Pierre, South Dakota — Some of the money that the states of South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa loaned to the Lewis & Clark Regional Water system is starting to be repaid.
The Lewis & Clark system had been promised funding through the federal government, but up until recent years, the feds were slow to pay, so the system asked the states for advances until they received their funding from the federal government — so that they could keep building the system in the meantime.
Earlier this week, Lewis & Clark’s Executive Director Troy Larson hand delivered a one million dollar check to South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. They tell us this reimbursed the State’s General Fund for a “federal funding advance” that the Legislature approved during the 2014 session. Federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was used to make the repayment.
Lewis & Clark officials hope to be able to start providing their Missouri River aquifer water to Sheldon by the end of this year, and Sibley by the end of next year.
