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USDA showcases programs for Rocky Boy disaster

U. S. Department of Agriculture officials were at Rocky Boy's Indian Re s e rvat ion Thursday, t e l l ing Chippewa Cree Tribal leaders and reservation residents about a plethora of programs that could help pay for rebuilding areas damaged by the major flooding in July.

"We all have a number of programs to assist you," USDA's Natural Resources and Conservation Service S t a t e Co n s e r va t i o n i s t J oyc e Swartzendruber told the group during the briefing at Stone Child College.

Swartzendruber and Matt Jones, s tate di rector of USDA Rural Development, and Montana Farm Services Agency Executive Director Bruce Nelson joined other USDA staff members, including from Hill County, to discuss what USDA could do to help rebuild the reservation.

The officials discussed programs ranging from loans to cost-share grants that could help deal with damaged agricultural land.

"We've got a lot of issues out here we're trying to deal with on a daily basis," said state Rep. Tony Belcourt, D-Box Elder, also head of the Tribal Chippewa Cree Construction Corp. Belcourt chaired the meeting.

Belcourt said many homes on the reservation still are without water.

Fourteen homes are completely without water and evacuated, with damaged roads preventing access to ten of those homes, he added.

Stream banks have been eroded and water lines damaged. Sewers are backing up and being pumped on a daily or even hourly basis, and some of the people have been without water in their homes for two weeks, he said.

"We're getting a handle on it the best we can," he said, adding that he realized there are procedures to go through for federal aid, but the Tribe needs help as soon as possible.

Neal Rosette, public information officer for the Tribe regarding the flooding, asked if there would be a way to waive the cost-share requirements.

"Number one, we're probably the most impoverished group in the state of Montana here in Rocky Boy, and, number two, probably one of the most impoverished groups as a whole nationwide," Rosette said.

The USDA officials said they would look into that.

"Bruce and Joyce and I, we can be your advocate here from the state," Jones said. "The cost-share requirements are in the regulations and are national policies, but we can make requests on your behalf and be the advocate for the … impacted communities." The officials told the group that part of the cost share could be made up through in-kind donations, using Tribal equipment and employees to perform the work on the projects.

A common theme was the need to get the Tribe's irrigation system up and running as soon as possible.

"We're sitting here with all the water in the world and we can't use it … ," Belcourt said.

"To me that's the most immediate need. That's a huge economic hit for the Tribe." Swartzendruber said the FSA's Emergency Conservation Program might be the best way to get a quick solution for the irrigation problem, with other USDA programs possibly helping for a long-term repair.

Other problems discussed included the Tribal clinic, which suffered structural damage as well as access to the building being destroyed — the Tribe has built a temporary access road — and problems with sewage treatment.

The officials discussed many programs that could help, as well as the limitations of those programs.

J o n e s s a i d R u r a l Development focuses in four main areas: utilities, including water and wastewater and solid waste; housing programs; community facilities, such as the clinic; and business programs.

Paul Tuss, executive director of Bear Paw Development Corp., and Joe LaPlante, director of the Small Business Development Center at Bear Paw, discussed direct loans available through t h e S m a l l B u s i n e s s Administration that could help people recover from the damage.

The loans can be applied for online, LaPlante said.

Mike Zook, executive director of FSA's Hill County Office, presented programs that could help agricultural producers.

Those programs could help with problems ranging from eroded and silted-over fields to replacing fences to payments for lost crops and livestock.

Zook and Nel son bot h emphasized the importance of ag producers on Rocky Boy to register and certify their operations with FSA. Even if the programs available through FSA don't help with this disaster, they could provide the producers with benefits in future years.

But, they said, the producers have to be properly listed by the FSA and properly set up in the programs to receive aid.

 

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