WASHINGTON--In 2009, Bolton and Vernon were moving full speed ahead on a vital $25 million sewer project to replace inadequate septic systems serving the area's residents. But as construction was about to start, local officials got bad news from Washington: $2 million in federal aid was suddenly being yanked.
It wasn't because federal officials questioned the need for the sewer system or the soundness of the plan, but because they had tweaked the definition of "rural" and the Bolton-Vernon project no longer qualified. So the initiative was abruptly declared ineligible for $2 million in already-promised funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural development water and wastewater program.
Connecticut lawmakers quickly appealed that decision and got it reversed. But Rep. Joseph Courtney, D-2nd District, said there's now a fresh effort underway in Washington to rewrite the definition of rural in a way that could be devastating for Connecticut.
"The definition of what is rural is something that's going to come up the in Farm Bill, which is due for rewrite this year," Courtney said recently. "And frankly, there are people within the USDA who don't think Connecticut is a rural state and [think] that we should be written out of access to that critical form of financing."
At issue are three major federal programs that provide loans and grants for rural development-one to help fund water and waste facilities; a second for community-service facilities, such as libraries and hospitals; and a third to spur small business development.