South Dakota legislature considering $220 million infrastructure package

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South Dakota lawmakers are considering a pair of infrastructure funding bills that would allocate over $220 million to housing and water supply projects.

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A proposal to allocate $200 million for workforce housing projects is set for a final vote in the House this week, while the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday recommended the Legislature’s budget appropriations committee consider a proposal to allocate $22 million to water supply projects.

The funding would come alongside a $600 million package the Legislature passed last year to send federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to water supply projects.

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South Dakota Association of Rural Water Systems executive director Kurt Pfeifle said the infrastructure bill passed in 2022 was essential to hundreds of water projects, such as a drinking water pipeline system that services 28 communities in central South Dakota. The $22 million funding package discussed Thursday would add two new projects.

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“It was an easy shot in the arm,” Pfeifle said. “The water infrastructure in South Dakota has been lagging for quite a few years and a lot of things have been sitting on the shelves waiting to be built. There haven’t been resources to build until American Rescue Plan Act.”