FEBRUARY 5 , 2010 (LINCOLN, NEB.)—The Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) has awarded $350,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to Lodgepole (pop. 352) to build a new wastewater lagoon and expand the entire lagoon system to allow for complete retention.

Currently Lodgepole operates two wastewater treatment lagoons a half mile southeast of the village. Built in 1956, the lagoons have remained essentially in their original condition, with no known improvements made for the past 42 years. Sludge build-up has greatly limited the system’s storage capacity.

Lodgepole also has been approved for $1,133,787 in grants and loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development to complete the project.

Federal funds are made available to DED from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s CDBG program to assist with the development of businesses and communities throughout the state. Funding requests for this program are administered by DED and are available to local Nebraska governments and counties with populations less than 50,000.