[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 187 (Wednesday, November 15, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H9266]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONSTRUCTION TO LOWER YELLOWSTONE INTAKE PROJECT MUST BE COMPLETED

  (Mr. GIANFORTE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, for 110 years, the Lower Yellowstone 
Intake Project has provided a dependable supply of water to over 58,000 
acres of family farms in Montana and North Dakota. It has created over 
10,000 acres of wildlife habitat.
  To protect the endangered pallid sturgeon, Congress funded a bypass 
channel and weir improvement so that the fish could circumvent the 
diversion that had been there for 110 years. The proposed construction 
would also protect regional groundwater, the environment, and 
agricultural communities.
  Unfortunately, a U.S. district judge blocked the project this summer 
because, as he claims, it does nothing for the sturgeon. His ruling to 
halt construction does nothing to help the sturgeon. His ruling does 
nothing to help the communities that rely on the project's irrigation 
water.
  I urge the Army Corps of Engineers to move forward with the work on 
the Lower Yellowstone Intake Project. The completion of this project is 
urgent to protect species' habitats and agricultural activities in 
Montana.

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