Source: United States Senator for Minnesota Amy Klobuchar
Administration’s proposed increase now moves to Congress for inclusion in budget debate
WASHINGTON – Following calls from U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) for a significant increase in funding to the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System, the Biden administration has proposed $9.22 million for the project in its recent budget request for 2022 – up from just $100,000 that was approved for 2021.
As Congress takes up the fiscal year 2022 budget in the coming months, the Senators said they will push to fully fund the Biden administration proposal. Both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate must approve funding for the project during this year’s budget process. The funding Congress approves will then goes to the President to be signed into law.
“This funding will help rural communities in southwest Minnesota access safe and reliable water,” said Klobuchar. “The federal government’s commitment to this project is vital to its success, and it’s important to ensure our water infrastructure has sufficient resources.”
“For far too long, people across southwest Minnesota, northwest Iowa and southeast South Dakota have waited for the federal government to keep its promise to fund the Lewis and Clark Water Project,” said Smith. “These communities already contributed their share of the costs, and even stepped in to fill the gap that the federal government is supposed to cover, because they understand that without reliable sources of clean water, they can’t thrive. I’ve been pressing for additional federal funding to complete this project for years and will work with the Biden Administration to ensure that this proposal is included in next year’s budget. Our communities cannot and should not be forced to wait any longer.”
The Lewis & Clark Regional Water System is dedicated to constructing and operating a first of its kind tri-state drinking water system that will benefit an estimated 350,000 people in southwest Minnesota, southeast South Dakota, and northwest Iowa. Authorized by Congress in 2000, construction oversight is provided by the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR). The capacity of the completed system will be 45 million gallons of water per day (MGD), with the ability to expand to 60 MGD in the future.
# # #