River Falls pursues federal funding to move Kenny Corridor dam removal from feasibility to design; $1.85M request seeks to unlock federal cost-share

Merchant McIntyre told the River Falls City Council that the Kenny Corridor feasibility study is complete and that the city is pursuing multiple federal tracks to fund dam removal and river restoration work. Tristan Sard said a $1.85 million congressionally directed spending request was submitted with Senator Baldwin to fund the project cooperation/agreement phase and design work, and that if awarded the funding could help position the city for further Army Corps appropriations in future fiscal years.

Sard explained the difference between authorization (permission to do the work) and appropriation (the money): "Authorization has always been fairly straightforward ... and then appropriation, the actual money to carry out the work," he said. The feasibility study's tentatively selected plan was estimated at about $19.7 million; because Congress previously capped federal investment at $10 million the city and its advocates pushed to raise that limit, and a $15 million cap was signed into law as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 2024.

Council members asked detailed questions about how the $1.85 million request would relate to the $15 million federal cap, required local matching funds and project timing. Presenters said the $1.85 million would be counted as part of the federal share and that a local match would be required for that request (presenters estimated roughly $600,000'$650,000 as the local match for the $1.85M request). They cautioned that Army Corps projects are run at Corps pace and that even with funding in place the Corps controls bidding, contracting, environmental compliance and the project schedule.

Presenters and councilors also discussed other match sources, including a Wisconsin DNR dam-removal grant program that staff said could provide roughly $1 million per dam (discussions ongoing and not yet in writing). They noted that if the total project cost grows beyond the $15 million federal cap the community would need to secure additional local funds or other external sources.

Next steps include pursuing the congressionally directed spending request, continued engagement with Army Corps leadership about inclusion in the Corps work plan, clarifying potential DNR match eligibility, and updating council on any formal requests or project-cooperation agreements that require local approvals.