By Mason Adams
Roanoke Times
CLIFTON FORGE -- Alleghany County officials have struggled for more than a decade to find $46 million to replace the wastewater treatment plant that serves Clifton Forge, Iron Gate and points east.
Finding that kind of cash is no easy task for a rural county -- particularly one that in the past two decades has seen some of its biggest employers close up shop.
On Monday, however, Alleghany County got the stimulus infusion it needed.
U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, swung through town to sign an oversized check for $10 million to the county to kick-start construction of a new, modernized wastewater treatment plant in Iron Gate. Another $7.6 million will be provided in the form of a low-interest federal loan, and Boucher said he's also advocating for money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Agency.
