The US Senate has passed America’s Water Infrastructure Act, a comprehensive, bipartisan bill that will benefit communities across South Dakota.
South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds says state residents rely on water infrastructure for energy, irrigation, agriculture, recreation, flood control and clean drinking water. He says this bill will modernize and strengthen America’s water infrastructure so these systems will be around for generations to come.
Rounds’ priorities included in America’s Water Infrastructure Act include:
- Directing the Secretary of the Army to expedite completion of snowpack and moisture monitoring programs authorized under the 2014 Water Resources Development Act.
- Directing the Secretary of the Army to quickly review applications for certain easements necessary to access federal land for installation of water withdrawal intakes in the Upper Missouri Mainstem Reservoirs.
- Restricting the Army Corps of Engineers from issuing a water storage fee with respect to any water storage in the Upper Missouri Mainstem Reservoirs until 2026. It also extends the current prohibition on surplus water fees until 2026.
- Includes a provision for inflation adjustment of cost-sharing provisions for territories and Indian tribes.
- Allows authorized projects under the Tribal Partnership Program, such as the Lower Brule Shoreline Erosion Project, to be split into separable elements so work can begin as soon as possible.
