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Fischer Closely Worked with Bureau to Secure This Funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, released the following statement today after the Bureau of Reclamation (BoR) released its 2020 spending plan, which provides an opportunity for $2.3 million to be put toward the repairs of the Gering-Fort Laramie tunnel following the collapse of the canal containing the tunnel last summer:

“This canal is critical to Nebraska agriculture, supplying surface water to approximately 55,000 acres of cropland including corn, sugarbeets, and dry edible beans. This funding will help western Nebraska farmers and families who feed the world to recover from the effects of this major disruption to irrigation.”

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Previously the BoR indicated that precedent made them unable to offer any funding for the canal’s repair. Senator Fischer and her staff worked closely with the Bureau to find a way forward and secure this funding, which is part of what is needed for the full repair.

The BoR’s Fiscal Year 2020 spending plan, which was just released, includes $2.3 million to repair Tunnel 3 on the Gering-Fort Laramie canal, which partially collapsed on July 17, 2019, damaging all three of its tunnels. Tunnel 3 is located wholly in Nebraska. Senator Fischer will continue to work with BoR to determine how and when these dollars will be dispersed.

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