02.19.16

Hoeven Hosts Roundtable in LaMoure to Review, Advance Sewer System Update

Senator Secured Increased Army Corps Funds to Support Local Water Infrastructure Projects

LAMOURE, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today hosted a roundtable in LaMoure with local officials, including Mayor Craig Good and the city council members, to review the city’s plans for a new sanitary sewer system and discuss the next steps in advancing the project. Earlier this month, Hoeven announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers included the LaMoure project in its Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 work plan and will be providing $3.9 million toward the system.

Hoeven serves on the Energy and Water Appropriations Committee, where he worked to secure $55 million in the year-end funding bill for sewer systems and other water development infrastructure projects like LaMoure’s, a $5 million increase over FY2015. In addition, the senator worked closely with the Corps, city officials and the project engineers to ensure that the Corps allocate some of this money for the city’s new sewer.

“A safe and reliable water system is vital to the well-being and prosperity of our residents and businesses,” Hoeven said. “We worked hard to ensure that Army Corps funds would be available to support the City of LaMoure’s efforts to upgrade this system. With this federal support in place, the city is pursuing an ambitious timeline. We continue our efforts to help move this project forward.”

“As mayor of the City of LaMoure, I would like to say that we are thrilled to be receiving these funds to improve our sanitary sewer system,” Mayor Good said. “Flooding and groundwater infiltration have been a serious threat to our residents’ health and property, and this investment in a new system will mean long-term peace of mind for the community.”

LaMoure’s sanitary sewer system uses clay pipes that date to the 1930s and 1940s. High levels of ground water along the James River often threaten to overwhelm and collapse the sewer, forcing the city to bypass the system and pump sewage directly into the environment. The city is now working with the Army Corps to move through the final steps of securing the funds and plans to finish all preliminary planning and design work this spring. With those steps completed, bidding and construction could begin this summer and be completed in 2017.

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