The REAP Zone designation also entitles Tioga County communities to preference points on competitive federal grants for projects that help fulfill the REAP Zone's strategic plan. To date, the REAP Zone designation has resulted in more than $12.3 million in federal funding for initiatives in the county.

January 1999:
Congressman Maurice Hinchey negotiated an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Development agency to create two REAP Zones in upstate New York -- the Tioga REAP Zone and the Sullivan/Wawarsing Zone. These zones were among only four in the nation designated by USDA for their pilot project on economic development.

March 1999:
USDA Undersecretary for Rural Development Jill Long Thompson signed a memorandum of understanding with Hinchey and community leaders to establish the REAP Zone. USDA agreed to provide $25,000 for strategic planning purposes. A board of directors, comprised of representatives of every municipality in the community as well as those with specialties in areas such as emergency response, flooding, education and youth services, was formed. The REAP Board, currently nineteen members strong, has met on a month basis since 1999.

August 1999:
The Tioga REAP Zone completed its ten-year strategic plan to guide community development. Funded by USDA's initial $25,000 in seed money, the plan included a mission statement and needs assessment for every community in the county, and it remains the guiding document of the REAP Zone. It was based on information gathered at more than a dozen community meeting held throughout the county. The strategic plan is a living document that can be amended as additional citizen input is gathered.

September 1999:
Hinchey secured a $1 million earmark for the nation's four REAP Zones as part of the Rural Business Opportunities Grant program in Fiscal Year 2000 Agriculture Appropriations bill. Language Hinchey inserted in the bill also ensured that the REAP Zones would be eligible to compete for more than $190 million in funding that had been set aside for Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities for rural housing, rural business and rural utility programs.

February 2000:
USDA set aside $1 million in its Single Family Housing program for the Tioga and Sullivan/Wawarsing REAP Zones.

April 2000:
Hinchey announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would provide $323,000 for improvements to the Owego sewage treatment plant as a result of an earmark that he had placed in the FY '02 VA-HUD Appropriations bill.

May 2000:
USDA's Rural Business Opportunity Grant program awarded a $300,000 loan to Tioga County for its small business revolving loan program.

September 2000:
USDA awarded the Village of Owego $488,000 in grants and loans for water and sewer upgrades through its Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant program.

October 2000:
At Hinchey's request, the Fiscal Year 2001 Agriculture Appropriations bill set aside $2 million for REAP Zones in USDA's Rural Business Opportunity Grant programs. The FY '01 bill also included $62 million in funding set-asides in rural housing, business and utility programs for REAP Zones, Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities.

November 2000:
In the Fiscal Year 2001 VA-HUD Appropriations bill, Hinchey secured a $150,000 earmark for the Tioga REAP Zone to allow the Zone's Board of Directors to hire a full-time professional coordinator for the Zone.

March 2001:
USDA awarded Tioga County a $102,326 grant to replenish its business revolving loan fund. The grant, through the Rural Business Enterprise Grant program, supplemented a previous loan of $300,000. The loan fund was able to assist five area businesses, creating 22 new jobs and saving five existing jobs.

June 2001:
The Town of Barton was awarded $3.7 million in grants and loans for improvements to its water and sewer systems, helping the town eliminate health hazards and attract new business development.

September 2001:
Tioga County received a $600,000 grant through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program for a mobile dental clinic to provide rural parts of the county with access to dental care.

January 2002:
After more than a year of negotiations, Hinchey convinced the Army Corps of Engineers to provide $77,000 for a study of Dry Brook Creek and the Waverly Reservoir in the Village of Waverly to minimize flooding in the village.

July 2002:
USDA awards the Village of Waverly $3,043,400 in grants and loans for improvements to its water system. The funds come from a set-aside for REAP Zones that Hinchey secured in the FY '02 Agriculture Appropriations bill.

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