Secretary Salazar Announces $56.5 Million in Economic Recovery Investments to Provide Reliable Drinking Water in South Dakota

WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that the Bureau of Reclamation has awarded $56.5 million to the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

The Lewis and Clark Rural Water funding will be used for construction of a water treatment plant, providing reliable drinking water to approximately 300,000 people, including South Dakota's largest city of Sioux Falls.

In total, Reclamation will spend $200 million on construction of rural water projects with an emphasis on water intakes and water treatment plants across the West. The infusion of ARRA funding will allow projects authorized by Congress to deliver water sooner than would otherwise be the case.

Secretary Salazar said “These ARRA funds will continue the long established tradition of the Bureau of Reclamation providing water to communities, large and small – creating economic opportunities and local jobs while infusing some of the nation's most drought- ravaged areas with expanded water supplies and a brighter outlook for the future.

“President Obama's economic recovery plan is meant to quickly aid Americans by providing jobs, improving infrastructure and paving the way for tomorrow's success,” Secretary Salazar said today. “We CAN do this if we work together—it is a great investment in our future.”

The purposes of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are, among others, to quickly and prudently commence activities that preserve and create jobs and to promote economic recovery, and to invest in infrastructure providing long-term economic benefits. Recovery Act funding must be obligated by Sept. 30, 2010.

Secretary Salazar has pledged quick and responsible implementation of the $3 billion in recovery funds that will be used by the Department of the Interior and its agencies.

“President Obama and this Department have ambitious goals to build America's new energy future, to protect and restore our treasured landscapes and to create a 21st Century Youth Conservation Corps,” added Salazar. “These Bureau of Reclamation projects will help us fulfill these goals while helping American families and their communities prosper again.”

Secretary Salazar has pledged unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability in the implementation of the Department of the Interior's economic recovery projects. The public will be able to follow the progress of each project on www.recovery.gov and on www.interior.gov/recovery. Secretary Salazar has appointed a Senior Advisor for Economic Recovery, Chris Henderson, and an Interior Economic Recovery Task Force. Henderson and the Task Force will work closely with the Department of the Interior's Inspector General to ensure that the recovery program is meeting the high standards for accountability, responsibility and transparency that President Obama has set.

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