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Illinois Measure would defray infrastructure costs in rural communities The chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Senate Minority Leader Thomas Daschle (D-S.D.) have introduced a bill they say is designed to help rural communities develop their energy and water infrastructures. "The biggest single economic problem facing small communities is the expense of establishing a modern infrastructure," said Murkowski in introducing the Rural and Remote Community Fairness Act. Senate Minority Leader Daschle is co-sponsor of the legislation. The measure would authorize up to $100 million a year in grant aid through the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from 1999 through 2005. Eligible communities would be those with populations of less than 10,000 and with electric rates in excess of 150 percent of the national average retail price for electricity. Rural communities would be able to use the grant for such things as low-cost weatherization of homes; construction and repair of electrical generation, transmission and distribution; construction and repair of bulk fuel storage facilities; investigation of the feasibility of alternate energy services; and the construction, operation and maintenance and repair of water and waste water services. The bill would also amend the Rural Electrification Act to authorize Rural and Remote Electrification grants of an additional $20 million a year to the same communities. These grants could be used to increase energy efficiency, lower electricity rates or modernize electric facilities. Grants Alert The Illinois Commission on Intergovernmental Cooperation lists federal grant notices for local governments and community agencies. The monthly Grants Alert includes a synopsis of each grant and explains how to obtain more information. To be added to the mailing list, write to the Illinois Commission on Intergovernmental Cooperation, 707 Stratton Building, Springfield, IL 62706, or call (217) 782-6294 New tech center to help with water problems A new Midwest Technology Assistance Center to be housed at the Illinois State Water Survey in Champaign will serve water systems in Illinois and nine other states. The center will provide training and technical assistance to help with the evaluation, selection and solutions to problems faced by small water systems. "This is good news for small systems which have been trying to meet water quality and quantity needs, comply with regulations and also maintain their aging facilities and infrastructure — often without easy access to necessary technical expertise or adequate finance capabilities," said Kent Smothers, managing director of the MTAC. For more information, call Smothers at (217) 333-6167 or send e-mail to smothers@sws.uiuc.edu. Dates of note
A conference on the issues, effects, and solutions related to animal feeding operations and the water resources of the nation is the focus of a national conference on Nov. 4 & 5 in St. Louis.
Rural Partners release strategic plan Rural Partners, a state private/public sector rural development partnership, recently announced a comprehensive plan for rural development in Illinois. The plan is the result of a year-long effort involving input from all sectors of rural Illinois and all areas of the state, said Paul Galligos, director. The publication highlights goals that will help rural residents pursue higher standards of living and better, more efficient communities, while still preserving the character of rural Illinois. It also contains a statistical report on current conditions in rural areas of the state and recommendations for communities on how to move forward with the strategic plan. "Communities across rural Illinois need to develop an action plan to move from where they are to where they want to be," said Rhonda Vinson, a co-chairman of the project. Regional sessions are being held to facilitate communities in developing their action plans. For more information, call (217) 585-9242 or e-mail galligos@eosinc.com. 6 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING NOVEMBER 1998 New, low-cost way to remove nitrates from drinking water An innovative, biological nitrate removal treatment process recently proved successful in removing more than 85 percent of nitrates from drinking water. Intensive application of nitrogen fertilizer and animal waste to farmland has increased nitrate levels in the drinking water of many communities. Nitrates impair the ability of an infant's blood to carry oxygen and can cause a rare condition called methemoglobinemia, or "blue baby syndrome." For this reason, nitrate as a water contaminant is regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act Nitrates are not removed or destroyed in conventional drinking water treatment processes like oxidation, filtration or disinfection. A cooperative venture, including the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and other national, state and local organizations and managed under the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), recently sponsored a demonstration of the process. The demonstration was performed by the University of Colorado at Boulder in the rural community of Wiggins, Colo. The system involves two processes: de-nitrification and filtration. The estimated cost? 50 cents per 1,000 gallons. "The drinking water de-nitrification process demonstrated in Wiggins will provide a low-cost treatment system using readily acquired and readily replaceable equipment," says JoAnn Silverstein, lead researcher on the project at the University of Colorado. "The entire system can be maintained by a part-time operator with a basic level of training." Keith Carns, project manager for EPRTs municipal water and waste water program noted, "About 1,100 communities in the United States do not meet the drinking water standards for nitrate. Most of these communities do not have the resources to install and operate complex treatment systems." Electric cooperatives can assist rural communities in applying this technology to solve troublesome nitrate problems. For more information about the nitrate removal process, contact EPRI at (314) 935-8590 or by e-mail at kecarns@epri.com. Good news, bad news While the overall economic outlook for much of rural Illinois is much brighter than the last decade, some areas of Southern Illinois aren't sharing the same vision, a report to the governor and General Assembly has found. The study was conducted by the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) at Western Illinois University and the Governor's Rural Affairs Council (RAC). During the past decade, the RAC notes, the state has focused on improving the economic outlook of rural communities. Success stories include community strategic visioning program called MAPPING the future of Your Community, the Illinois Main Street Program, the Distance Learning Foundation and the Rural Educator's Academy. "The prospects for much of rural Illinois are bright, certainly better than in the previous decade," the report notes. "However, some regions, especially those in pockets of poverty within Southern Illinois, are not sharing equally in the prosperity. Targeted economic initiatives, through a coordinated approach by state agencies, could be of substantial help in improving the future of these areas." To obtain a free copy of the 1998 annual report on rural Illinois, call the Rural Affairs Council at (217) 782-7514. Small businesses face special challenges from market place changes, co-ops tell Congress Price volatility, market power, regulatory burdens, not to mention the "big-dogs-eat-first" syndrome all hurt small business as a result of electric utility industry restructuring, said Glenn English, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). English responded in a letter requested by the House Small Business Committee's Regulatory Reform panel. Common challenges, he said, include higher energy rates for small retail customers, noting recent findings of the Consumers Union (CU) and Consumer Federation of America (CFA) that retail competition could lead to significantly higher energy rates for small retail consumers. Also, the summer price spikes in the Midwest and California "certainly prove that competition can dramatically inflate energy costs if the market is not working correctly," said English. Market power poses an unusually significant risk in the electric industry, he added. "Small competitors, including some co-ops and small consumers and small businesses, are particularly vulnerable to market abuse." They lack the resources and size required to monitor and police the behavior of large utilities and to attract new competitors into the market. "Even state regulators have admitted that they may even lack the resources to prevent abuses by large multi-state utilities in a deregulated market," said English. As competitive markets expand, the risk that prices will rise for small loads will continue to increase noted English. Cost shifting from industrial customers to small customers could raise prices by 10 to 20 percent, and other factors could raise small consumers' power by an additional 13 to 48 percent over present levels, English said, quoting the CU and CFA. "These studies clearly demonstrate the need for restructuring legislation and regulations that guarantee all customers share equally in the benefits of competition. Small consumers should not be required to subsidize the big dogs," English said. NOVEMBER 1998 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING 7 |
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It's sponsored by the National Ground Water Association and the National Ground Water Educational Foundation and is co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture among others. Twenty-seven expert speakers are planned. Call (800) 551-7379 or point your web browser to www.ngwa.org/whatsnew/afo.html.