Senators help introduce bill to invest in rural water projects in order to address delays and complete construction
WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 20, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — The Authorized Rural Water Projects Completion Act would establish a guaranteed annual investment of $80 million from the Bureau of Reclamation for 20 years to fund construction of six congressionally authorized rural water systems, including the Lewis and Clark project
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Al Franken (D-MN) are continuing their push to complete the Lewis and Clark Water System. The senators today helped introduce a bill to invest in rural water projects in order to address delays and complete construction. The Authorized Rural Water Projects Completion Act would establish a guaranteed annual investment of $80 million from the Bureau of Reclamation for 20 years to fund the construction of six congressionally authorized rural water systems, including the Lewis and Clark project. When completed, the Lewis and Clark Water System will cover a service territory of more than 5,000 square miles and provide drinking water to 300,000 residents and businesses in southwest Minnesota, northwest Iowa, and southeast South Dakota.
“The Lewis and Clark water project is critical to the economic development and well-being of southwest Minnesota,” Klobuchar said. “Minnesota has already fulfilled its funding commitment, and this bill will help ensure the federal government fulfills its responsibility to complete this project and move Minnesota forward.”
“The Lewis and Clark Regional Water System is critically important to jobs and economic development in communities across southwest Minnesota,” Franken said. “Communities across the region have in good faith paid their full share to fund this project, and they’ve been waiting far too long for the federal government to do the same. This bill will help fund projects like Lewis and Clark, and I’ll keep fighting for funding until the Lewis and Clark project is completed.”
Funding under the Authorized Rural Water Projects Completion Act would complement existing appropriated funds. The 2015 Energy and Water appropriations bill provided $47.2 million spread across the Bureau of Reclamation’s rural authorized water projects, but current funding is insufficient to complete the projects in a timely fashion.
In addition to the Lewis and Clark project, the Authorized Rural Water Projects Completion Act would also support construction on the following congressional authorized rural water systems: Fort Peck-Dry Prairie Rural Water System in Montana; Rocky Boy’s-North Central Montana Rural Water System in Montana; Jicarilla Apache Reservation Rural Water System in New Mexico; Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Supply Project in New Mexico; and Garrison Diversion Unit in North Dakota. Projects that have submitted feasibility studies under the Rural Water Supply Act of 2006 and have received congressional authorization would also be eligible for funding. The Authorized Rural Water Projects Completion Act also provides an annual investment of $35 million for 20 years to help pay for projects associated with tribal water compacts.
After a push from Klobuchar and Franken earlier this year, along with Representatives Collin Peterson and Tim Walz, the administration announced new funding for the Lewis and Clark project. The project received an additional $6.6 million from the Bureau of Reclamation in addition to the $2.4 million proposed in the administration’s FY 2015 budget, resulting in a total of $9 million in funding for FY 2015. In a letter to the Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner, the lawmakers pressed for strong funding to advance construction on the Lewis and Clark project.
Klobuchar has worked tirelessly to secure funding for the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System. In 2012, Klobuchar brought Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Michael Connor to Worthington, MN, to meet with local officials to discuss the negative impacts that the lack of federal funding to complete the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System is having on communities in the region and push for more funding from the administration. Klobuchar has also previously called on the Bureau of Reclamation to give more weight to economic impact when prioritizing funding for water projects like Lewis and Clark.
Franken, a member of the Senate Energy Committee—which has jurisdiction over projects like the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System—has been fighting for funding to complete the project throughout his time in the Senate. He has also pushed the Bureau of Reclamation to give the economic impact of the project stronger consideration when funding is prioritized, and he’s repeatedly questioned both the Interior Secretary and Bureau of Reclamation officials in Senate Energy hearings. Franken has also made repeated budget requests for the project and has continually visited with officials from Lewis and Clark to discuss how to keep the project moving.
