10.18.12

Hoeven Marks Completion of Devils Lake Water Supply Project

More Than $300 Million in Federal Funding Devoted to Devils Lake Region, 2010-2012

DEVILS LAKE, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today marked the completion of the Devils Lake water supply project, a $19 million comprehensive municipal water system the city has built in partnership with the federal and state government. Although unable to attend due to a previously-scheduled obligation, Hoeven congratulated city official on this accomplishment.

The project was necessitated by the expansion of Devils Lake, which has risen by about 30 feet and quadrupled in size since 1993. The new system includes 33 miles of pipeline, fed by four new wells, and serves a population of almost 7,200 people.

As Governor and chairman of the State Water Commission (SWC), Hoeven worked to provide the project with a $4.5 million SWC grant and a $4 million low-interest loan from the State Department of Health, for a total of $8.5 million. The balance, $10.5 million, was provided by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, local sales tax, and user fees.

As senator, Hoeven has worked in Washington to secure funding to upgrade the Amtrak-BNSF Railway, repair and improve impacted roads, and appropriate funds for the Water Bank Program (WBP), which compensates farmers and landowners for flooded land using short-term conservation leases. More than $300 million in federal funding related to these efforts has been provided to the Devils Lake region through Fiscal Years 2010-2012.

“The Devils Lake region has shown incredible resilience and commitment to their community over the decades, and today’s ceremony marks another important milestone in the city’s progress,” Hoeven said. “We are committed to providing the kind of infrastructure Devils Lake and other rural communities need to grow and succeed.”

Hoeven is a member of both the Senate Appropriations and the Senate Agriculture committees.