1.1 	A resolution
1.2 	memorializing the United States Congress to appropriate money for the Lewis & 
1.3 	Clark Regional Water System.
1.4 	WHEREAS, the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System is a critically needed project to 
1.5 	improve the quality of life for over 300,000 people in the tri-state region, including those served 
1.6 	by the cities of Worthington and Luverne, the Lincoln County Rural Water System, and the Rock 
1.7 	County Rural Water District, by providing quality and plentiful drinking water and by expanding 
1.8 	economic development opportunities; and 
1.9 	WHEREAS, the 20 member cities and rural water systems have shown their strong support 
1.10 	by prepaying 99.6 percent of their cost share of the project, totaling $109.2 million, in several 
1.11 	cases a decade or more before expecting to receive a drop of water; and 
1.12 	WHEREAS, the States of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa have shown their strong 
1.13 	support by prepaying 100 percent of their cost share of the project, totaling $44.3 million; and 
1.14 	WHEREAS, as authorized by Public Law 106-246, the federal government's remaining 
1.15 	cost share currently is $188.6 million, which leaves a remaining cost share of 48.5 percent; and 
1.16 	WHEREAS, Congress appropriated $26.5 million in fiscal year 2008 and $27 million in 
1.17 	fiscal year 2009, but only $10 million in fiscal year 2010 and likely even less in the fiscal year 
1.18 	2011 budget; and 
1.19 	WHEREAS, cutting funding for this vital infrastructure means the cost to the taxpayers 
1.20 	increases because of lost economic development opportunities and the federal government's 
1.21 	remaining cost share is indexed annually for inflation; and 
2.1 	WHEREAS, based on $10 million per year in federal funding, it is estimated it could take 
2.2 	until 2048 to complete the project, with Worthington not receiving water until 2030; and 
2.3 	WHEREAS, the prepayment funds by the members and states are either spent or fully 
2.4 	obligated to current contracts, so the construction schedule for 2011 and beyond will be entirely 
2.5 	dependent upon future federal funding; and 
2.6 	WHEREAS, in addition to keeping costs down for the taxpayers, the timely completion 
2.7 	of the project is very important so the member cities and rural water systems have access to a 
2.8 	critically needed water supply that will allow the tri-state region to continue to grow, thereby 
2.9 	benefitting the regional and national economy, as well as creating jobs during construction; 
2.10 	NOW, THEREFORE, 
2.11 	BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges the Congress 
2.12 	of the United States to honor its commitment by appropriating $35 million in fiscal year 2012 for 
2.13 	the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System.
2.14 	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is 
2.15 	directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United States, 
2.16 	the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the 
2.17 	United States House of Representatives, the chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the 
2.18 	chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives 
2.19 	in Congress.