WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Department of Agriculture, USDA, is investing $1.2 billion to help rebuild and improve rural water infrastructure for 936,000 rural Americans living in 46 states.
“Under the leadership of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, USDA is committed to being a strong partner to rural communities in building prosperity through modern water infrastructure.” “Investing in infrastructure benefits the rural economy and the well-being of our environment for future generations to enjoy,” Denise Lovelady, USDA Rural Development State Director for Maryland and Delaware, said.
“Rural Development’s programs are designed to help rural communities address their infrastructure needs and forge a path towards greater prosperity.” USDA is providing financing for 234 water and environmental infrastructure projects through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant program.
Below are some examples of the investments USDA is making in Maryland: • Queenstown is receiving a $1,828,000 loan and $1,358,000 grant to make improvements to its water system.
The existing water tower will be replaced, the disinfection system will be upgraded, and a new well and treatment facility will be built.
• The Town of Oxford will use a $493,000 loan and $1,735,000 grant to cover additional costs related to upgrading its wastewater treatment plant.
• The Somerset County Sanitary District Inc. will receive a $83,000 loan and $2,970,000 grant to construct a wastewater treatment plant for the Smith Island communities of Ewell, Rhodes Point and Tylerton.
Additional funding for this project includes an existing $30,000 USDA SEARCH Grant, a $6,117,341 investment from the State of Maryland, and an applicant contribution of $61,941.
• Worcester County will use a $170,000 loan and $80,000 grant to cover a cost over-run to construct a pipeline from the recently upgraded Mystic Harbor wastewater treatment facility.
Increasing investments in rural infrastructure is a key recommendation of the task force.

The percentage of the U.S. affected by drought has fallen 15 of the past 16 weeks and are now at the lowest levels since September 2017.
In the Midwest, which the U.S. Drought Monitor defines as Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, drought is only present in 1.9% of the region, appearing in small portions of northern Minnesota and southwest Missouri.
The Plains, which the U.S. Drought Monitor defines as Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas, are more severely affected – with 30.7% of the region currently affected.
That includes 27.1% of the state suffering from the two most severe drought categories, D3 (extreme) and D4 (exceptional).
Left unchecked, severe drought will cause longer term hydrological and ecological affects.
Most of the country’s current drought is parked in the western part of the country, where 74.4% of the region is affected.
More than 50 million Americans live in the portions of this region afflicted by drought.
“Elsewhere, another storm system is expected to move in from the Pacific early next week, bringing additional precipitation to the west coast states.
In between these two storm systems, a ridge in the jet stream will deliver dry conditions to the Plains and Midwest.” NOAA’s monthly precipitation outlook for December also hints at further recovery throughout the rest of this month.
Wetter-than-normal conditions are probable throughout the West, South, Southeast, Midwest and Plains this month, although seasonally dry weather is more likely across parts of the upper Midwest.

Two years ago in North Dakota, after months of protest by thousands of indigenous and environmental activists, pipeline opponents celebrated when the Obama administration denied a key permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).
"It turned out to be a massive gathering — a world-wide gathering," recalls current Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council Chairman Mike Faith.
I haven’t really left," laughs Cowboy.
He pleaded guilty to civil disorder charges.
Lawsuits continue Two years later, the legal system in North Dakota is still busy processing the people arrested during the anti-DAPL protests.
And in yet another case, tribal members and others filed suit over the shutdown of a local highway near the protests for five months.
But The Bismarck Tribune reported the tribe suffered a $6 million budget shortfall, largely because less money was coming in from the casino.
"People weren’t happy about what was going on and the way protesters were treating other people," Keller says.
Schulz says the protests cost his county nearly $40 million for police, fire, including repairing damaged infrastructure, cleaning-up protest camps and prosecutions.
North Dakota’s oil production is growing so fast the state likely will run out of pipeline capacity next year, which is one reason Energy Transfer recently announced it plans to expand its Dakota Access Pipeline so that it can transport even more oil.

DICKINSON, N.D. — Large swaths of southwest North Dakota are facing moderate fire danger, which may signal a returning drought.
Dunn, Billings, Slope, Hettinger and Stark Counties have already been designated as natural disaster counties by the United States Department of Agriculture after meeting requirements under earlier in the year, as each county suffered from drought conditions during the growing season lasting for eight or more consecutive weeks.
The National Weather Service in Bismarck said fire weather watches and red flag warnings are issued when there is an “enhanced risk” for fires to get out of control — something that may be a future possibility if the trend continues.
Representatives of the weather service said that a watch is typically issued a day or two ahead of time when they believe the conditions might be possible for a fire spreading.
The wildland fire assessment system, in collaboration with the federal land management agencies in North Dakota, identified most of western North Dakota as a moderate fire danger area.
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According to the Drought Monitor, many areas across the High Plains continue to experience dry conditions.
“Extreme drought was introduced in Eddy County in east central North Dakota, with adjoining extreme and moderate drought each extending slightly farther south to southern Foster County.
Some producers have started feeding their cattle, which typically does not happen until first snowfall.
McHenry County, which borders Ward County to the east, lies within a band of dry conditions ranging from the Canadian border to the Grand Forks area.
About two-thirds of Ward County, all of Renville and nearly all of Bottineau County is among those areas included in the severe drought category, which has expanded slightly from a week ago.
Precipitation so far this year at the Minot Airport is reported at 9.32 inches, or 5.40 inches below the long-term average.
Hettinger, in southwest North Dakota, is in a similar situation as Minot with official precipitation for the year listed at 8.40 inches, also 5.40 inches less than normal.
Dickinson reports 13.59 inches of precipitation so far this year, .12 inches above normal.
Williston has received .33 inches more than its yearly average to date.
Turtle Lake reports 16.94 inches of precipitation, more than two inches above average there.

The Climate Prediction Center issued its latest three-month weather outlook Thursday.
The CPC rates nearly all of the United States, North Dakota included, as having a better than average chance of experiencing a warmer than normal winter.
El Nino update The CPC continues its issuance of an El Nino Watch, saying there is a 50-55 percent chance of El Nino conditions influencing our weather through November and a 65-70 percent chance of El Nino influence beginning as early as December and continuing well into 2019.
This history of El Nino events, a warming of Pacific Ocean temperatures, is that winter temperatures in North Dakota are generally above average and snowfall below average.
Currently, says the CPC, El Nino indicators remain somewhat neutral, “a blend of slightly above-and-below average sea surface temperatures.” However, adds the CPC, a majority of forecast models favor El Nino formation later this fall albeit most likely a weak El Nino.
Nevertheless, El Nino conditions of any degree should deter the number of colder than normal days in the coming months.
A large section of the state, including Ward, Renville and Bottineau Counties is considered to be severe drought.
“Drought conditions continued in northwestern North Dakota, where precipitation over the past two months has been less than 30 percent of normal,” says the CPC.
The CPC noted that Hettinger County in southwestern North Dakota has received just 20 percent of normal precipitation over the past 60 days.
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More than 80% of North Dakota is drought-free this year, a welcome change from 2017.
At this time last year, 94% of the state was under drought.
A third of the state was in extreme drought.
AgDay host Clinton Griffiths said the state is pulling in a bumper crop of feed due to normal and above normal precipitation, a welcome relief for many ranchers.
Timere Zenker, a farmer in Grant County, N.D., says their alfalfa hay crop “is just beautiful.
We haven’t seen such nice alfalfa in quite a few years.” Mixed hay was also yielding nicely, she says.
In 2017, producers were chopping corn early for feed, baling cornstalks and other annual crops.
Being able to replenish their hay stocks are incredibility important this year.
“Having the ability to make some hay this year, and what looks to be an ample hay crop will make a huge difference to the bottom lines of livestock producers,” said Julie Ellingson, North Dakota Stockmen’s Association.

ARTHUR, N.D. — Our recent rain storms have given some area farmers a great start to the growing season even though most of Cass County remains in abnormally dry conditions according to the state’s drought monitor.
Despite a little luck with rain, a small change could doom the crops.
The drought monitor shows upper North Dakota is going through moderate to severe drought conditions.
"Right at our own farm, it got a little dry in July and August so we lost yield to a little dryness there," said Kevin Skunes, a farmer and President of the North Dakota Corn Growers Association.
His farm in Arthur is considered abnormally dry on the drought monitor, but you wouldn’t tell by just looking at his crops.
Fields of lush green corn plants fill his acres all the way to the county road.
WDAY called Chandra Langseth with the NDSU Ag Extension and she said farmers in Richland and Cass county are having serious luck with rain so far.
For Kevin’s crops, rain amounts are treating him well after he planted in late May.
"If you could get a half to an inch of rain every week during the growing season, that would be the ultimate," Skunes said.
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1 / 3 FARGO — Pasture readiness for 2018 across North Dakota has been at least a couple of weeks behind other years, and there are indications of early stress that producers should monitor.
A variety of issues are affecting pastures, including continued stress from the 2017 drought, dry spring conditions, a late warm-up and, in some cases, overgrazing last year.
Drought conditions continue to plague parts of North Dakota, with the area in severe drought more than doubling from 6.7 percent of the state in the May 24 release of the U.S. Drought Monitor to 13.95 in the May 31 release.
"As of last week, most of our native pastures were approaching grazing readiness," Meehan says.
Meehan says western wheatgrass, one of the key native pasture species in North Dakota, in an Oliver County pasture had 3.5 leaves on May 9, 2017, indicating it was ready for grazing.
The grass only was at 1.5 leaves by May 14, putting it about three weeks behind.
"Most of them aren’t that far behind," Meehan says.
Pastures that were stressed from drought in addition to being overgrazed are farther behind pastures that were managed properly amid drought conditions.
That is especially important on grasses that may have reached their peak early due to stress.
"We don’t want to put additional stress on those resources if we can help it.

The Franks run about 1,000 cow-calf pairs on pastures around southwestern North Dakota and into South Dakota — some of the areas hardest hit by the 2017 drought.
Farmers and ranchers in parts of the Dakotas and Montana regarded the 2017 drought to be among the worst droughts in recent memory.
Last year, the drought was worst in southern and western North Dakota.
The second week in May brought half an inch of rain to the area.
For Frank and other farmers and ranchers in many parts of the region, it’s too soon to say that the drought is over.
And while southern North Dakota was the beneficiary of some gentle, soaking rains, other parts of the region haven’t been as lucky.
"As soon as we go two weeks without (moisture), you’ll notice very quickly that the grass may remain green but there’s no growth," Schlag says, noting that already is happening in the area north of Highway 200 in North Dakota.
Frank doesn’t expect to run out of hay.
Schlag says southern North Dakota, the area that fared the worst in last year’s drought, has caught the most rain so far this season.
It’s been dry for two to three weeks, with little precipitation.