A Senate panel is endorsing an idea to grant $20 million in federal pandemic aid to the timber industry. However, opponents are concerned the state cannot spend the money that way.
The bill would assure no more than 75 percent of the money can go to one eligible entity.
Nieman Timber is the largest sawmill company in the Black Hills with mills in Spearfish and Hewlett, Wyoming. The company closed its Hill City mill in 2021 and says it’s at risk of closing another. They say the moves are due in part to reduced timber sale.
Ben Wudtke, with the Black Hills Forest Resources Association, said the $20 million would go a long way to shore up financial losses for the industry.
“Impacting everyone from timber harvesters to log haulers—all of the steps that it takes to manage and care for our forest," Wudtke said. "The reality is they’re facing tremendous losses, in part due to COVID. It’s been a little bit of a delayed effect from a number of factors, but if we want this infrastructure on the landscape long term and we care about managing and caring for the forest, this bill needs to pass.”
The grant idea is opposed by Gov. Kristi Noem’s office and the Bureau of Finance and Management. Jim Terwilliger, with the bureau, says there’s concern over whether this is an eligible use of federal funds.
“The risk there is if we move forward and deploy these funds as intended in Senate Bill 134 is, and we get an audit and we have to pay these funds back, they have to be paid back with 100 percent state general funds," Terwilliger said.
The grant is one of many ideas vying for the remaining $130 million the state received in the American Rescue Plan Act. State lawmakers must designate the money by the end of the year and the money must be spent by 2026.
