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Sponsor seeks flexibility, deadline extension for 2023 nitrate-treatment appropriation
Summary
A sponsor asked the Senate Capital Investment Committee to broaden 2023 bonding language and extend the completion deadline for a nitrate-removal project, citing new DNR findings and shifting raw-water quality that require design changes; the committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion.
A bill sponsor asked the Minnesota Senate Capital Investment Committee on April 14 to revise the language attached to a 2023 capital appropriation so that funds for a nitrate-removal project can cover ‘water source improvements and water treatment improvements for the reduction of nitrate and other contaminants’ rather than a narrowly defined biological filtration system.
The request, offered during consideration of Senate File 49.38, stems from regulatory developments and DNR sampling that changed the scope and timeline for the project, the sponsor said. The sponsor told the committee the Department of Natural Resources is completing a study that shows the utility may need to treat water from a different well field with different raw-water characteristics.
Jason Overbey, introduced in the record as general manager of Lincoln-Pipestone Rural Water, said the switch between two well fields altered raw-water quality and therefore the technical approach the utility must take. “As we’re embarking on our final design process, we want to make sure we have the flexibility to ensure that final design, regulatory compliance, and long-term sustainability,” Overbey told the committee.
Overbey said most of the storage-tank and pipeline components of the larger project are underway and near completion, but the Holland treatment plant remains in final design and the new DNR information requires potential design changes. He recommended extending the project deadline to Dec. 30, 2028 to allow the DNR to finish its assessment and for the utility to complete responsible final design work.
Committee members asked whether any of the 2023 appropriation has been drawn down; Overbey said significant components are in progress and that the appropriation has been used for storage and piping work, but the treatment-plant portion requires the additional flexibility and time. No vote was taken; the committee laid the file over for possible inclusion in the bonding package.
