A press release from Congressman Walz's office:
Today, Congressman Walz is pleased to announce that he has secured $400,000 in federal funding for the City of Owatonna through the Continuing Resolution which passed Congress last week and signed into law yesterday by the President. After hearing from Owatonna Mayor, Tom Kuntz and local residents of the chronic flooding problems in the city, Walz requested federal funding to protect local residents and businesses from future flood damage.
"This flood mitigation project in Owatonna is the kind of responsible investment people want to see from their federal government," said Walz. "Dozens of homeowners experienced millions of dollars in losses. Owatonna knows how to address this problem; they just need help paying for flood control. I see my role in Congress as bringing important local priorities like this one to the table and fighting to secure the funding they need."
Owatonna Mayor Tom Kuntz said, "We are ecstatic about receiving $400,000 from the federal government to assist with flood mitigation. These funds will greatly help improve flood conditions in Owatonna."
Walz concluded, "These flood mitigation projects will protect local businesses, including manufacturing, commercial and retail buildings. Because Owatonna is a regional center, damage to businesses in the area has a spillover affect on surrounding communities."
In 2004, the Owatonna Public Utilities building, which provides service to more than 11,000 customers, was flooded and narrowly escaped serious damage. The water nearly flooded the electrical substation as well; had that happened, it would have cost the City over $2 million to replace and left thousands of area residents without power at the same time they were trying to recover from the floods.
Over a three-year period, from June 2004-September 2007, Owatonna experienced more than $10 million in flood damage to public and private buildings. Most recently, August 2007 heavy rainfall delivered 8-10 inches of rain in hours, damaged 121 homes.
Walz was the sole member of the Minnesota delegation to request the flood control funds for Owatonna. Walz and other members of the Minnesota delegation worked together to secure the following funds for
other Minnesota priorities:
* $2 million for the Minnesota National Guard Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program
* $704,000 for the National Guard's Minnesota Army National Guard Armory Emergency Response Generators
* $1.3 million for the Minnesota Helicopter Civil Band Radio Communication
* $2.224 million for Minnesota Satellite Multi-Modal Collaborative Crisis and Training Network
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