (202) 720-4623

INDIANA COMMUNITY RECEIVES $1.9 MILLION USDA LOAN FOR WATER PROJECT

     SCOTTSBURG, Ind., July 26, 1996--As part of a nationwide initiative
providing safe drinking water to rural communities, Agriculture Secretary
Dan Glickman today presented officials of Scottsburg with a $1.9 million
loan for a water project serving 3,800 users. These funds are made available
through Water 2000, the Clinton Administration's initiative to address rural
America's most pressing drinking water needs. 

     "In rural communities across the country -- like in the areas around
Scottsburg -- 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 any 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."

     Scottsburg will use its $1.9 million loan, plus a $2.7 million grant
from the Economic Development Administration, to relocate a 45-year old
water treatment plant that is inoperable when floods occur.  The new plant,
to be built on higher ground, will expand the city's capacity from the
current 1.2 million gallons per day to 2 million gallons per day.  Other
upgrades to the system include raising the height of the dam containing the
town's water reservoir, a new outlet pipe and a spillway.

     "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 loan
announced today will provide a strong foundation for improving water service
and the quality of life for those living in the Scottsburg community."

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