YANKTON, S.D. (AP) An Army Corps of Engineers official says federal economic stimulus money will help pay for deferred maintenance at Gavins Point Dam near Yankton and Fort Randall Dam at Pickstown, along with some sediment reduction efforts and other Missouri River recovery projects.

"The money will be used for operation and maintenance," said spokesman Paul Johnston. "There are 18 projects at Gavins Point and 17 at Fort Randall. Between the two of them, the total is $8.7 million." Some areas along the river have shown rapid sedimentation problems, Johnston said.

"The sediment at the upper end of Lewis and Clark Lake is an item of interest," he said.

Dave Becker, Gavins Point operations project manager, had said he was anticipating stimulus funds, saying many of the projects have been submitted in budgets for years but have never gotten funded.

Some of the Gavins Point work will include pulling out the intake gates that control the water inflow to the power plant so they can be sandblasted and repainted, doing maintenance work on the road below the dam, building a bike trail along the south shore of Lake Yankton, and maintaining a large crane in the power plant.

At Fort Randall, projects include corrosion control at the large pipes that bring water from the reservoir to the powerhouse, Johnston said.

The projects are among $17.9 million for water resource facilities in South Dakota and will pump money into the economy, Johnston said.

"The work or purchases will all be done under contract," he said. "We will be buying the equipment from places like General Electric and contracting with people who can do road replacements.

There is a whole variety of things that will translate into efforts to stimulate the economy." Paul Lepisto, Izaak Walton League regional conservation officer, said he's glad to see stimulus funds come into the state for Missouri River recovery. "I'm also glad to see the funding for the deferred maintenance in some of the Corps projects that have been delayed and for sediment reduction and recreation.

"A healthy Missouri River benefits everyone in the entire basin," he said. "These funds will help the Missouri River ecosystem and the fish and wildlife that call it home." Information from: Yankton Press and Dakotan, http://www.yankton.net/ (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 06-21-09 0545CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list