Dayton Seeks $220M In Water Quality Upgrades

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Mark Dayton is asking lawmakers to pony up for water quality and infrastructure improvements.

The Democratic governor unveiled a $220 million plan Thursday that would help pay for dozens of direly needed upgrades to waste and drinking water treatment facilities across the state. It's just a portion of a larger public construction borrowing package that Dayton is proposing this year.

Dayton says his proposal is just the first step in more than $10 billion of improvements to ailing sewage networks and treatment plants needed over the next two decades. The governor says boosting water quality will be a top priority for his final three years in office.

Minnesota lawmakers will consider the proposal when they return March 8. Dayton concedes the Legislature will likely whittle down his plan.