The Vice President & the Recovery Act Go to Yellowstone
Posted by Jonathan Jarvis
Ed. Note: Also watch a video of President Obama and his family’s visit to Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 2009 along with some historical context.
On Monday, I joined Vice President Biden at Yellowstone National Park as he continued his Recovery Summer tour. Under overcast skies, we walked up a new gravel road to see the construction of the new Madison wastewater treatment plant, a $4.6 million project that will service the campground in this beautiful part of the park. This project replaces the weary wastewater plant, constructed in 1959, which was not built to meet today’s wastewater treatment needs or function throughout the year. The new design will be less visible from the main road and with its new treatment technology (better bugs as the project manager told us) no longer waft offensive odors over the campers. The work at Madison is being done by Dick Anderson Construction – a contractor based out of Bozeman, Montana. Ed Venetz, VP for the company spoke about how the ARRA funds have really helped keep his workers employed and how much he likes projects like this one in the National Parks. Ed later introduced the Vice President to a back drop of the Madison Valley and National Park Peak, the site of the legendary campfire where the idea of National Parks was born.
Vice President Joe Biden meets Director of the National Parks Jon Jarvis before touring a recovery act project in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, July 26, 2010. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
