ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, August 31, 1996              TAG: 9609030059
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C-5  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: BREAKS

WATER SYSTEM GRANTS APPROVED

Federal grants totaling $1.79 million have been approved for infrastructure in Dickenson and Buchanan counties around the Breaks Interstate Park on the Virginia-Kentucky border.

A $790,000 Economic Development Administration grant and $500,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission will be added to a previously announced $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, announced this month.

The funds will pay for construction of a public water system for 248 homes in four communities in the two counties, allowing the support of more visitors to the park. "It has an annual visitation exceeding 383,000, but this number is a mere fraction of the potential of the Breaks Interstate Park to accommodate the vacationing public," Boucher said.

- Staff report

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