By: Michael Achterling(ND Monitor)
The North Dakota Senate this week added funding to a budget bill to help communities that lost federal grants for infrastructure projects.
Sen. Jeff Magrum, R-Hazelton, who introduced an amendment to House Bill 1577 on the Senate floor Thursday, said he’s noticed some “hiccups” involving federal fund distribution.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency canceled about $20 million in grants designated for North Dakota projects. The pulled federal grants announced earlier this month were from FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, designed to help state and local governments with projects that reduce risks to hazards.
“They had gotten these grants and they were ready to build their projects and the money was pulled out from under them,” Magrum said.
The amended bill authorizes the state-owned Bank of North Dakota to issue up to $9.7 million in loans through the Department of Environmental Quality for wastewater projects affected by the funding cuts. Two wastewater projects that lost funding are a $7.8 million wastewater treatment project in Lincoln and a $1.9 million wastewater lagoon erosion project in Fessenden.
The bill directs the Department of Environmental Quality to seek state funding in 2027 to repay the loans. If federal funds are restored to the projects, the bill requires those funds to be used to pay back the loans.
The bill does not address the other FEMA grants that were cut, which included $7.1 million for a water intake project in Washburn. Lawmakers plan to add funding for the Washburn project in another bill, said Sen. Brad Bekkedahl, R-Williston, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, told lawmakers that backfilling the projects with state-backed loans is a major decision to help those communities. He pointed out that the state Department of Health and Human Services also lost federal funding that has not yet been replaced by the state.
“Get prepared for a special session because there will be a load of these,” Mathern said.
The bill also includes the option for the interim Legislative Management Committee to conduct a study on the potential creation of a wastewater project fund for the state. The study would be presented during the 2027 legislative session and include input from cities, counties, townships and water resource districts. The bill returns to the House.
