Secretary Salazar Announces $93 Million in Economic Recovery Investments to Improve Rural Water in the Dakotas

WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that the Bureau of Reclamation has identified three Rural Water projects in North Dakota and South Dakota that will share $93 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

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. These investments will help address public health needs of rural and Native communities and create significant economic development in these distressed areas. The infusion of ARRA funding will allow projects authorized by Congress to deliver water sooner than would otherwise be the case.

The $93 million investment in these projects is part of President Barack Obama's $1 billion investment of ARRA funding provided by the Department of the Interior for water projects across the West.

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 three projects are $4.5 million to Perkins County Rural Water, South Dakota; $32 million will be awarded to Garrison State Diversion Unit State Municipal Rural and Industrial programs in North Dakota and $56.5 million to Lewis and Clark Rural Water serving South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota.

Perkins County

The Perkins County Project will expand the Rural Water System to serve 2,300 people in South Dakota. The funding will complete Phase IV of the pipeline/storage distribution contract. Completing this phase will accelerate completion of the project resulting in a more reliable source of quality water at an earlier date, reduce administrative costs by completing the project sooner and will provide drinking water to people who currently have poor quality water or have to haul water.

Garrison

These portions of the Garrison State Rural Water Projects will include construction of a new water treatment plant for the Southwest Pipeline Project ($12 million) and a new intake water treatment plant for the South Central Water District ($20 million), which when complete, will serve approximately 146,500 residents. An additional $27 million will be announced later and will support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe and the Three Affiliate Tribes – Mandan-Hidatsa-Arikara bring the total investment of the Garrison State Rural Water Projects to $59 million.

Lewis and Clark

The Lewis and Clark Rural Water funding will be used to construct a water treatment plant, providing reliable drinking water to approximately 300,000 people, including Sioux Falls, S.D., Sioux Center, Iowa and Luverne, Minn.

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.

Garrison Factsheet

Lewis and Clark Factsheet

Perkins County Rural Water Factsheet