Comment today on SWC’s Support for Irrigation
On June 8, the State Water Commission directed staff to open a 14-day comment period on the Irrigation Association’s request to modernize two programs that provide state assistance for irrigation development (request found here). These programs are:
- Cost share provided by the State Water Commission (SWC) and DWR to irrigation districts for shared works, or ‘off farm’ works.
- Interest rate buy down through the Bank of North Dakota’s (BND) Ag Pace program for private, or ‘on farm’ works, which is also partially funded by the SWC and DWR
The Association is requesting:
- An increase in cost share percentage from the current 50% up to perhaps 75%.
- An increase in the cap on the buy down available through the Ag Pace for Irrigation program from the current $40,000 to $100,000.
The North Dakota Irrigation Association is requesting anyone interested to provide comments during the comment period, which ends July 6th.
Comments can be emailed to dwrcostshare@nd.gov or mailed to Department of Water Resources, ATTN Cost-Share, 1200 Memorial Highway, Bismarck ND, 58504-5262.