Bryant to bury lines with federal funding

The city of Bryant is among the recent South Dakota recipients of Hazard Mitigation Grant money. Provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), almost $740,000 in grants has been awarded to South Dakota cities and rural electric cooperatives for infrastructure projects since September.

Hazard mitigation is any action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from natural hazards. Bryant plans to provide electrical infrastructure protection by burying seven miles of transmission line from the substation to the city limits, which is the main electrical source for the city. The federal share of the project is $401,344.

The funds from FEMA are administered by the SD Office of Emergency Management, which is part of the SD Department of Public Safety. The money is available through a presidential disaster declaration approved as a result of the Wessington Springs tornado and statewide flooding that occurred in 2014. Other recipients included the city of Pierre, West Central Electric, Codington/Clark Electric, city of Dante, and Cam-Wal Electric Cooperative.

Since 2004, Office of Emergency Management has funded power line burial projects that have equaled 677.5 miles at a cost of more than $19 million.