EPA regulations, grazing issues and new infrastructure investments were the topics of roundtables hosted by U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) on Monday.
Hoeven also outlined his Senate priorities in two roundtables with constituents, including investments to meet the needs of rural communities.
“Agriculture is a staple of these southwestern North Dakota communities where farming and ranching have been a way of life for generations, and we’re working to ensure that they can continue to raise crops and livestock for years to come,” Hoeven said.
Hoeven and USDA Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell hosted a roundtable in southwest North Dakota last year to discuss a grasslands management plan and to glean input from local ranchers.
The resulting language in the Senate Interior-EPA Appropriations bill for FY 2016 from Hoeven would require the U.S. Forest Service to allow grazing associations to carry over unused grazing fee credits for use in approved conservation practice projects.
“We also need to help meet the needs of our rural communities by ensuring that they have the infrastructure in place to support economic development and the high quality of life rural North Dakota offers,’ Hoeven said. “That’s why the new regional airport and hospital are real milestones for the community.”
As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hoeven worked to fund the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program, which provided $12 million in grants for the development of a regional airport in Bowman, North Dakota. Additionally, a new Southwest Healthcare Services hospital development in Bowman received $15 million in low-interest loans from the USDA’s Rural Development Program.
Hoeven also worked to get more than $1.3 billion in federal funding to support more than 100 North Dakota transportation projects over a five year period inserted into a transportation bill approved by the Senate in December.