Summary#
This bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a study to decide whether building a water project is feasible. The project would aim to supply municipal, rural, and industrial water to the Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System service area in parts of South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota. The Secretary may work with the Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System nonprofit under a cooperative agreement. The study must follow the Reclamation feasibility standards (part 404 of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations). The Federal government may pay up to 50 percent of the study costs. The bill authorizes $10,000,000 to carry out the study. The authority to carry out the study expires 10 years after enactment.
What it means for you#
- The bill funds only a feasibility study, not construction. It will gather information on whether a regional water project could be built and how it might operate.
- If you live or work in the listed service area, this could lead to planning work that informs future projects, but it does not guarantee any new water service or construction.
- A non-Federal group (the Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System nonprofit) would be part of the study process and would share study costs with the Federal government.
Expenses#
- The bill authorizes $10,000,000 to the Secretary of the Interior to carry out the study.
- The Federal share of the study costs is limited to 50 percent; non-Federal partners would provide the remaining share.
- The bill does not provide any publicly available information on the total cost of any construction project, future operating costs, or cost to individual communities.
Proponents' View#
No publicly available information.
Opponents' View#
No publicly available information.