Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Wastewater Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Appropriations committee approves state loan option to cover canceled federal wastewater grants
Summary
The Senate Appropriations Committee amended and advanced House Bill 1577 to allow the state to provide Bank of North Dakota loans, routed through the Department of Environmental Quality, to cover three wastewater projects after federal grant cancellations; amendment passed 16-0 and committee recommended a due pass as amended 15-1.
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday amended and advanced House Bill 1577 to create a short-term state loan mechanism to keep three wastewater infrastructure projects moving after the federal government cancelled related grant awards. The committee approved the amendment by roll call 16-0 and recommended a due pass as amended by a 15-1 vote.
Committee members said the amendment would authorize a line of credit from the Bank of North Dakota to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), enabling the DEQ to make loans to projects that lost federal funding so construction could proceed. Lawmakers and staff described the loans as temporary: if federal funding is later reinstated, state loan proceeds would be repaid and the state would be made whole.
The projects identified in committee discussion included a lagoon in Pheasanton (about $1.9 million), the Lincoln wastewater treatment facility (about $7.8 million) and the Washburn raw water intake (about $7.1 million). Committee members said the Washburn intake was being treated separately in some respects because it also qualified for State Water Commission cost-share and Department of Water Resources low-interest loans; the amendment limits the DEQ loan provision to the two wastewater projects the committee specified.
Several senators raised precedent and fiscal questions. Senator Dwyer asked whether the amendment sets a precedent for replacing federal funds with state dollars; committee leaders replied the governor’s office requested a targeted, one-time measure for specific projects that otherwise had no local financing option. Senator Wanzek and others confirmed the congressional delegation would continue to seek reinstatement of federal funds.
The amendment (identified in committee as 25.1285 0.03009) was moved and seconded on the record; the committee recorded the amendment vote as 16-0. The committee then voted to give House Bill 1577 a due-pass recommendation as amended by a recorded vote of 15-1; the lone recorded “no” was Senator Cleary.
The bill will be sent to the Senate floor with a committee carrier for further action.
