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Committee tables $1.5 million request to rebuild Custer West Dam amid questions over local responsibility
Summary
Lawmakers voted to table House Bill 12-37, a $1,500,000 appropriation request for reconstruction of the breached West Dam in Custer. Proponents cited flood mitigation, fire suppression and tourism protection; the state budget office argued the structure is a municipal responsibility and urged pursuit of federal grants first.
Proponents of House Bill 12-37 asked the Joint Appropriations Committee for $1,500,000 in state funds to reconstruct West Dam in Custer, a breached municipal dam designated as high-hazard in state and national inventories. The committee voted to table the bill.
Leanne McCourter, representing the Custer Community Development Foundation and speaking on behalf of the city and mayor, traced the dam’s failure to 2012 and described a phased, multi-year local effort to rebuild. McCourter said the community had spent about $250,000 to initiate the project and budgeted $1,000,000 in local funds for 2025; she added private fundraising of $1.3 million had been raised to date and Custer County had pledged $25,000 and dirt-storage support. McCourter said phase 1 (breach and channel work) was complete and phase 2 (silt removal and embankment work) was out to bid; she asked the state for help with phase 3, the dam reconstruction, estimated at $1.5 million.
Proponents and local officials emphasized three benefits: flood mitigation (citing a recent storm that caused apparent 50–100-year flood damage, road closures and a boil-water notice), emergency fire-suppression capacity (the new reservoir would include dry hydrants and be accessible to helicopter bucket operations), and protection of tourism-related state revenue — McCourter noted Custer is a major tourism tax generator for the state.
Yolanda Sun of the Bureau of Finance and Management testified in opposition, saying the dam is city-owned and primarily serves local recreational purposes; state general funds, she argued, should prioritize state-owned dams and liabilities. She recommended that local leaders exhaust federal grant options — FEMA High Hazard Potential Dam programs, FEMA Flood Mitigation Assistance, or Bureau of Reclamation WaterSmart grants — before seeking state general funds.
After discussion, Representative Kolbeck moved to table HB 12-37; the motion passed on roll call with 13 ayes, 4 nays and 1 excused. The committee’s tabling effectively paused further consideration of the state appropriation request during this session.
Local proponents said bids for removal work were forthcoming and described ongoing fundraising and county support; state staff urged that municipal ownership and recreation-focused primary purpose reduced the case for a state-funded appropriation.
