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PIERRE, South Dakota (South Dakota News Watch) – South Dakota lawmakers, state agency leaders and water system managers say they will allocate about $700 million in coronavirus-era funding to water and wastewater projects before the federal government takes the money back. They are eager to spend their dollars.
The money was part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a $1.9 trillion relief package passed by Congress and the Biden administration in 2019 to help states recover from the pandemic.
ARPA rules require states to allocate all funds by the end of this year and spend them by the end of 2026 or send them back to Washington for use by other states.
This deadline is compounded by the difficulty in completing large-scale water and wastewater projects amid labor and material shortages, as well as significant conflicts between Congress and the state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR), which is responsible for water permitting. It instills a sense of crisis. and sewerage projects.
“Hundreds of millions of dollars in ARPA remain unspent, and no one can rest easy until it’s done,” said state Sen. Helen Duhamel, R-Rapid City, who is leading efforts to complete the project. Told. “That led to some sleepless nights. And it’s like a nail biter until everything is resolved at the end of the session.”
The state has allocated $600 million for more than 200 one-time water and wastewater system upgrades and expansions, but that’s still less than a third of that amount. Unless the state Legislature acts quickly and those who spend the money spend it by the deadline, the remainder is in jeopardy.
The South Dakota Legislature is currently debating how to allocate the remaining $94 million in ARPA water funding. At the beginning of Congress, $131 million of total ARPA funding was unappropriated.
But those working to improve water and wastewater systems are encouraged by the new spending approach DANR unveiled this Congress.
Rather than accepting proposals for new eligible projects at this juncture, the agency has decided that the state will use the remaining $94 million to increase spending on projects already approved in the original 2022 spending plan. is suggesting.
Andy Bruells, DANR’s Director of Finance and Technical Assistance, said he is confident this strategy will allow ARPA funds to be disbursed on worthy projects by federal deadlines.
“We have no interest whatsoever in getting them done,” Bruels said in an interview with Newswatch. “If this additional $94 million were to be undertaken and allocated to a lot of new projects, there would be concerns. …But with working on existing projects, there is no concern in my mind.”
Bruels, who provides input to Congress on DANR issues, said ARPA funds must be spent by the end of 2026, but projects funded with that money do not necessarily have to be completed by that deadline. It pointed out. As a result, the state is requiring project managers to first spend federal funds on these projects before using state loans or local investment, Bruels said.
The $600 million investment from ARPA funds in the state’s water and wastewater systems in 2022 is the largest expenditure in state history outside of the state’s annual operating budget. Once completed, the 207 projects will impact an estimated 85% of the state’s population, Bruels said.
“This is a historic investment in water and wastewater infrastructure across the state and will have long-lasting impacts,” he said.
Two other water-related funding measures are being passed this Congress.
Senate Bill 66 would direct $13 million in ARPA funds to improve water and wastewater systems at state-owned facilities, including replacing aging sewer pipes at Sylvan Lake Lodge in Custer State Park and repairing a leak-prone retention pond at Mitchell Technical College. We plan to allocate it for improvement or update. overflow.
Senate Bill 7 and Senate Bill 16 are similar, providing funding from fees and other sources to complete up to 12 water, irrigation and flood control projects at a cost of nearly $20 million. . These measures are part of the annual state water project proposal known as the State Water Resources Management System (SWRMS). Governor Kristi Noem signed SB 7 earlier this session.
Some of these projects include irrigation improvements in Belle Fourche and flood control projects along the Sioux Falls, Vermilion and Big Sioux River corridors. Part of the funding includes research for three of his projects that will harness the Missouri River for drinking water in northeastern South Dakota and the Sioux Falls and Rapid City areas.
DANR’s 2022 ARPA spending plan includes 207 water and wastewater projects, using about $180 million of the $600 million in federal grants allocated to date, Bruels said. Ta. These projects are also the focus of the $94 million proposed in this Congress’s Senate Bill 53, which would provide more than $1 billion in low-interest state loans through completion, he said.
The list of projects is long, encompassing cities and towns from Webster to Yankton in the east and from Isabel to Oral in the west. The largest grants are for sewer system reconstruction in Aberdeen, Brookings, Yankton and Rapid City, and a $44 million ARPA grant will help pay for a $145 million wastewater project, the largest on the list. .
Small towns will also benefit, including a $25,000 grant for water system improvements in Canova, a $45,000 grant for new water meters in Presho, and a $150,000 grant for system improvements in Alexandria. As a result of this subsidy program, taxpayers and ratepayers receive far less special credit for utility improvements on their monthly bills.
“It’s spreading across the state to small towns, large cities and rural water systems,” Bruels said. “These are generational projects that will be implemented over 30 to 50 years and will benefit our state’s children and grandchildren.”
The impact of the ARPA grant is already being felt in some parts of southeastern South Dakota, where the Randall Community Water District is using millions of dollars in federal funds to expand its footprint and add new water from the Missouri River. Provides a source of drinking water.
According to the general manager, the rural water system, with district headquarters in Lake Andes, has been allocated two ARPA grants totaling $14 million and more than $80 million in low-interest state loans that will be used for improvements and improvements. This will offset more than $100 million in expansion costs. Scott Pick.
The district will receive a $2.7 million ARPA grant that will cover $9 million in internal system improvements. Meanwhile, the district is receiving $11.3 million to help pay for a $95 million, two-phase plan to build 70 miles of new water from the Missouri River intake in Pickstown to Stickney and eventually Mitchell. An ARPA grant of $2.00 was allocated, Pick said. .
He said the new water line will provide a secondary source of surplus water for Mitchell, which is one of the largest cities in the state and is experiencing significant growth.
The Randall area was ideal for ARPA funding. Because the system does the planning and construction work in collaboration with in-house employees, making the proposal “ready-to-go” and allowing him to obtain and use ARPA funds well in advance of federal deadlines. Because it will. Pick said.
He said ARPA funds are key to the system’s long-term plans and expansion goals.
“The infusion of ARPA funding has allowed us to improve areas of the system,” Pick said. “Otherwise, none of this would have happened because we wouldn’t be able to pass all that cost on to our customers.”
Rep. Will Mortenson, R-Pierre, said Congress should not be “cautious” about how ARPA funds are allocated and must remain vigilant to ensure the funds are used wisely and efficiently.
“We need to treat every dollar that comes in the same way we did when we didn’t have any money,” House Majority Leader Mortenson said at a Feb. 1 news conference in Pierre hosted by the South Dakota News Media Association. There is,” he said. “I don’t like that some people have this idea in their heads that federal money shouldn’t be treated as strictly or that it’s someone else’s money, because these moneys are coming out of taxpayers’ pockets. Because there is.”
Sen. Reynold Nesiba, D-Sioux Falls and minority leader, said ARPA’s infrastructure funds will help South Dakota with spending on water and wastewater projects, as well as funding for workforce housing and a new state medical laboratory. said it will benefit generations to come.
“If you look back, whether you like him or not, you’ll see that Joe Biden was one of the most impactful presidents for South Dakota,” Neciba said at an SDNA news conference. he said. “His $700 million for the water and wastewater treatment fund, which has never come close to that before, would mean $700 million going to counties and municipalities. This is once-in-a-generation funding.”
Since joining the state Legislature in 2019, Duhamel has become a champion for improving water infrastructure across the state.
Duhamel told Newswatch that a university professor once told him that water would one day be more important than oil in the United States. He said that message rings true now in South Dakota, especially in the West River, where water sources are scarce.
In 2023, she tried to allocate $100 million in ARPA funds to jump-start construction of a pipeline from the Missouri River to Rapid City, then cut the tab to $50 million, but still lost the House by two votes. Defeated.
Mr. Duhamel is concerned that remaining unallocated ARPA funds may have to be transferred out of water projects or returned unused to the federal government. For example, she pointed to Senate Bill 134, a bill she co-sponsored that would allocate $20 million from ARPA funds to support South Dakota’s struggling timber industry.
“Everyone is trying to spend all their money where they think it should be spent,” she says. “Some people are trying to get all the ARPA money here and there, but it may not be spent on time or it may get drained.”
Still, Duhamel said he’s excited that the one-time increase in federal funding will see South Dakota communities build new, improved and expanded water and wastewater systems.
“This is truly an investment in our future,” she said. “That’s infrastructure, that’s the real role of government. That’s where we need to be and what we need to work on.”
— This article was produced by South Dakota News Watch, a nonprofit journalism organization online at sdnewswatch.org.
Copyright 2024 KSFY. All rights reserved.
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