(C) South Dakota Searchlight
This story was originally published by South Dakota Searchlight and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Water bills would leverage remaining $135 million in federal pandemic funds [1]

['Joshua Haiar', 'More From Author', '- January']

Date: 2024-01

A state Senate committee endorsed two bills Wednesday that would allocate South Dakota’s remaining $135 million in federal pandemic funds toward water and wastewater infrastructure projects.

The bills will now head to the state’s legislative budget committee for review.

The allocations would utilize the state’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding before it is no longer available. That federal bill was passed in 2021.

ARPA funds must be allocated by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026; otherwise, the remaining funds return to the federal government.

The 2022 Legislature passed a bill appropriating $600 million in ARPA funding to the state Board of Water and Natural Resources. The funding was earmarked for projects on the State Water Plan.

The board has since awarded 210 grants across the state totaling $600 million, covering over one-third of $1.67 billion worth of total project costs.

During her recent budget address, Governor Kristi Noem asked lawmakers to allocate the state’s remaining ARPA funds toward water and wastewater projects.

The two new bills were introduced on behalf of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, which oversees state water funding.

One bill would authorize $94.4 million to help construct local water and wastewater projects already approved across the state. The bill would authorize up to another $28 million for future expenses or additional water projects later on.

The other bill would allocate $12.8 million in ARPA funds to the Bureau of Administration. That money would be used for various state agency water, wastewater, and stormwater projects.

The Senate State Affairs Committee conducted hearings on the two new bills and voted 8-0, with one absent, to send the bills to the Joint Appropriations Committee. The Senate committee included its endorsement.

Sen. Lee Schoenbeck, R-Watertown, who served his first term in the Legislature in 1995, described the water infrastructure investments the state is making as historic. He said they’re “an example of how we as a state have done things right,” pointing to a unified effort between state officials and leadership to ensure funds are allocated where they’re most needed.

“Thank you to Joe Biden and his leadership,” said Sioux Falls Sen. Reynold Nesiba, the lone Democrat on the committee.

“Had we relied on our own federal officials,” none of this would have happened, Nesiba added, referring to Senators John Thune and Mike Rounds, and Congressman Dusty Johnson, who are all Republicans and all cast no votes on ARPA.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://southdakotasearchlight.com/briefs/water-bills-would-leverage-remaining-135-million-in-federal-pandemic-funds/

Published and (C) by South Dakota Searchlight
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-ND 4.0.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/sdsearchlight/