September 9, 1998
Honorable Bob Etheridge
U.S. House of Representatives
1641 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-5662
Dear Congressman Etheridge:
Thank you for your letter of August 7, 1998 seeking further clarification of the Department’s interpretation of the protection provided for rural drinking water systems by section 1926(b) of Title 7 of the U.S. Code.
It is the opinion of the USDA that the protection provided by 1926(b) extends to any area served by a Rural Utilities Service (RUS) borrow and is not limited to specific facilities or portions of the RUS borrower’s system.
As indicated in our letter of January 16, 1998, the USDA’s decision to intervene in any given case is undertaken on a case-by-case basis taking into account the factors outlined in that letter.
I hope this response has been useful to you. If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
CHRISTOPHER A. MCLEAN
for WALL BEYER
Administrator
Rural Utilities Service
cc: Official File
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State Ofc - NC
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