Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 6, 1994 TAG: 9408080037
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: New River Valley bureau
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Espy announced to about 120 people at the community center, in a former elementary school building, that providing reliable water to every home in America is now the top priority of his department.
The country has about 500,000 homes without running water, according to recent census data, including 30,000 in Virginia. Boucher said about 20,000 of those are in his congressional district, mostly in the state's coal-producing counties.
At the town meetings he holds in the 9th District, Boucher said, the main concern of people in those coal counties is always creation of jobs. But the second concern has been getting running water to homes, he said, so the new program is tailor-made for this part of the state.
It is not uncommon for families in the region to have to go to creeks and reservoirs and carry water to their homes in milk jugs, he said. The community center has had to carry in its water until now.
Falls Mills just completed a $1.9 million project that provides water to 253 homes. The Farmers Home Administration funded about $1.4 million of that in grants and loans, $500,000 came from the Appalachian Regional Commission and $38,600 from the county.
The home visited by Espy and his party belonged to Russell and Brenda Lamastas, who had no running water before.
Boucher said that when Espy was in the House of Representatives, he and Espy worked together in the rural caucus for just such an emphasis on providing running water to those lacking it. That was why Espy chose Boucher's district to launch the national program.
Boucher said states and localities will have to help with the program's $26 billion price tag, but the federal government can and should take the lead with it.
by CNB