WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded a total of $18,914,000 to the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality. This grant, funded under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), seeks to improve drinking water quality to small and disadvantaged communities with manganese impacted drinking water.
With the use of this award funding, North Dakota will have the ability to make improvements to the Northeast Regional Water District and the East Central Regional Water District. According to the EPA, the grant program implements resources and priorities to help address Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and emerging contaminant challenges, as well as target resources to communities most in need of assistance to ensure no community is left behind with unsafe, inadequate water.