The Montana director of U. S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development said the agency invested a large chunk of money in the state during 2009-10, with a large amount coming through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Director Matt Jones, in Havre last week for an renewable fuels summit, said the stimulus act money allowed Rural Development to do more of what it normally does, and it will continue funding projects in this fiscal year.
“We’re a small agency that has an enormous impact on the economy in rural Montana, ” he said.
The ARRA funds provided an additional $300 million for projects in the state in the past year, Jones said.
The agency’s programs are split into several areas, including for housing. One helps with residential mortgages, both in direct loans and in loan guarentees. Jones said that translated into helping 35 families get in to homes in Hill County alone in the last year.
Statewide, Rural Development helped 1,600 families get into residences last year, he added.
The agency also provides rental assitance to qualified people.
He said another major investment is in infrastructure, including the Loma water system and a heavy investment in waste water facilities at Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation.
That project was in the works before flooding in May and June led to a presidential disaster declaration at Rocky Boy, but Rural Development also is involved with the recovery from that, Jones said. The agency has loan guarantees on the recently built Rocky Boy clinic, which was written off as unsalvagable after the flooding. Structural damage due to shifts in the building from soil washing away led to it being declared unsafe.
Jones said Rural Development is working with Rocky Boy to determine what needs to be done to replace that clinic.
He said a program the agency is trying to promote is assistance, through grants and loan guarentees, to help businesses and farmers and ranchers improve energy efficiency and to use alternative energy. Those funds are through the agency’s Rural Energy Assistance Program.
The agency helped a business in Bozeman — in Montana, only Billings, Missoula and Kalispell are classified as nonrural — install solar panels, Jones said. Other areas where Rural Development can help is in direct farm- or ranch-related projects, such as upgrading old irrigation pumps or finding ways to use alternative energy in their operations.
The funding cannot be used for projects dealing with powering residences, but rather directly powering business operations.
A workshop to help train people how to write applications for funds through Rural Development’s REAP is being held by the National Center for Appropriate Technology in Havre Tuesday, Nov. 16.
Jones said another example of Rural Development’s work was in providing funding to upgrade the facilities of Big Sandy Activities, which works with people who have developmental disabilities.
That helped keep services — and a large number of jobs — available in Big Sandy, he said.
“It’s just a great example of an essential community facility that improves the quality of life in small towns, ” he said.
