Officials Push For More Lewis And Clark Funding
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Officials including members of Congress are pushing the Bureau of Reclamation's top official to endorse more funding for the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa.
U.S. Rep. Tim Walz and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and other officials met with bureau Commissioner Michael Connor in the Minnesota city of Worthington on Monday, telling him that $35 million is needed each year over the next decade to finish the $462 million project to bring Missouri River water to 300,000 people in the three states.
Water started flowing through the system this summer after more than two decades of planning and construction, but federal funding for upcoming construction has become uncertain due to budget cuts. Next year's proposed federal funding is $4.5 million.
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